What are they buying? It goes beyond just pencils and notebooks. College students are stocking up on clothing (43%) and electronics (33%), while K-12 shoppers are also interested in these items (62% and 20%, respectively).

This is a golden opportunity for your email marketing campaigns. Although many have started shopping, a large majority haven’t finished yet. Why?

• 45% are waiting for the best deals.
• 45% are unsure what they need.

It’s clear that if you’re not running a back-to-school campaign, you’re missing out on a lot of potential revenue. Whether your audience includes the back-to-school or back-to-college target demographics, it’s a good idea to begin thinking about how you can begin incorporating it into your email marketing strategy.  

When to kick off your back-to-school campaign

Do you remember back when you were at school, and before you’d even broken up for the summer, the shops were full of back-to-school signs? It was heartbreaking as a kid, but today, it’s the perfect opportunity to get your hands on some new goodies.  

In terms of customers’ shopping behaviors, the most popular times for bagging some back-to-school bargains are the last two weeks in July and the first two weeks in August.  

This nicely marks the halfway point of the year. Your Christmas and January sales are long behind you, new financial years have started and new targets have been set. It’s the perfect time to launch a fresh campaign. Let’s look at some of the top back-to-school campaigns out there.  

10 Back-to-school email marketing campaigns

Looking for fresh ideas to boost your back-to-school email marketing? Check out these 10 standout campaigns that have captured the attention of shoppers and drove sales.

1. Apple

Back in 2005, Apple changed the mobile phone industry for good. There’s no going back. It changed the way we use technology and the way we regard and consume content from the industry. Its marketing strategy is one we as marketers envy and strive to emulate.  

And, at its core, is its understanding of customer loyalty. It’s created a brand where people queue overnight to get their hands on the latest model. Its fanboy and fangirls have helped raise the brand to cult status.  

Saying all this, you’d assume the tech giant doesn’t need to utilize the back-to-school sales period, wouldn’t you?  

The simple fact is that Apple knows loyal customers are an essential part of its growth. Targeting the back-to-college market is just the first step in a long strategy of driving customer retention. 

Taking a page from the banking industry’s playbook, Apple employs a tactic similar to the Student Bank Accounts strategy. The tech giant is well aware that these student shoppers are likely to use its products for years to come, making additional purchases and growing more loyal as time goes on.

In Apple’s back-to-school offer, the company provides a gift card worth up to $150 and a 20% discount on AppleCare, but only at the Apple Store. This incentive encourages shoppers to visit the store for an immersive in-store experience.

2. Office Depot and Office Max

Any back-to-school email marketing campaign should simplify the shopping process and help customers find everything they need in one place. Office Depot and Office Max’s campaign checks all these boxes by showcasing a wide variety of school supplies at unbeatable prices.

The email highlights great deals on items such as notebooks, pens, and backpacks with the subject line “school savings -100s of school supplies under $3”. Such offers pique the interest of parents and students who are eager to tick off the items on their back-to-school shopping lists.

The vibrant, well-organized layout of the email captures the viewer’s attention, ensuring that each promotional offering is easily visible. Additionally, the “shop now” button, is strategically placed under each product advertisement. This makes it convenient for users to access the deals on Office Depot and Office Max’s website.

By showcasing a wide range of products on sale, Office Depot and Office Max’s email marketing campaign effectively capitalize on the back-to-school shopping craze.

3. Gap

Back-to-school season is an opportunity for you to add a touch of creativity and emotion to your campaigns. Gap does just that by designing a yearbook-style email that highlights stylish clothing options while evoking nostalgia and anticipation for the school year.

Featuring images of students wearing Gap’s fashionable attire, the email evokes nostalgia and gives parents a glimpse into how their children might look in similar outfits.

The email effectively encourages customers to explore “School looks they’ll love” with a bold, call-to-action button, which directs them to Gap’s website. Encouraging parents to find the perfect school attire for their children, Gap’s email marketing campaign transforms the back-to-school shopping experience into a delightful trip down memory lane.

4. Asda

When shopping for back-to-school essentials, customers want an easy and convenient experience that saves them both time and money. Asda’s back-to-school email campaign showcases a comprehensive selection of products, from uniforms to shoes, highlighting the brand’s affordability and quality.

The email focuses on Asda’s exclusive George brand, which is backed by Netmums. A poll of 40 members would recommend the George Schoolwear range to a friend, reinforcing the credibility of the brand.

The campaign emphasizes the affordability and value for money associated with its uniforms, highlighting scuff-resistant shoes for only £10. Additionally, Asda presents options for back-to-school clothing essentials, making it clear that they are a one-stop shop for students.

The campaign also ties in a reference to the Olympic and Paralympic games, inviting customers to explore the Gruffalo x Team GB collection. This collaboration adds a unique touch to its marketing approach, appealing to children who are excited about the sporting events, and their parents who may be fans as well.

The combination of quality, affordability, endorsements, and diverse product offerings makes Asda’s back-to-school email marketing campaign an effective choice for families as they prepare for the new school term.

5. American Eagle Outfitters

You should generate a sense of urgency and excitement for your back-to-school campaigns. American Eagle Outfitters accomplishes this with its limited-time offers, encouraging customers to shop before it’s too late.

The brand’s email marketing campaign highlights a limited-time offer of “25-40% off everything” that “ends today.” The subject line brilliantly categorizes the sale into “shop women” and “shop men,” clearly letting customers know the discount applies to both categories, including jeans—a popular item for back-to-school shoppers.

The email showcases stylish young adults wearing American Eagle Outfitters clothing outdoors, conveying a sense of excitement and appreciation for the season. The top banner colorfully displays the discount range and percentage, emphasizing the great value and attracting the attention of potential buyers.

To make it even more convenient for customers to benefit from the sale, the email has separate “shop women” and “shop men” call-to-action buttons, guiding users seamlessly to its desired online shopping section.

By creating a sense of urgency and focusing on significant discounts across all categories, American Eagle Outfitters’ back-to-school email marketing campaign successfully appeals to shoppers looking for stylish and affordable clothing to start the new school year in style.

6.  Nike

For the back-to-school season, you should concentrate on generating enthusiasm and anticipation for the upcoming academic year. You can do this with catchy subject lines, energetic imagery, and promoting convenient shopping experiences.

