Email marketing personalization goes far beyond simply including a contacts first name in your subject line. Including a persons name is certainly important but in order to truly get your prospects attention there are several other factors and techniques that should be considered.

Targeted Content

Detailed research on the primary pain points of a prospect is necessary in order to sculpt messaging that speaks directly to them. Determine one key aspect of their needs and provide informational content that shows how your solutions can help them specifically. Be sure to include details about their company that showcases your familiarity with them.

Job Description

Job descriptions for a particular contact can be found through company websites and social platforms such as LinkedIn. These descriptions will allow you to speak directly to everyday challenges faced by your prospect and help you to relate to them based on common experiences.

Your Company

Personalization isn’t only limited to your prospects, you can also personalize your own brand. When sending emails you want them to come from an individual rather than simply a company name or no reply address. This creates trust and can humanize your brand. This is essential for large corporations that may appear as nameless, faceless organizations to the outside world.

Timing

Take a deep look into your targets line of business, operating hours and job responsibilities to determine the best time to contact them. You’ll also want to personalize your sends dependent up on their location/time zone. The last thing you want is to send a mass email at 8am only to reach your west coast prospects at 5 in the morning.

Automation

Automated follow-ups based on behavioral triggers such as website visits, blog views and content downloads will allow you to reach out to your prospects in real time while they’re actively researching your company. Pay close attention to what information your prospect is seeking out and have automated workflows set up to guide them through the buying process.

Destination

Where you direct your prospect to go after clicking on an email is just as important as the email itself. Set up landing pages and micro sites that are tailored specifically for their company or job title. This level of personalization is sure to get their attention and show that you’re serious about doing business with them.

Images

It always a good idea to include an image in your marketing emails and personalizing them can have an even greater effect. Using their company name or logo within a meme or graphic can do this. It also provides the impression that this email is specifically for them and not part of a mass mailing.

Video

Video has become a big part of marketing in general and email is no exception. A personalized video gives you a chance to speak directly to your prospect. This can humanize your company and help to establish a relationship with your prospect. It can also serve as the next best option to face-to-face interaction.

Segmentation

Segmenting your email lists helps you to mold your content to your target audience. It also ensures you won’t sent irrelevant information to certain targets. This is important as it may alienate a portion of your contact list and lead to more unsubscribes.

Anniversaries

Highlighting personal anniversaries with your contact database is a great way to build a connection and gives you a good excuse to reach out to them. This could include the date they started following you on twitter, subscribed to your blog or first visited your website.

Founded in 1990, Winn Technology Group is a leading provider of global, multi-channel marketing solutions for the technology industry.   For both direct and channel sales, Winn supports demand creation, account-based marketing, channel management, digital marketing, social media, teleprospecting, lead nurturing, event marketing, database services, and inbound response management.  

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