Targeting is crucial no matter the marketing method or business, but it looks as if some industries are getting it all wrong. A tandem research effort headed up by Thunderhead and YouGov shows that service providers across various sectors are dropping the ball when it comes to relevance and personalization. According to the findings, roughly 45% of respondents for all industries examined cited that the marketing content they receive is poorly targeted and not personally relevant.
Struggling industries can make their communications more focused by reaching out to email marketing, a tried and proven tactic that just happens to be highly targeted by nature. Here are some examples of what this tool has to offer:
Relevance through Segmentation
The customer list is not specific to email marketing. It has been the lifeblood of marketing techniques executed both on and offline for years. However, email lends itself to effective segmentation perhaps better than any other medium. One of the main reasons industries are struggling in the targeting department is because they are trying to cater to the masses rather than individual preferences. The concept behind segmentation is dissecting your list to determine which segments of your audience are best suited to receive which updates, offers, promotions and so forth. It’s all about giving each individual subscriber something they are more likely to respond to.
Getting Personal
Data from the study conducted by Thunderbird and YouGov also revealed that industries are failing to connect with their audiences on a personal level. Fortunately, email marketing is incredibly easy to personalize. Effective personalization isn’t necessarily about greeting the reader by first name. Of course it helps, but the laziest of spammers can do that. It’s really about communicating and interacting with the reader in a way that gets them to feel comfortable enough to view you as more than just another hungry marketer. Done right, personalization can go a long way in building relationships and fostering loyalty.
Timing Is Key
The importance of timing in marketing communications can never be underestimated. One huge plus email marketing has going for it is the fact that it enables your communications to be timed down to the minute. Any company suffering from poor targeting practices could possibly get things on track by simply sending at the right time. When sitting back to think about what is the best time to send, you not only have to consider when your audience has time to check their inbox, but also when they have time to give you their undivided attention and respond. Market statistics can be misleading so the best approach for any industry is to understand the lifestyle and preferences of the target audience at hand.
While email marketing can deliver fantastic results to industries that are struggling with their targeting efforts, it doesn’t offer up any promises. Without a strong focus on critical aspects such as contact list segmentation, personalization and timing, you could be left with the same lackluster results despite having this powerful tool at your disposal.