The Nike back-to-school email campaign does just this. The campaign emphasizes the playful spirit of heading back to school with the subject line “playground is calling.” 

The email features a captivating image of energetic children wearing Nike’s latest recess-ready sneakers, fleece, and other essentials. The tagline “everywhere’s their playground” reflects the brand’s commitment to active kids.

The campaign focuses on convenience by offering parents and caregivers the option to “shop by category,” ensuring a smooth, hassle-free shopping experience. Nike’s back-to-school email marketing campaign aims to simplify the shopping process for parents and caregivers while fostering excitement for the upcoming school year.

7. Vistaprint

During the back-to-school season, brands need to highlight key aspects of its offerings that resonate with both parents and students to stand out from the competition.

Vistaprint effectively demonstrates this strategy by showcasing personalized products tailored for the back-to-school season. The brands campaign encourages customers to start the school year off right by presenting products that directly address back-to-school needs while emphasizing the benefits of personalized school supplies.

Vistaprint aims to help children express their individuality by offering custom-made kids’ labels with a 25% discount. These labels are designed to add a personal touch and are also microwave, dishwasher, and laundry-safe, ensuring nothing gets lost and giving parents peace of mind.

Additionally, customers can find a 20% discount on custom-designed kids’ water bottles, making it easier for children to keep track of their belongings.

With enticing discounts and a strong focus on personalized, high-quality products, Vistaprint’s back-to-school email marketing campaign appeals to parents and children. This ensures a unique and stylish start to the new school year.

8. Hy-Vee

When creating back-to-school email marketing campaigns, it’s essential to remember the importance of inspiring customers. Parents and caregivers are often overwhelmed by the numerous tasks and responsibilities at this time of year. Creating content that is genuinely useful, relatable, and engaging can make a brand stand out in a competitive market and foster customer loyalty.

Hy-Vee’s back-to-school email campaign does just that. The campaign focuses on stress-free breakfasts, delicious and nutritious meals, and easy bento box meals for busy families. By offering inspiration through free, innovative recipes that cater to various aspects of meal planning, they provide solutions for time-strapped parents and caregivers who need to create enjoyable meals for their children quickly and easily.

Stress-free breakfast ideas ensure that kids start their day with energy and parents can have peace of mind, while nutritious recipes for lunch and dinner keep children fueled throughout the school day. Additionally, Hy-Vee’s creative bento box meal ideas make the school lunch experience enjoyable and visually appealing, encouraging healthy eating habits.

By simplifying daily routines, the email marketing campaign demonstrates Hy-Vee’s deep understanding of its customers’ needs. This approach strengthens the connection between the brand and its audience, fostering a lasting relationship that keeps customers engaged and loyal to the brand during the back-to-school season and beyond.

9. Ahava

During the back-to-school season, you should incorporate creative elements in your promotional campaigns to capture customer attention and drive engagement. One effective tactic is using countdown timers, which can create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to take advantage of time-sensitive offers.

Ahava’s back-to-school email marketing campaign effectively utilizes a countdown timer to promote its limited-time sale on premium skincare products.

The email’s subject line, “two days left of back-to-school sale” and the integrated countdown timer emphasize the limited timeframe of the promotion. By incorporating the countdown timer and offering a 40% discount on full-priced items, Ahava encourages customers to act quickly and take advantage of the attractive pricing.

With free samples and shipping on all orders, Ahava provides added value and convenience to the shopping experience. The use of a countdown timer in its email marketing campaign helps Ahava drive engagement, increase conversion rates, and foster a sense of excitement around its back-to-school promotion.

10. Once Upon a Farm

During the back-to-school season, you should develop unique strategies to engage customers and create brand loyalty. One effective approach is to hold contests or giveaways that appeal to both parents and students.

Once Upon a Farm embraces this strategy in its back-to-school email marketing campaign, as demonstrated by the subject line “enter to win $1,900+ in prizes – back-to-school giveaway” This approach instantly piques interest, encourages customer participation, and generates excitement for the company’s products.

By holding a back-to-school giveaway with over $1,900 in prizes, Once Upon a Farm creates an opportunity for customers to try its high-quality, organic food products. This helps parents seeking easy and nutritious meal options for their children’s packed lunches or after-school snacks. The giveaway effectively engages customers, drives traffic to the brand’s website, and promotes product awareness.

Once Upon a Farm’s back-to-school email marketing campaign demonstrates the effectiveness of using giveaways to generate excitement, engage customers, and ultimately foster brand loyalty.

Back-to-school email subject lines

When creating back-to-school email campaigns, don’t forget about subject lines. Engage your subscribers and remain top-of-mind with this carefully curated selection of eye-catching subject lines designed to enhance your email marketing strategy.

General

1. Kick off the school year with fantastic deals
2. Get set for success: your back to school headquarters
3. Welcome back to school: find everything you need
4. Gear up for an A+ year with our back to school essentials
5. Make the grade with unbeatable back to school offers

Sales and discounts

1. Exclusive 40% Off in our back to school sale
2. Last chance: back to school sale ending soon
3. 20% off back to school must-haves
4. Score up to 30% off + bonus in our back to school event
5. Save up to 50% on Footwear in our back to school sale

Getting ready

1. Are you in the back to school spirit?
2. Time for back to school: are you ready?
3. School is around the corner. prepare now
4. Ready for back to school? check out our deals
5. Going back to school? we have what you need

Fashion

1. Favorite back to school looks are here
2. Your #1 destination for back to school styles
3. Top 10 back to school outfits you’ll love
4. His and her’s back to school styles
5. New style to rule the school this year

Supplies and gadgets

1. Short on school supplies? we’ve got you covered
2. back to school checklist: backpacks, supplies and more
3. Must-have back to school essentials
4. Get the coolest tools for back to school
5. Earn up to 2X points on back-to-school tech

Savings and gifts

1. A special back to school gift for you
2. Big back-to-school savings just for you
3. Saved by the bell: huge back-to-school deals today
4. Limited time only – back to school savings
5. Free shipping + 20% off back-to-school must-haves

While the ideas provided can be a starting point, it’s important to customize them to match your distinct brand voice. Feel free to try out emojis, playful language, or a sense of urgency to capture attention.

