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Capture as Much Customer Data as Possible - And Use It!

Customer data is one of the most valuable assets of any corporation. As an email marketer you are in the fortunate position of having access to the largest amount of subscriber data and you have a tool that lets you easily capture, store, and use the data. However, if you haven't updated your data capture process recently you could be missing some vital information. This information can lead to more conversions and higher profits. Best of all, you should already have the tools you need to capture the missing data so it shouldn't cost anything to update your subscribers' profiles.

If you think that asking your subscribers to answer a few quick questions during the opt-in process gives you enough information to profile your subscribers, you're wrong. In fact, you really don't need to ask your subscribers anything during the subscription process - you only need to collect a valid email address at that point. After all, even if your subscribers take the time to tell you what information they want to receive it won't take long for their needs to change and your messages to become irrelevant.

Listrak published a white paper entitled "Improving Relevancy of Email Campaigns: Simplify Data Capture with Dynamic Profiling" that gives an example of an online weight loss center. When subscribers first signed up for the weight loss center's e-newsletters, they were looking for motivational tips on how to get started with a diet and exercise regimen. However, over time, the subscribers' needs changed. Some lost weight and needed information on how to maintain their current weight. Others wanted information on dietary supplements and vitamins. If the weight loss center continued to send every subscriber tips for getting started, it would have lost its audience.

The same is true for your subscribers. You must keep up with their changing needs so your offers remain relevant. If not, your subscribers will ignore your messages, unsubscribe from your list, or report your messages as spam. You can't rely on them to tell you what information to send - even the best preference centers contain data that is inaccurate and outdated. Instead, use your email marketing tool to capture the latest data as it occurs.

Listrak's dynamic profiling feature turns the click-through metric into a powerful tool. With just one click you can capture all of the links that your subscribers are clicking on and store them in their profiles. Instead of just knowing how many people clicked on your message, you'll know which subscribers clicked on which link and you'll have up-to-the-minute knowledge of the information that is most important to each subscriber. You can capture this information each time you send an email so your next message will always contain the right message and offer.

Of course, all of that data is worthless if you don't put it to good use. If you want to increase the number of conversions your emails generate, the best thing you can do is segment your audience so you target each group with specific, appropriate offers. You shouldn't just segment your list based on location, age, or gender. Instead, segment your audience by preference. That way, when subscribers review information on one of your products, you can follow up with additional information on that product, a coupon to purchase that product, or information on a complementary product.

You should also segment your audience by activity. If you aren't reaching out to your inactive subscribers with re-engagement campaigns, you're missing a big opportunity. Even making small changes in the way you speak to engaged and inactive subscribers can make a big difference. For example, using phrases such as "Continuing last week's discussion..." or "Yesterday you learned that..." will turn off the section of the audience that didn't read those emails and it will be hard to recapture the attention of those subscribers. However, if you speak to your engaged audience that way, it helps build a strong connection and keeps them reading each email you send.

Segmenting your audience this way isn't difficult, especially if you are using dynamic profiling to capture the data. However, it could cause a small shift in the way you manage your lists. In order to maintain the maximum amount of flexibility, you should keep all of your subscribers on one master list instead of keeping a number of smaller lists. While your smaller lists might be segmented by a specific profiling attribute, the fact that the subscribers on one list are separated from subscribers on the other lists makes it difficult to segment your audience in other ways. For example, if you segment your lists by age, how do you target subscribers across multiple age groups with a relevant offer for a specific product preference without segmenting each list and sending a copy of the message to each group? If you keep one master list containing every subscriber and their profiling information, you can quickly and easily target different segments. While this might sound pretty simple, there are still a large number of email marketers that keep separate lists because it used to be easier to do it that way.

Listrak has a number of easy-to-use profiling tools that make segmenting your lists quick and simple. These tools will make your email marketing more effective and efficient. And in the current state of the economy, anything that can save you time and increase your profitability is worth doing.