Your customers are individuals, and they all behave differently. Because of the variety of your customer base, you can’t treat them all the same. One way to avoid doing this is to use customer segmentation, the act of dividing your customers into different groups based on certain criteria. Once you’ve grouped customers based on similar characteristics, you can create targeted messaging that is relevant to their interests.
This is important because tailored messages to targeted email lists consistently deliver more opens, clicks and conversions. In fact, for segmented messages open rates are 13% higher and click rates increase 52% when compared to average engagement rates of non-segmented promotional emails.[1]
You can create customer segments based on a variety of traits, including how frequently they purchase, how much they spend, the products or categories they purchase from, location, and more. In this blog, we’ll take a look at geographic segmentation.
To create a segment based on location, you have a few options. You can segment based on a locations as large as a country or state, or as precise as a single zip code. This is data is based on the billing or shipping address customers provide with their payment.
You can either include or exclude customers from a segment based on their location. For instance, imagine you are sending a preview of a new summer clothing collection in April. However, for customers in some regions of the United States, the weather may not yet be warm enough for them to begin wearing these items. You can omit these customers from the promotion so they don’t receive a message that is irrelevant to them. To create this segment, exclude customers who live in colder states like Michigan, Minnesota or Wisconsin. This is what it would look like to create that segment with our Custom Segment Builder.
Now, here are a few real examples of geographic segmentation in action.
Windsor Circle client MyBinding tested geotargeting during with their holiday promotions last year, with messages that showcased their National Football League branded products. Using zip code proximity, MyBinding segmented customers by the NFL team closest to them. These customers then received messages with team-specific merchandise and deals.
Another one of our clients, Sailrite, uses geographic segmentation in their win-back messages, with separate campaigns for international and domestic customers. The messages are very similar, but the promotions are different. Because Sailrite can’t offer free shipping internationally, they instead provide a deeper discount as an alternative for international customers.
This next example is one I received in my own inbox that I just had to share with you. Fast casual restaurant Moe’s Southwest Grill sent out this message in the aftermath of a snowstorm (a rarity in North Carolina). This message let customers know that their local Moe’s was open that day when many other restaurants were not. The email highlighted the ease of making an order online and picking it up in the store, as a way to motivate patrons to purchase their next meal from them.
Segmenting your customers isn’t a tough choice. Segmentation is key for growing revenue and customer engagement, and with our Custom Segment Builder it’s never been easier. Discover how you can harness the power of segmentation by downloading our Custom Segment Builder Guide.
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[1] http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/effects-of-list-segmentation-on-email-marketing-stats/