For an added creative spark, you can also use AI-powered generative tools like WinstonAI to brainstorm new ideas, adjust the tone, or refine the length of your subject lines.

Class is dismissed. It’s time to ace your back-to-school email campaign

The back-to-school shopping season is underway, presenting a profitable opportunity for brands. Many shoppers are still unsure about their purchases and are on the lookout for the best deals.

A well-planned email marketing campaign can greatly enhance your sales by displaying a wide range of products, offering enticing promotions, and creating a sense of urgency. This will help you grab the attention of your target audience and drive more sales.

Remember to monitor and analyze your campaign’s performance to gauge its effectiveness and make data-driven adjustments. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to a successful back-to-school season.

Did you know that research shows that over 66% of customers would prefer to receive notifications via SMS compared to other forms of communication? That’s right. With SMS marketing, businesses can reach their customers directly and instantly, without having to worry about their message being lost in the clutter of emails or social media.

But what exactly is SMS marketing and how does it work? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this blog, we will introduce you to the basics of SMS marketing and how it can benefit your business. So, let’s dive in.

What is SMS marketing?

Short message service (SMS) marketing is a form of marketing that businesses use to send promotions to customers via text messages. In other words, SMS marketing is the same thing as text marketing. Like email marketing, SMS marketing is permission-based, which means businesses can only send messages to those who have given their consent to receive them.

This direct communication method allows businesses to keep you connected by sharing news about exclusive deals, new products, or even helpful tips, all in real time. This type of messaging creates a personal connection between you and the business, making customers feel valued and special. And, since it’s permission-based, you don’t have to worry about spam or unwanted texts flooding your inbox.

The 4 types of SMS marketing messages

SMS marketing uses different types of messages depending on what you want to achieve. The three most popular SMS messages are: 

1. Promotional

Promotional messages are the most commonly used type of message in SMS marketing. These are the ones you receive when a business wants to tell you about a sale, a new product, or an event happening soon. Promotional messages aim to entice you to make a purchase or take advantage of a limited-time offer.

2. Transactional

Have you ever made a purchase or signed up for something and then received a text about it? That’s a transactional message. These messages let you know that what you did went through successfully and give you important information about it, like your order details or account info. Businesses also use these messages as a chance to suggest other things you might like.

3. Reminder

Reminder messages are friendly texts from businesses to make sure you don’t forget about an appointment, an event, or something important related to them. For example, if you booked a haircut, you might get a message reminding you when it is, so you don’t miss out or arrive late. These reminders not only help you stay on top of your plans but also provide convenience and improved customer experience. Plus, they’re beneficial for businesses as well – they can reduce no-shows or last-minute cancellations, ensuring that appointments and events run smoothly.

4. Broadcast

SMS broadcast, also known as “mass texts” or “bulk texts,” is a messaging service that allows businesses and organizations to send a single message to a large group of contacts, customers, or clients. 

Using Dotdigital’s SMS broadcast tool, you can send an SMS campaign immediately or schedule it for a later time. You can also choose the lists, segments, or marketing preferences you want to send it to. Additionally, you can send single SMS messages to individual contacts.

The benefits of SMS marketing

SMS marketing offers a wide array of advantages for both businesses and their customers. Let’s explore some of the key benefits of incorporating text message marketing into your strategy:

1. Sky-high open rates: Almost everyone reads their text messages – we’re talking a 98% open rate. This means there’s a way better chance customers will see and read your texts than emails or other types of messages.
2. Super quick communication: Since text messages reach people’s phones super fast, businesses can get important info or deals to their customers in no time. This means customers are more likely to act right away.
3. They reach your audience: Not like emails that sometimes bounce – text messages have a way better chance of reaching their destination. Dotdigtial’s SMS is supported in over 220 countries. So whether a phone’s off or out of range, when it’s back in action, your message will be there waiting.
4. Wallet-friendly: Sending lots of text messages can be affordable, especially when you think about the great engagement rates. So businesses big and small can get in on the action.
5. Make it personal: Businesses can personalize text messages for individual preferences or even specific events. This makes messages feel special and meaningful to each person getting them.
6. Boosts cross-channel strategies: SMS marketing is a great addition to cross-channel campaigns, as it complements other marketing strategies. By incorporating texts into their overall plan, businesses can create a well-rounded marketing strategy.
7. One size fits all: No matter what type of business you have, how big or small you are, or what you want to achieve – SMS marketing is flexible and can be used for all sorts of purposes like alerts, contests, reminders, account confirmations, and more.

SMS marketing best practices

To ensure the success of your SMS marketing campaigns, it’s essential to follow industry best practices. Here are some key tips to help you create effective and results-driven text message marketing:

Obtain clear consent from subscribers

As SMS marketing is permission-based, it’s crucial that you only send messages to recipients who have given explicit consent to receive them. You can obtain consent through opt-in forms on your website, in-store sign-ups, or through SMS keyword campaigns.

Respect the frequency of messages

Avoid overwhelming your subscribers by finding the right balance in the frequency of your messages. Sending too many messages can lead to a higher opt-out rate while sending too few can result in lost engagement. Test different frequencies and analyze the impact on engagement rates to find the sweet spot for your audience.

Optimize for mobile

Since text messages are viewed on mobile devices, it’s important to optimize your campaigns for a seamless mobile experience. If you include links in your messages, make sure they direct your subscribers to mobile-optimized landing pages or websites for the best user experience.

Use clear and concise language

As SMS messages are limited to 160 characters, it’s essential to use clear and straightforward language to communicate your message effectively. Focus on the most critical information and include a clear call to action that encourages the desired response from your recipients.

Test and analyze

Always keep testing and analyzing your SMS marketing campaigns to identify areas of improvement. A/B tests different message variations, offers, or send times. Use the data gathered from these tests to optimize your strategies for the best possible results.

SMS marketing strategies to try

If you are planning to explore SMS marketing, it’s important to have a few effective strategies up your sleeve to ensure the best possible results for your campaigns. By implementing the following strategies, you can increase engagement and create a personalized experience for your subscribers. 

