Still need proof that segmenting your e-mail house file and creating unique messages for each group can pay off? Consider the lift that American Greetings enjoyed from doing just that: Between October 2009 and April 2010, it increased customer engagement-opens, clicks, and transactions-13% for its AmericanGreetings.com and BlueMountain.com brands.
For a membership fee, American Greetings subscribers can send e-cards or create and print cards from among the company’s vast library. As part of each campaign-and according to marketing specialist Adrienne Sender, the company produces at least one campaign each month, usually based on upcoming holidays and special events- the marketing team will decide how to customize the e-mails for various sectors of its file.
At the most basic level, the database of more than 5 million names is split between retention, targeting current members, and acquisition, targeting former members and customers who have sent cards but not signed up for membership. Further segmentation is usually based on customer life cycle and engagement: Customers whose membership is up for renewal in two months, say, might be in a different segment than customers who just joined. Members who signed on six months ago but haven’t sent a card in the past quarter would be broken out from those who joined at the same time but have been using the service more frequently.
Each campaign can have as many as…
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