2. Engagement Campaigns
Another essential approach to dynamic content campaigns is sure to boost your conversion rate. However, it requires a bit more data than simply segmenting your customer list.
Dynamic content may be used to encourage first time purchases from members of your list who read and clicked-through your emails but have not converted into a sale. In order to collect this data, it is helpful if your email marketing software is integrated with Google Analytics so you can easily see which subscribers are reading and clicking-through your messages but are bouncing after they reach your website.
Collecting this data in your email marketing software allows you to use dynamic content to add a special coupon or discount code to encourage contacts to make a first purchase. You may even create different discounts based on the simple segments (see above). For example, a female subscriber who has made a purchase in the past will receive an email announcing the sale on wedge-heeled peep-toe sandals whereas a female subscriber who hasn’t made a previous purchase receives an email inviting her to take 40% the sale price. Your profit margin on that one sale will be lower, but you will gain a new customer, additional profiling data, and the trust of that customer which will lead to future sales.
You may even take this a step further and use Google Analytics to figure out what products each subscriber has viewed on your website and then send special discounts on those items. This is especially important to customers that have added items to their shopping carts but abandoned the sale. You already know that the subscriber has interest in that product, so offering a discount on the item they want is a great way to encourage a new sale.
Engagement campaigns do not have to be directed at first time purchasers only. For example, you could run an engagement campaign such as sending a $15 off coupon to subscribers that have never made a purchase, a $10 off coupon to contacts that have made one or two purchases, and a $5 off coupon to contacts that have made three or more purchases.
This method requires a little more work on the front end, but once you begin to acquire and save the clickstream data and purchase history for each contact, these emails will be very easy to generate. For more information on integrating Google Analytics with email marketing, read Listrak’s white paper “Using Google Analytics to Increase the Reporting Capabilities of Email Marketing Campaigns and Boost Relevancy and Response”.
3. Cross-Selling Campaigns
Cross-selling to your customer base is another method of using dynamic content to drive your email campaigns. To accomplish this seamlessly, it is helpful if your email marketing solution is tied into a CRM program so you can easily track what products your contacts have purchased. However, if you do not have a CRM program or if it is not integrated into your email marketing software you may still use this method, it will just take a little more work on the front end to gather all of the data you need. It is important to remember that dynamic content campaigns are dependent on the amount of contact data you have so you should be collecting as much information as possible. Even if it is something you will not use right now, you may always use the data in future campaigns.
Knowing what products your customers have purchased allows you to build dynamic email campaigns offering complimentary items. For example, if a customer purchased a digital camera, you could send them an email offering a docking station, tripod, camera case, additional memory or batteries, etc. This email should be included along with the sales confirmation email.
Many companies are finding that cross-selling through email after the initial sale is a better alternative to cross-selling during the sales process itself as it keeps the checkout process simple and smooth so the customers remain focused. If the online checkout process is complicated and confusing, there is a higher chance that the shopper will abandon the cart.