Here are some highly effective strategies to consider for your SMS marketing campaigns:

Exclusive offers and deal announcements

Reward your SMS subscribers with exclusive offers, flash deals, and coupon codes that create a sense of urgency and prompt them to make a purchase. By offering time-sensitive deals, you incentivize your audience to act quickly and demonstrate the value of subscribing to your SMS list.

SMS contests and giveaways

Engage your audience and expand your marketing list by running SMS-based contests and giveaways. Ask your subscribers to text a designated short code to enter the contest, and follow up with automated messages for confirmation and opt-in permissions.

Text-to-win competitions

This campaign is great for growing your marketing database. Simply advertise your competition and include a dedicated short code for entrants to text. Follow that up with an opt-in message that requires a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response

Appointment and event reminders

Use SMS messages to send reminders about upcoming appointments or events to keep your customers informed and reduce no-shows. These timely reminders can improve the customer experience, save resources, and help ensure that your events or bookings run smoothly.

Re-engagement campaigns

Reach out to customers who haven’t engaged with your brand or made a purchase in a while through SMS. Send personalized offers, product recommendations, or a simple “we miss you” message to reestablish a connection and motivate them to re-engage with your brand.

Send personalized product recommendations

Utilize customer data to send AI product recommendations and promotions based on their shopping behavior or preferences. By providing personalized recommendations, you increase the chances of making a sale and fostering customer loyalty.

Cart abandonment

Carts abandonment happens for a wide range of reasons and one of those might be switching devices. You can increase your chances of converting browsers into customers by adding SMS to your abandoned cart automation program.

Birthday automation

Birthday automation programs are a great way to drive shoppers to return to your website. By adding SMS as a complementary channel to your program, you’re helping your special birthday discount stand out from your competitors.

Business updates

During times of crisis, business continuity is essential. Send business updates via text to ensure customers, staff, and partners stay informed of developments or changes to your BAU.

Set your SMS marketing on the path to success with Dotdigital

SMS marketing has proven to be a highly effective and versatile communication channel for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging the power of SMS marketing, you can connect with your audience in a more personal and direct way. This, in turn, drives higher engagement and conversion rates, ultimately contributes to your overall marketing success.

1. Hauntingly clever subject lines

The trick to unlocking the potential of your Halloween email campaign lies in creating an eye-catching subject line that your audience can’t resist clicking. Your subject line is the first impression and influences whether the recipient will open your email or overlook it.

To stand out in a crowded inbox during Halloween, experiment with words and phrases that get your subscribers excited. Choose Halloween-themed words like “spooky,” “mysterious,” “exclusive,” or “limited time” to spark their curiosity and encourage them to explore your email.

Don’t forget to experiment and test your subject lines. By analyzing email metrics and engagement, you can determine the best words and themes for your Halloween email campaign. With this knowledge, you can create subject lines that not only capture attention but also increase the success of your campaign.

2. Captivating visuals and graphics

A visually stunning and interactive email design captures the essence of Halloween. Incorporate eye-catching graphics, striking color schemes, and themed animations to create an immersive experience that leaves a lasting impression on your subscribers.

Use a combination of images, GIFs, or even videos to enrich your email content, ensuring that the visuals align with your brand’s identity. And, remember to optimize your visuals for both desktop and mobile devices to ensure seamless viewing experiences across all platforms.

3. Exclusive Halloween promotions and discounts

An enchanting Halloween email marketing campaign wouldn’t be complete without offering exclusive promotions and discounts to your subscribers. Entice your subscribers with flash sales, limited-time offers, and playful buy-one-get-one deals on select products. This captivating approach delights your audience, increases engagement, and drives sales during the festive season.

4. Showcase valuable content

An important part of a captivating Halloween email marketing campaign lies in offering your audience content that genuinely enriches their lives. With compelling and helpful information, you not only capture their curiosity but reinforce the trust they invest in your brand. This approach proves that Halloween emails can be effective without being overly promotional.

For instance, consider Baby Earth, a company that sells Halloween costumes for babies and moms. Their Halloween email campaign focuses on how to enjoy a fun and safe Halloween with young children. It also includes a cheerful image of a baby helping to carve out a pumpkin giving the parents an idea of the joy they can expect if they follow the tips in the post. This example shows that your Halloween emails don’t need to be highly promotional to work with your target audience. 

5. Spooky contests and ghostly giveaways

Embrace the Halloween spirit by hosting chilling contests and ghostly giveaways to thrill your subscribers. Running exclusive events on your email and social media channels can drive audience engagement, strengthen customer loyalty, generate user-generated content (UGC), and expand your brand’s reach. 

Some spine-tingling ideas include:

• Costume contests: Invite your subscribers to submit photos of their creative Halloween costumes, and reward the best entries with exclusive prizes or discounts. Encourage participants to share their submissions and your contest details on social media to gain more exposure for your brand.
• Spooky Trivia: Engage your audience’s intellect with Halloween-themed trivia. Send out a series of questions related to the history or traditions of Halloween and invite your subscribers to answer them. Offer exclusive discounts or freebies to the first few correct answers to create a sense of urgency and promote quick engagement.
• Scavenger hunts: Use gamification to create a virtual scavenger hunt inside your emails by hiding special codes, clues, or images. Instruct your subscribers to find these hidden treasures and redeem them at checkout or on your social media platforms for special offers, discounts, or points.
• Product giveaways: Run a Halloween-themed giveaway featuring your best-selling or seasonal products. Encourage subscribers to participate by submitting their email addresses, sharing the giveaway with their friends, and completing other actions that increase engagement and your brand’s visibility.

Summary

With these five spellbinding email marketing ideas, your brand will be well-prepared to captivate and engage your audience this Halloween. By combining these creative elements, you’ll create fun campaigns your subscribers will love, and improve your marketing success. Enjoy the excitement of the season and let these tips guide your email strategy – your customers will be thrilled, engaged, and inspired to take action. 

With this shift comes a change in the way a business develops its marketing strategy. Navigating the world of D2C marketing can be challenging, as you now own the end-to-end customer journey. Especially in a world where ecommerce sales continue to be on the rise and consumers are becoming more and more demanding of personalized digital experiences, it has never been more important to develop a strong digital marketing strategy in the world of D2C.

