it's the personal touch that can maximise success
Why does a barman call his locals by their first name? It's simple, because they like it and it's good for business. In this article we look at personalising emails and the impact this can have on campaign success.
One of the most important things to consider when you're creating a marketing email is how you will grab the readers attention. Sometimes we miss the obvious things, so here's the secret: If you know their name, use it.
This won't revolutionise marketing as we know it, but if correctly used you might be surprised by the reaction it gets. Here are a few do's and don'ts for personalising your email marketing.
do
- Personalise offers to each individual. Make your recipient feel special. Just adding their name can personalise an offer enough to prompt a decision
. - Personalise your customer newsletters. Make your mass customer communication personal and you could increase customer feedback and sales revenue.
- Review your data on a regular basis. Make sure you have first name, last name and company name wherever possible.
don't
- Don't get caught out by the Dear blank syndrome. Check your database before sending your email. If you don't have first names for everyone use "Hi" or "Hello" instead of Dear. These look fine without the name.
- Don't get addicted to personalising. If you wouldn't use it normally, don't use it! Forced personalisation can look mechanical to the reader. This defeats the object of using it in the first place.
- Don't assume that because you've personalised the email they will read it all. You need to think about what your customers want to read. Always write for the reader rather than yourself.
For more guidance on personalisation you can read our article 'The good, the bad and the ugly of email personalisation'.