Even with gold above $1,500 per ounce, personal information on your supporters is worth more than its weight in that precious metal. Having access to a rich array of data on who your constituents are and what are their preferred ways to interact with your association or organization is not only a keystone to your entire email campaign strategy, but also the most effective way to compare your campaigns, identify trends and analyze what is working… and what is not.

Your Constituents Want to Be Recognized as Special

Recognizing the relationship that your supporter has been having with your organization in the most minute detail will provide you with an accurate conclusion as to the type of experience that they want with you in the future. Once you have a profound understanding of not only their current behavior but also their hopes and aspirations, you will be able to provide the specific targeted and thoroughly customized email content that will motivate them to the greatest degree. Your constituents have elevated expectations of your organization, thus they will not only expect but demand a personalized communication experience in each of their interactions with you. They don’t want to be just another faceless number to be endlessly milked for donations of time and money; they want to be recognized as special individuals who stand out among the overall group of supporters.

Correlation of Demographic, Interest & Attitude Data Is Key

This level of empathic information about your supporters does not come from simply collecting their name, birthday and email address, but can only be deduced from detailed information provided by them with regards to their demographics, interests and attitudes. Harnessing this invaluable data and correlating it to the behaviors that they have historically shown when interacting with your organization online will provide you with an advanced level of information that you can use to compose an accurate constituent profile. Once this critical profile is complete, the conclusion of compiling an email strategy that is custom tailored to the individual becomes a reasonably easy task.

An Effective Survey Goes Beyond the Pedantic

In order to garner this level of personal profile information, associations and organizations around the world utilize a variety of means. One of the most successful and popular ones is the application of an online survey. Within the questions found in your survey lie the possibilities to craft gateways to the most extended levels of individual attitude and interest determinations available to any organization. A truly effective survey goes beyond the unimaginatively pedantic and into the explorations of what your constituents truly feel, desire, expect and hope for through their interaction with your organization. These types of questions will result in the precise kinds of answers that can be translated into clear and applicable solutions to your email campaign segmentation and customization strategies.

Trackable Links Allow the Capture of Critical Behavioral Data

Once your survey answers have provided a thorough insight into your supporter, you are now ready to layer an additional dimension of understanding through the analysis of the data capturing their behavior as they interact with your website. Trackable links embedded into the website’s content will flag the presence of any of your visitors and allow you to determine their specific interests. If your organization is involved in wildlife issues and a particular constituent who has signed up for your African Savannah appeal is spending an inordinate amount of time on your Humpback Whale pages, it indicates that they are prime candidates to support your Marine Mammal cause. Providing that individual with a way to get involved in another aspect of your organization can expand their commitment to your causes.

Applying survey and behavior data to your email strategy will allow your supporters to feel you are “reading their minds” when it comes to the types of interactions they wish to have with your organization. This form of special and fully customized email communication is a method that has proven successful in increasing your email metrics across the board, and is the best way to truly engage your constituents.