1. Build your brand story and foster new relationships

A key benefit of a D2C model is that you now have complete ownership over brand identity and the customer experience. As a D2C marketer, ensure you’re doing everything you can as a brand to convey your brand story to your target market.

Consistency is key when it comes to communicating across all channels. G2 states companies that focus on maintaining brand consistency across all channels have seen an average growth of 33%. The experience a customer has on social, or email, should have the same experience when hitting a website landing page from a campaign. Many brands also forget to focus on the post-purchase journey – messaging and branding should remain consistent across promotional and transactional messaging.

With an influx of new customers, make a good first impression on new customers. Email is an excellent channel to execute this – create an automated email welcome program that both converts and tells your customers what they’re in store for. More than 8 out of 10 people open welcome emails, generating 4x as many opens and 10x as many clicks as other email sends. An email sign-up indicates a super-engaged customer – take advantage of that engagement and focus on the USPs of your brand.

It’s also important to make sure your GTM is mindful of your current B2B relationships. Don’t become a competitor to your existing customers. The beauty of creating a great brand story is that when done right, it will only help your B2B partners succeed too. Compliment, don’t compete.

2. Focus on driving customer loyalty

Undoubtedly, a focus for D2C marketers initially will be acquisition. Acquisition is obviously very important, but D2C brands must not lose focus on retaining current customers. Acquisition is more expensive than retention – acquiring a new customer costs five times more than retaining an existing one.

Marketers can tap into Dotdigital’s marketing automation to help achieve this. After acquiring a customer, direct marketing channels like email and SMS act as a perfect way to continue to nurture the customer relationship and turn a first-time buyer, into a loyal advocate. You have the foundations to now understand important data such as purchase behavior, interests, preferences, and engagement with your marketing campaigns to curate a personalized experience going forward.

Shopify CEO, Tobi Lutke puts it perfectly; “There are only two things on the internet that you can own: your website and your email list. Everything else is just temporarily rented”.

One of Australia’s most recognized electrical wholesalers, Lawrence & Hanson, had to pivot during COVID-19 to focus on D2C and online ecommerce. During this change, they found huge success focusing on customer loyalty and building out loyalty programs that rewarded loyalty with benefits to drive retention and provided the foundation to succeed and grow their online sales and ecommerce offering. At the end of the day, loyalty boils down to trust. Lawrence & Hanson underpinned their successful loyalty programs with the use of personalization in marketing campaigns. 

Customers want to feel as if the brand knows and understands their wants and needs. Lawrence and Hanson did exactly that when shifting away from a ‘batch-and-blast’ email strategy and focused on 1-1 personalization which assisted in building trust with their customers.

B2B customer loyalty does differ from B2C. B2B relationships are more complex, lengthy, and considered sales cycles. But this doesn’t mean loyalty should be valued any less when looking at D2C loyalty. Reward loyalty, recognize it, understand who is buying and what drives them, and you will be able to create a community of loyal advocates.

3. Use data to enhance the customer experience

As the shift to D2C grows your customer base, there are new ways for marketers to look at managing relationships to deliver a personalized customer experience. Where many B2B relationships can be managed by sales/account management teams, D2C marketers must rely on data to effectively manage a larger customer to deliver a personalized customer experience.

• Integrate your martech: This helps you have a holistic view of a customer’s engagement with your brand. A great example of this is seen through leading packaging wholesaler Signet. Implementing an integrated tech stack, enabled the creation of data-focused personalized campaigns and allowed for effective data segmentation and tailored campaigns and promotions. Operationally, this is also going to save you and your team time and make processes more efficient.
• Make use of behavioral data you capture against customers: This will help you send the right message, at the right time. For example, understand the browsing behavior – what category are they frequently browsing? What products? What type of content are they opening, clicking, and resonates best? Use this to change the story you’re telling the customer and enable you to send more relevant content, which in turn will only increase engagement and conversions.
• Capture and leverage zero-party data: Give control to your customers – let them determine how they want to be communicated with. Within a preference center, the best practice is to capture data such as first name, channel opt-ins, frequency of messaging, interested products and categories, etc. Capturing the data is great – but it’s what you do with the data that counts. Place customers in segments and even tailor messaging through the use of dynamic content in email.

D2C marketing strategy summary

To wrap it up, as D2C business models continue to evolve and gain traction, it’s important for businesses to adapt their marketing strategies for long-term success. By concentrating on crafting a coherent brand story, nurturing customer loyalty, and harnessing data for personalized experiences, companies can effectively navigate the world of D2C marketing.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into nine winning SMS strategy ideas to reimagine your marketing campaigns. By implementing these tips, you can create more effective SMS marketing campaigns that drive conversions and encourage brand loyalty. 

Content and sending strategies

1. Create personalized messages

People tend to engage more with personalized content. So, when you’re putting together your SMS campaigns, make sure to tailor them to each subscriber by factoring in things like preferences and demographics. That way, the right message is hitting the right person just when they need it.

Use the person’s name in your messages and mention things they care about or special events like birthdays. Being friendly and adding that personal touch helps build trust, gets people even more interested, and encourages higher engagement rates.Keep in mind that SMS messages have a character limit, so it’s essential for marketers to be concise while ensuring personalization remains effective.

2. Offer exclusive deals

To encourage more conversions and increase the value of your brand, give your mobile subscribers exclusive offers that they can’t find anywhere else. You can surprise and delight them by sending limited-time discounts or promoting flash sales that make them feel special. 

Also, try bundling promotions like buy-one-get-one deals. This can benefit both you and your customers as you increase your average order value(AOV) while your customers receive a valuable offer. You can also make your SMS subscribers feel extra special by giving them early access to new products or exclusive deals. By setting deadlines and sending reminders, you can create a sense of urgency that motivates customers to act quickly, which can lead to positive word-of-mouth promotion.

Remember that SMS messages have character limits, so consider using a link shortening to efficiently share relevant information and keep your message concise. This allows you to provide your audience with easy access to exclusive deals while maintaining SMS content that is clear and effective.

3. Use media

A picture is worth a thousand words – this is also true for your SMS campaigns. Utilize Multimedia Messaging Services(MMS)to send branded images that promote your brand. Adding imagery can catch the attention of your audience and complement your overall marketing message. Additionally, attaching product images can remind your subscribers of your products, especially in abandoned cart campaigns.

