How to use personalization in mailings to increase sales? Find out for yourself!

You know that feeling perfectly well when, while browsing through your inbox, you see an email that refers to your last visit to your favorite online store? You see the same or similar products and reconsider your purchase? And, of course, are you inclined to open that email and take a look? Are you running your e-commerce business and wondering how you can create a personalized email marketing campaign yourself to simultaneously increase revenue and boost customer engagement?

Table of Contents

• Take advantage of the user's recent purchase data
• Take care of abandoned shopping carts and restore their value
• Use the power of prediction
• Take advantage of segmentation
• Conduct A/B or A/B/x tests
• Personalize their names and email addresses
• Hit the spot with short mailings

According to a study conducted by FreshMail, nearly 87% of marketers do not use any form of content personalization in their communications. According to SaleCycle, on the other hand, the main reasons to use personalized content in mailing campaigns are:

• higher OR rate (by as much as 82%),
• increased CTW rate (by 75%),
• increased customer satisfaction (by 58%).

What is mailing personalization based on, anyway? On the targeting of a tailored message to specific people using previously collected data about them for this purpose. This can range from information such as place of residence, first name, most frequently viewed categories, recently viewed or purchased products.

Wondering where you can start when creating personalized email marketing campaigns?

Use data on the user's recent purchases

For this you'll need transactional data, which you can use to target your email marketing campaigns even more precisely. They are one of the most effective methods of personalizing content. If a customer has recently made a purchase from your store, analyze his purchase path. By doing so, you will learn about his behavior, be able to determine his area of interest, and consequently - offer a better tailored offer. Send him an email, which will contain not only a confirmation of the order, but also a proposal of complementary products.

E.g.: Your customer bought shoes from you? Then offer him complementary products, such as socks, laces or shoe care products.

Such an example of personalization will show your business as one that values its customers and sets their satisfaction with their purchases as a priority.

Take care of abandoned shopping carts and restore their value

Probably more than once you have visited an online store, added a product to your shopping cart, and then... switched off the browser and abandoned the purchase? It has happened to most of us more than once. In marketing, such a process is called an abandoned shopping cart, and there's no denying that for e-commerce owners this is one of the most frustrating things, as it speaks of a lost sales opportunity.

However, there is also a good side to such a situation. The fact that abandoned shopping carts exist also indicates that customers were interested in your products. However, something discouraged them at the last moment - it could have been a paid delivery, a discount code that didn't work or a better offer at your competitor. Now the ball is in your court. Use a personalized email to boost sales at your EC. Show the product being viewed again and offer an extra benefit this time in order for the user to complete the transaction. This could be free delivery, an extended time for a possible return, a small discount or a small freebie. It's also a good idea to include a customized CTA for such an email, such as "Come back and complete your purchase," which will redirect to the product card when clicked.

There are two options for preparing an email campaign with abandoned shopping carts:

• the first is to send a one-time and personalized email reminder about the abandoned shopping cart. You can set up such a mailing automatically, for example, an hour after the transaction was aborted and the user left the site,
• the second option is to send several messages at an interval you set, for example:
  • delivering the first reminder email e.g. one hour after leaving your store,
  • sending a second email after, for example, 24 hours with an additional benefit for the user - such as an extra discount or free shipping,
  • sending another e-mail after a longer period of time - e.g., a week or a month with information that, for example, the discount period of a particular product is passing or its last pieces remain.

See how we’ve helped other businesses

We have delivered successful implementations for companies such as Orange, T-Mobile, and Homla. Explore our case studies and see how marketing automation helped increase revenue and strengthen customer loyalty.

 

Use the power of prediction

If you have an automated system for sending email marketing campaigns, or are working with an agency familiar with the subject, explore together the predictions you have at your disposal. These can be predictions:

• lookalike, which allow you to compare two different segments, helping you find a group of customers exhibiting similar performance characteristics. You can use such predictions to target an email marketing campaign to that group of users with whom a previous (similar) campaign performed remarkably well,
• based on the selection of the optimal sending time that will generate the highest OR. This type of process is based on previously observed user behavior. This, in turn, will help you determine the timing of emails to generate the best effect. It is therefore worth considering both the use of prediction and AI.

Take advantage of segmentation

To take care of personalized content, use data on your customers. Pay attention to the fact that not all users have the same characteristics, interests or needs (for example, people who frequently sign up for webinars will be much more interested in industry events). Your customers may differ by more than just demographics. The easiest division is the one by gender. What's more, note that one group may be much more valuable to you than another due to factors such as engagement level, purchase history or lifetime value, among others. This is why it will be valuable to track user behavior on an ongoing basis. Take care of segmenting your user list, which will allow you to create different campaigns that meet the requirements of each separate segment.

For example:

• create a segment that includes first-time buyers in your store. Offer them a discount that they can use only during their first purchases.
• Group together customers with high lifetime value and offer them early access to new collections, more exclusive offers or a package of products at a lower price.

You have as many possibilities for creating segments as your imagination allows. Once you manage to personalize your email marketing campaign mailing to prepared segments of both current and potential customers, we assure you that you will see an increase in key results.

Run A/B or A/B/x tests

When creating a personalized email campaign to increase sales, don't forget to test possible solutions as well. It is A/B or A/B/x testing that will allow you to find the best possible version, which at the same time will bring you the greatest benefit.

For example:

In the case of an abandoned cart mailing, check which version of the subject line has a higher OR - "We missed you!" vs. "Don't Miss Out on These Deals." To do this, send both variations to a small audience in the same segment and see which one generated more opens, clicks, and conversions. Once you have this knowledge, you can apply the winning theme to the rest of your database.

Note that with A/B/X testing, you have the opportunity to check not only the subject line of the mailing, but also the other elements of the entire creative, including graphics, content layout or various CTAs. Based on the analysis of the results, you will manage to understand your customers' behavior and motivations for action. After the tests are completed, make sure to automate the sending of personalized and best converting email campaigns.

Personalize your email names and addresses

In addition to personalized content for users, make sure your name and email also match. This way, as soon as your customers see the message in their inbox, they will immediately know who they received it from.

Wondering whether to communicate with the company name, however, or with a specific employee's first name, first name and last name, or maybe first name and company name? Showing the recipients the sender can also be a form of email personalization. Such a way will suggest to the customer that there are people working on the other side as well, and the sender is not a 'machine'. Such a procedure will give mailings a more personal and human dimension. This will help customers gain more trust towards your store, and it will also increase interest and catch the eye of the message.

Hit the point with a short mailing

Once again, we point out that most users don't like to read long, monotonous mailings built with long blocks of text. Therefore, make sure that your messages are short, concise and easy to receive. Let them be only about the topic covered and keep to the style of your communication language. Stand out, let your customers know that after seeing a particular word, phrase or sentence, they are dealing with you.

In conclusion, personalized email marketing campaign content is a great way to make sure you increase your sales. How will you achieve this? The answer is simple - tailored content to users shows that you not only value your audience, but additionally want to make sure they are satisfied with buying from your site or using your services. Using data on recent purchases, purchase path, abandoned shopping carts, predictions of user behavior, preparation of segmentation, as well as conducting A/B tests, you will manage to create personalized mailings that will ultimately increase your e-commerce sales as well. Do you need help from specialists for this? Contact us and see how we can help you.