Tips for Driving More Revenue With Customer Data

Leveraging Data
Effective use of data will be a key revenue driver for your email program. A batch-and-blast approach will result in a poor user experience, rising unsubscribe rates, lower sales, and potentially more abuse complaints and blocks by internet service providers (ISPs). Focus on the following three areas:

1. Relevance. Data can help you personalize emails according to subscriber preferences. This could mean providing content related to a preferred product category or a previous purchase. If product-level data isn't available, basic gender-based dynamic content can produce targeted emails.

2. Automation. Triggering messages based on subscriber data will generate revenue with minimal ongoing work. A first step into automated messages could be sending a birthday email. Other triggered programs include a welcome series, abandoned cart notifications, and refill or replenishment alerts.

3. Engagement. You need a clear view of your engaged and disengaged populations to better target communications that speak to their level of interest and behavior. Create engagement-based segments and develop programs to keep your best customers shopping and to reactivate nonresponsive customers. Focus on the following customer segments:

• nonpurchasing clickers;
• nonclicking openers; and
• nonopeners at various intervals, such as 30 days to 60 days, 60 days to 120 days.

Having a streamlined email database will help you better understand your subscribers, keep them engaged and drive revenue.

Jim Davidson is manager of marketing research at Bronto Software. Jim can be reached at jim.davidson@bronto.com.