Your SMS channel should be conversational. Consider adding visually appealing and humorous GIFs to add a touch of comedy and reflect your brand’s personality. Including media content in your SMS messages boosts engagement and reinforces your brand image. 

4. Implement an SMS Program 

One strategy to engage and inform customers is through SMS programs, which are automated campaigns sent out at regular intervals. A great way to start is by sending a series of welcome messages to new subscribers, offering a special discount that differs from what you would offer via email. This shows the value of opting for SMS as the preferred communication channel, effectively encouraging sign-ups by catering to your audience’s individual preferences.

To drive revenue, set up sequences targeting cart abandonment as gentle reminders to encourage conversions. You can also share useful tips about product features or provide educational content by directing them to informative landing pages. And for those customers who’ve drifted away, reignite their interest with time-sensitive messages, winning back their loyalty and bringing them back into the fold.

5. Integrate SMS cross-channel

Integrating your SMS campaigns with your overall marketing strategy can boost your marketing efforts. You can promote SMS sign-ups by offering an SMS call-to-action in email campaigns or bridge the gap with social media by integrating SMS sign-ups on your profiles. Remember, SMS is all about direct, friendly communication, so keep your content conversational and approachable.

Don’t forget to include SMS data in your comprehensive analytics for a holistic view of your customer behavior. By integrating your SMS campaigns cross-channel, you can create a more cohesive experience for your target audience.

Segmentation and customer targeting

1. Target based on zero and first-party data

To see stronger results from your SMS campaigns, segment your customers based on zero and first-party data you have on them.  For example, consider their age and send product recommendations or promotions related to age-appropriate items.

Utilize birth date data fields and celebrate your subscribers by sending personalized messages based on their birthday such as topics relating to zodiac signs and seasons. Or, if you know their location, use it to promote nearby stores or send climate-related product suggestions.

Lastly, it’s important to send messages related to products or categories that subscribers have expressed interest in. This ensures that the right message is sent to the right person at the right time. By understanding these preferences, you can customize your offers and promotions to better meet the individual needs of your subscribers. This will improve engagement and increase conversion rates.

2. Behavioral segmentation

Focusing on customer behaviors, such as purchase history, browsing habits, and brand interaction, can enhance your SMS campaigns. Use this information to send targeted messages with tailored product recommendations based on recently viewed items or custom offers for frequent or high-spending customers, similar to VIP loyalty programs. Additionally, you can optimize conversions and win back lapsed customers with re-engagement campaigns, including abandoned cart reminders.

3. Lifecycle stages

SMS campaigns can be highly effective when targeting customers at different stages of their journey with your brand. By understanding where your customers are in their journey, you can send the appropriate message at the right time. For instance, you can nurture new leads by sending a welcome series that reinforces your brand’s values and shares valuable content such as exclusive tips and how-to guides. 

You can also re-engage less active customers with the same content. To win back lost customers, consider sending a”We Miss You” SMS campaign. Lastly, encourage repeat purchases or upsells by providing targeted offers to loyal customers.

4. Preferences and interests

Giving customers the option to choose their preferences and interests can improve the effectiveness of your campaigns. Use customer surveys or a preference center, so your customers can choose which types of messages they want to receive. Using this information, you can create targeted content tailored to their interests. This includes content related to specific product categories or topics and can be delivered through strategic messaging and product recommendations. 

Additionally, you can adjust the frequency of communication based on how often the customer has expressed interest in hearing from you. You can also offer preferred sale or promotion types such as clearance sales, flash sales, or seasonal discounts based on their preferences.

Summary

In conclusion, embracing the potential of SMS marketing and incorporating the strategies can significantly boost the success of your digital marketing campaigns. As digital marketing continues to evolve, staying agile and adapting to innovative techniques like SMS marketing is essential for keeping your brand relevant and your customers engaged. Remember to communicate with your customers and continually refine your strategies based on their preferences and feedback to ensure that your SMS campaigns remain both effective and captivating.

1. Countdown to the holidays with interactive advent calendars

Build excitement and anticipation for the festive season by incorporating an interactive advent calendar into your marketing strategy. Surprise your customers every day with exclusive offers, discounts, or sneak peeks into your upcoming products or events. Use visually appealing graphics and compelling captions to spark their interest and encourage them to share. This campaign keeps your brand top-of-mind and encourages daily interaction with your social media platforms.

2. Reward loyalty with personalized holiday codes

‘Tis the season to show appreciation for your most loyal customers. Thanks to Dotdigital’s eRFM segmentation, you can categorize and segment your customer based on their engagement, purchase history, and interests. This allows you to send personalized and exclusive holiday codes that align with their preferences. By sprinkling some festive charm, you reward your customers and foster a sense of personalization and loyalty.

3. Add a festive twist with gamification

Bring holiday cheer to your marketing campaign by incorporating gamification elements. Engage your customers with interactive paths, games, and challenges that offer special promotions, rewards, or discounts when completed. Consider adding festive quizzes, treasure hunts, or even social media contests to your website and social media platforms. This fun approach enhances customer engagement and creates buzz around your holiday marketing campaigns.

4. Create FOMO with irresistible Boxing Day sales

Take advantage of the post-Christmas shopping frenzy with enticing Boxing Day sales. Create a sense of urgency with time-limited deals and showcase popular or high-demand products. Utilize eye-catching visuals and clear messaging to promote these offers on your website, social media channels, and email marketing campaigns. Inspire customers to act quickly and seize these incredible deals.

5. Begin the new year with a bang

Kickstart the new year with a captivating New Year’s marketing campaign that encourages a fresh start for both your customers and your brand. Offer special discounts on products or services that align with common resolutions or personal development goals. Alternatively, tap into nostalgia by showcasing a highlight reel of your brand’s most memorable moments and achievements from the past year.

Another effective approach is to introduce a new and enticing loyalty program that rewards customers for their ongoing engagement throughout the year. This initiative not only reinforces customer loyalty but also sets a positive tone for the year ahead, fostering a lasting connection with your audience.

