Key takeaways
- Segmentation splits your list into groups with shared traits and sends each group content that fits, instead of one message for everyone.
- The click gains can be large. Mailchimp’s analysis of about 11,000 segmented campaigns sent to nearly 9 million recipients found segmented campaigns earned 100.95% more clicks than the same senders’ non-segmented campaigns.
- Start with segments you can act on: interest, stage in the buying process, customer status, location and engagement level.
- Write different content for each segment; changing only the first name is personalization, not segmentation.
- Judge segments on clicks, conversions and revenue, and watch complaints, since some segment types can raise abuse reports.
Sending the same email to your whole list is like shouting into a crowd and hoping the right people hear you. Segmentation sends each group content built for its interests and needs, which tends to lift clicks and conversions and reduce unsubscribes. This Emulent guide covers the principles behind segmentation that works, how to apply it to your business and how to measure results.
What principles make email segmentation improve click-through rates?
Segments must reflect real differences in what people want, and each segment must get different content.
| Principle | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Segment on meaningful data | Mailchimp’s segmentation research found campaigns segmented by interest groups earned 74.53% more clicks than non-segmented sends. Interests, services, industries and purchase history usually beat basic demographics. |
| Match content to stage | new subscribers, active leads, first-time customers and repeat customers need different messages. |
| Collect data honestly | ask for interests at signup or in a preference center, and add behavior such as pages viewed, links clicked and purchases. |
| Keep segments big enough to matter | a segment of 40 people rarely justifies its own content. Start with three to five segments and expand as data grows. |
| One goal per email | each segmented email should still have one clear call to action. |
Emulent applies one test to every segment: would this group find this email more useful than the generic version? If not, the segment or the content needs rethinking.
How do you apply segmentation to your specific business?
Choose segments that line up with how your customers buy.
- B2B companies: segment by industry, role, company size and stage in the sales cycle. A CFO and a marketing manager need different proof points.
- Franchise brands: segment by location so each subscriber gets local offers, events and hours from the nearest location.
- Small businesses: segment by service purchased, last visit and season, such as customers due for maintenance.
- Healthcare email: segment by general service line or appointment type for reminders and education, and keep protected health information out of marketing email in line with HIPAA.
- Ecommerce: segment by products browsed or bought, purchase frequency and average order value. For ecommerce, Emulent recommends Shopify, whose customer segments sync with Shopify Email and connected platforms.
- Engagement: separate highly engaged subscribers from those going quiet, and send the quiet group a re-engagement series rather than more of the same.
Collect segmentation data at the source. On WordPress sites Emulent builds, signup forms pass interest choices and page source straight to the email platform.
How do you measure and improve segmentation performance?
Compare segmented sends with a baseline and track outcomes beyond the click.
- Click rate by segment: the main engagement measure. Opens are unreliable because Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates them.
- Conversion rate and revenue per email by segment: the measures that justify the extra content work.
- Unsubscribes and spam complaints by segment: Mailchimp’s data showed activity-based segments had higher abuse report rates than unsegmented sends, so watch complaints when targeting less engaged groups.
- Holdout tests: occasionally send the generic version to part of a segment to confirm the tailored version wins.
- Segment drift: review segments quarterly, since interests, roles and customer status change.
Segmentation works best inside a wider content strategy that produces material for each audience, so tailored emails have something useful to link to.
How can the Emulent team help?
Emulent designs segmentation models, sets up data collection and preference centers, writes segment-specific content and reports results by segment. A caveat: the Mailchimp figures come from a 2017 analysis of its own users and measured clicks, not revenue, so test segmentation against your own baseline before scaling it. Contact the Emulent team to segment your email program.