Email Segmentation
In Q3 of 2018 I noticed that email engagement was declining. Email is an important revenue driver, accounting for 7.95% of 2018 sessions and 11.93% of 2018 revenue. I launched a persona discovery campaign in order to better target customers through email.
RESULTS: Emails segmented by buyer persona resulted in 4X THE ENGAGEMENT of generic emails.
Step 1: Persona Mapping
A new Hubspot Customer Relationship Management software was implemented in April of 2018. After 8 months of data collection (through form submissions) I was able to map out 5 buyer/ prospect personas.
Buyer Persona Mapping - Determine the Target Buyer's:
Motivations - Goals - Roadblocks - Behaviors
Results - Half Price Banners Buyer Personas:
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The Planning Parent: Someone planning for a special occasion. This buyer is exploring options to make the celebration more special and is considering buying a custom product to enhance the occasion.
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The Team Player: This persona's manager has tasked him or her with buying custom signage. It's important to this person that the final product be of high quality.
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The Client Coordinator: This persona is helping a client grow. He or she comes up with creative but cost-effective ways for companies to sell more products and services.
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The Best Business Owner: Someone who is promoting your company's brand, products, or events. You know that you need to get your business name out there, but need help with the design process.
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The Volunteer of the Year: A coordinator that is helping to promote an organization. This persona's goal is to bring awareness to an event, organization, or fundraising efforts.

Step 2: Persona Tagging
The Half Price Banners CRM was filled with tens of thousands of customers- however, only a handful of these customers were tagged as a specific persona. I had to determine quick and easy way to tag customers with personas. I decided to send out the following survey:
Step 3:Segmented Email Creation
The survey was framed as a fun way for customers to determine their "Sign Personality." It was distributed via email, blog posts, and social media.
Existing customers were invited to answer three questions to determine their "sign personality," and in exchange received a 10% off coupon good for one-time use on HalfPriceBanners.com.
Two questions were for customers to self-identify their persona. One question was designed to capture more information about the persona so I could deliver tailored content to meet this persona's needs.
After the customer completed the survey, he or she was automatically tagged according to his or her persona and added to the appropriate work flow. Results and a coupon code were emailed to the email address provided.
Example:

The Best Business Owner
March Newsletter
The Best Business Owner was the persona with the most tags so I decided to start there. This persona identified the design process as the biggest hurdle to in the buying process. I made an informational March newsletter to address this hurdle and sent to customers tagged as The Best Business Owner persona.
Results:
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28.8% Open Rate
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4.1% Click Through Rate
Compare these results to the generic promotional email sent to all other customers on the same day:
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6.4% Open Rate
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1.1% Click Through Rate
The segmented email campaign resulted in 4X THE ENGAGEMENT as the generic email campaign. Further segmentation is still in A/B testing mode.