Wrapping up our holiday marketing campaigns ideas

To make this holiday season memorable, consider implementing these five creative holiday marketing campaigns. From interactive advent calendars to personalized holiday codes, gamification elements, enticing Boxing Day sales, and captivating New Year’s campaigns, these strategies will help you connect with your customers and make your brand shine during this festive season.

In this blog post, we will explore the top personalization trends that will define the future of digital marketing in 2024. From artificial intelligence (AI) advancements to hyper-personalization and dynamic content, we’ll delve into the strategies that will help brands engage, attract, and keep customers loyal.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Personalization has become more advanced thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). With its ability to go through huge amounts of data and find meaningful patterns, AI helps deliver content that’s tailored just for your customers. By using machine learning, these algorithms can continuously improve and adapt to your user’s preferences. This results in highly relevant product recommendations, custom content, and promotions that are designed to captivate customers.

Dotdigital’s AI-driven product recommendations, for example, help pinpoint the products customers are most likely to be interested in. Our seven pre-built product recommendation categories — best sellers, trending, most viewed, lookalikes, best next, also bought, and custom category — cater to different stages of the customer journey.

Each category is designed to strategically target customers with personalized product options that match their preferences. When you offer customers products that genuinely pique their interest, you’re not only increasing the likelihood of a sale but also making their shopping experience a breeze. It’s a win-win situation for both you and the customer – they find what they’re looking for, and you achieve a successful sale.

Predictive analytics

By 2024, predictive analytics is expected to become essential for businesses seeking a competitive edge in understanding customer behavior. Digital marketers can utilize AI-driven predictive analytics to identify what customers are likely to do next.

At Dotdigital, we are dedicated to utilizing the potential of AI-driven predictive analytics to help digital marketers achieve their objectives. Our predictive analytics capabilities focus on four key areas: churn probability, predicted next purchase date, predicted customer lifetime value, and predicted total future orders. With Dotdigital’s predictive analytics capabilities, you can build customer segments based on these predictive metrics. What’s more, you can leverage the anticipated next purchase date to fine-tune your campaigns, ensuring they are tailored to your customers’ unique spending habits.

Hyper-personalization

Another trend for 2024 is hyper-personalization, which takes personalization to the next level by combining data from various sources such as behavioral, demographic, and transactional information. This comprehensive approach to personalization helps you gain a complete understanding of your customers, delve deeper into their preferences, and create messaging and offers that cater to their individual needs and desires.

Dotdigital has dynamic partner-built app blocks that allow you to personalize content and create engaging campaigns in just a few minutes. With no coding required, you can easily drag and drop third-party partner content into your emails and landing pages using EasyEditor. This helps you make the most of your existing martech stack while also reducing the number of customers who unsubscribe.

Today’s customers expect better experiences from the brands they choose to spend their money with. They prioritize quality over quantity and won’t hesitate to take their business elsewhere if they feel they’re not getting value from a brand. With our App Blocks, you can provide each customer with a better experience in every interaction.

Dynamic content

Looking ahead to 2024, dynamic content will play a significant role in personalizing email marketing. By utilizing customer data, such as their location, you can easily tailor your content and provide localized offers that engage your audience.

Imagine being able to address each recipient by their first name, showcase products they’re interested in, and highlight nearby in-store events. With the advancements in technology, personalizing your marketing communication has become a seamless process. You no longer need to create multiple campaigns for each version or individual recipient.

To achieve this, you can use data fields in your campaign creation to ensure each email feels unique to each customer. This method fills the content with information that is specific to each recipient, adding a personal touch to your email copy. As your audience interacts with your digital content, it adapts and becomes more tailored to their preferences, creating an effortless, personalized experience.

Personalizing your content with dynamic blocks allows you to reach your audience on a deeper level without spending countless hours manually crafting individual emails. Ultimately, you can elevate your email marketing by sending multiple variations of a single email, each rendered uniquely through the power of dynamic content.

Summary

The future of digital marketing lies in personalization. Customers crave tailored experiences, and marketers must embrace trends such as AI personalization, predictive analytics, hyper-personalization, and dynamic content to meet these expectations. Staying updated with these trends and leveraging advanced marketing solutions like Dotdigital will enable you to create effective and impactful campaigns that truly connect with your audience.

One area of confusion is the difference between ‘cross-channel‘, ‘omnichannel’, and ‘multichannel’ marketing strategies. By exploring these terms and their benefits, we can clear up any confusion and help you make the best decision for your business. So let’s investigate what these terms mean and how they can benefit you.

What is cross-channel marketing?

Cross-channel marketing is all about connecting with your customers across multiple channels. We’re not just talking about sending out a bunch of emails or posting on social media. It’s about creating a seamless experience for your customers, no matter where they are. 

Think about it, your customers are constantly switching between different devices and platforms throughout their day. They might be reading their inbox on their phone, browsing search engines on their laptop, or scrolling through social media on their tablet. By utilizing cross-channel marketing, you can reach them at each of these touchpoints and make sure they get a consistent message from your brand. 

Figuring out which channels your audience prefers and personalizing each channel is an important aspect of cross-channel marketing. Are your customers more active on social media? Do they prefer email? Once you have that figured out, it’s all about creating a consistent and tailored message that works across those channels.

Some key aspects of cross-channel marketing are:

Coordinated cross-channel strategy

Cross-channel marketing amps up your reach by strategically coordinating your campaigns across multiple channels. This creates a seamless, consistent message for your audience no matter which platform they use. 

Increase cross-channel reach

By using cross-channel marketing, you have the power to reach a larger audience thanks to the variety of platforms available. Each channel offers the opportunity to connect with different segments of your target market, amplifying your brand’s visibility and presence.

Personalized touchpoints across channels

Cross-channel marketing enables businesses to create personalized touchpoints with customers based on their behavior and preferences. By tailoring your message and content to suit the individual, you can effectively address their needs, desires, and pain points at various stages in the customer journey.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is similar to cross-channel as it allows you to deliver a seamless and integrated customer journey across marketplaces, devices, channels, and platforms. 

When comparing omnichannel and cross-channel marketing, the main difference is that omnichannel integrates marketing efforts, data, and strategy under one umbrella while cross-channel does not.

