Question of the Month: How do I Segment My List?
Segmenting your list is an opportunity to leverage what you know about your contacts so that you can customize messaging and provide relevant content that drives action. Here are 9 things you need to know:
1. How it works – The primary method of segmentation comes by putting people on different lists, but there’s also tagging which allows for further segmenting within a list. You can have people on more than one list, since you’ll likely slice and dice your list in several ways.
2. Start with a spreadsheet – One of the easiest ways to manipulate data is within a spreadsheet. If possible, download your contacts into a csv file, open in Excel and save as a spreadsheet. In a spreadsheet it’s simple to name a column and mark an “x” if the segment applies to a contact. You can work your way through your contacts or update by segment. Be sure to rename your file each time so that you can easily go back to an earlier version. I like to use “V1, V2, V3”, etc. to keep track.
3. Think of Basic Segments first – Most businesses and nonprofits have basic segments that their contacts fit into. Lead, prospect, customer, partner. Board member, volunteer, client. Teacher, parent, student. Another way to segment is by the source of the contacts. Referred, website lead, completed form, phone inquiry. Each of those could lead to a different nurturing plan. What other ways should you differentiate one contact from another?
4. Consider the Sales Cycle – If you’ve come to one of my seminars, then you’ve probably heard me talk about timing triggers. The closer someone is to needing your product or service, the more likely they are to buy. The same could be said of where someone is in the sales cycle. If they have been in your funnel (or Hourglass) for longer, then tailoring a message to a well-educated prospect may yield the response you’re seeking than if it’s sent to a newer prospect. How do you communicate with current customers? What about past customers? Don’t you want to get them back? A special offer for these folks could be all they need to pick up the phone and call you.
5. Segment by types of Customers – Do you have different product lines or service offerings? Do your customers all look the same? Chances are that there are some distinct client segments that need to receive specific content for them (and not receive content that is not relevant to them). Add people to specific lists so that you can target the marketing message just to them.
6. Collect more information – For some businesses, you’re lucky if you can collect a name with an email address. For others, there’s a wealth of information about their contacts. If you’re in the former group, don’t despair. You can collect more information as people like your content. For people who have opened your emails or are long-standing customers, create an online survey to find out more about them and their needs. But remember that asking for too much information can lead to people opting out. Use your judgment about what’s really going to help and consider offering something of value (such as a discount coupon) in return for their information.
7. Segment by Responsiveness – Unless you’ve actually analyzed your open rates, you may not have thought of this gem hiding in plain sight. It’s obvious that people who open your emails are more likely to engage or likely see even higher open rates and click-throughs. Those who rarely open your emails are much less likely to take action and may need a separate message altogether. Consider sending them a tailored message that asks if they’d like to still receive emails from you and if so, give them options about content and frequency. If you can’t get a favorable response, you may be best off removing them from your list. Finally, add your new subscribers to a “newbie” list so that they get content specifically for them.
8. Know Your Email Service Provider – And know their capabilities. Depending on which service you use, you have more (or fewer) options for segmenting your lists. In their new contact interface, Constant Contact is adding a tagging capability that allows you to search on a specific tag within a list, for even more targeted lists, such as top customers who have made a purchase in this quarter, or prospects who have shown interest in a specific service.
9. Remember it’s not just about email – While that has been the primary focus of this article, it’s important to consider reaching out and connecting with your contacts through other means as well, especially for the hotter prospects. Create a contact plan so you stay top-of-mind and build the relationship that you need to get people to buy.
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