Let’s Get Personal

A recent Subscriber Experiences report from Return Path shoes that marketers are missing the boat on targeted e-mail marketing.

The study claims that 85% of marketers don’t personalize emails from the initial interaction. It also finds that it can take an average of 9 days for a new subscriber to receive their first email.

With modern email marketing technology, there is no reason for these oversights to occur. With automation software, it only takes a few simple clicks to ensure prompt, personalized messages are delivered to your subscribers. Here’s what you can do to make sure your prospects are feeling the love:

Choose an email tool that allows you to set up automated rules. 
Web-automation suites often include email functionality in their features package. Using one system to integrate your subscription forms with your emails means you can segment lists based on a prospect’s subscription selection and deploy the appropriate email within minutes, automatically.

Use autoresponder emails. 
If you know there will be a delay between the time a prospect submits a request and the time they receive the material, set up an autoresponder email that will act as a thank you message and acknowledge their submission. This works especially well if a customer is requesting support or follow-up by phone, which may take longer than email responses.

Personalize emails with dynamic tags. 
Similar to a mail merge, most email engines allow you to dynamically insert prospect information like first name in to a template. Though the email may not be completely unique and targeted, adding tags to insert a few key pieces of personalized information like name or company can go a long way to making an email appear less generic. Additionally, tags can be used to make a message appear to be sent from a prospect’s assigned sales representative, helping to build key relationships.