With omnichannel, data is organized centrally and becomes more reliable. This creates more chances for personalization as customer data is synchronized, making it easier to deliver personalized content and messages. This approach enables retailers to offer shoppers the products they need, when and where they need them.

So how does it work? Let’s say someone finds your company through a Facebook ad and decides to view your website. With omnichannel marketing, you want to make sure that the messaging and branding on your website match what they saw in the ad. And if they decide to make a purchase, you want to make sure that their shopping cart is saved across devices, so they can seamlessly continue the checkout process on their phone or tablet.

Some key aspects of omnichannel marketing are:

Customer-centric focus

The primary goal of omnichannel marketing is to ensure customers have a convenient and engaging experience, regardless of the channel they use. By prioritizing the needs and preferences of your customers, you can create a unified experience that encourages brand loyalty and satisfaction.

Connected interactions

In an omnichannel strategy, all customer interactions are interconnected, allowing for a smooth transition between various touchpoints. For example, a customer browsing your website on their phone can continue shopping on your desktop site or in-store, experiencing the same level of personalization and tailored recommendations.

Data integration

Omnichannel marketing relies on integrated customer data that provides a holistic view of each individual’s preferences and behaviors. This information enables businesses to offer relevant content, promotions, and offers across all channels, enhancing the overall customer experience.

What is multichannel marketing?

Multichannel marketing is using different marketing channels to reach your audience. Instead of just relying on one method, like email or social media, you’re spreading your message across various platforms to maximize your chances of connecting with potential customers.

Think about it like fishing. If you only cast your line in one spot, you might catch a few fish, but you’re limiting your chances of reeling in a big one. But if you cast your line in several different spots, you’re increasing your odds of catching something awesome, right?

So, multichannel marketing works the same way. You’re casting your marketing net wider, reaching people through different channels. This approach amplifies your brand visibility, as you’re able to reach a larger and more diverse audience who might have different preferences when it comes to how they like to receive information.

Some key aspects of multichannel marketing are: 

Diverse channel selection

Multichannel marketing involves implementing a mix of channels, such as email, social media, content marketing, paid advertising, and traditional avenues like print or TV ads, to reach your audience. By leveraging each channel’s strengths, you can optimize your overall marketing strategy and reach a wider range of customers.

Channel-specific strategies

With multichannel marketing, each channel has its unique strategy, catering to the specific characteristics of that platform. For example, social media campaigns might focus on building brand personality and driving customer engagement, while email marketing is more targeted towards nurturing leads and driving conversions.

Measurement and optimization

If you use multichannel marketing, analyze the performance of each channel to determine which are most effective in achieving your business goals. Through data analysis and performance metrics, you can optimize your marketing strategy by allocating resources to the most successful channels and maximizing the return on investment (ROI).

What approach is best for me?

Choosing the right strategy depends on your business goals, resources, and the preferences of your target audience. To determine the best fit, consider these key factors:

Customer experience

If delivering a completely unified and immersive customer experience (CX) is your priority, cross-channel or omni-channel marketing may be best suited for your business. 

Personalization

For businesses looking to personalize messaging and engagement at specific milestones in the customer journey, cross-channel marketing offers the flexibility and customization needed to create targeted touchpoints.

Channel diversity

If your focus is on actively engaging with customers via multiple channels, without necessarily linking the messages or strategy between them, multi-channel marketing is the ideal approach.

How Dotdigital helps your cross-channel marketing strategy

Here at Dotdigital, know the importance of implementing comprehensive marketing tools tailored to your business goals and target audience. That’s why we’ve developed an innovative cross-channel platform as an all-in-one solution to help manage your channels.

With the Dotdigital platform, you can:

Connect with your customers on all their favorite channels

In today’s world, reaching savvy customers through multiple marketing channels is essential to stay ahead of the game. With Dotdigital, you can effortlessly connect with your audience across various touchpoints, leading to a more effective and rewarding marketing strategy.

Create seamless customer journeys

Dotdigital’s marketing tools help you send personalized messages to customers through email, text messages, and social media. By enhancing their experience at every stage of their journey, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships and drive engagement.

Supercharge your email marketing

Email is a powerful way to stay in touch with customers who want to hear from your business. Dotdigital’s email builder makes designing eye-catching emails a breeze so that you can grab your customers’ attention and inspire them to take action.

Turn texts into sales

Have you considered using SMS marketing to reach your customers? It’s a quick and effective way to connect with them in real time. With Dotdigital, you can integrate your text messages with other channels like email and social media to increase your chances of making a sale.

Grow, convert, and retain with social media retargeting

Looking to expand your customer base? Dotdigital has got you covered. With Facebook Lead Ads, you can easily acquire new leads and grow your marketing lists. Plus, keep your current customers engaged by showing them targeted ads after they visit your website.

Reduce barriers to purchase with live chat

Forrester says using live chat on your website can increase conversion rates by up to 40%. With Dotdigital’s live chat feature, you can make it easy for customers to get the help they need while also increasing their happiness and likelihood of buying from you. 

Reach customers anywhere with push notifications

Dotdigital helps you stay connected with customers by sending them timely push notifications on their smartphones. These messages remind customers of your business and encourage them to take action, like making a purchase.

Summary

So there you have it – the key differences between cross-channel, omnichannel, and multichannel marketing. Now that you’re in the know, it’s the perfect time to reevaluate your marketing strategy. The good news? Dotdigital’s cross-channel platform can make the journey smoother and more effective than ever before.

1. Tap into eRFM

eRFM customer modeling is a good way to determine whether your customers are genuinely engaged. This tool empowers you to categorize customers based on their past behaviors and actions. eRFM looks at data from four metrics: engagement, recency, frequency, and monetary value.

With eRFM modeling you can develop comprehensive customer segments. Each RFM persona receives an engagement score, so you can identify customers who are primed for conversion, and those who need to be re-engaged. With detailed segments, you can use eRFM to adapt your email marketing strategy to send the right message to your audience at the best time.

2. Predictive AI (Artificial intelligence)

By utilizing predictive analytics powered by Dotdigital’s WinstonAI, you can turn insights into action. Using AI, you can segment your customers based on predicted actions such as a customer’s anticipated next purchase date. This enables you to create timely and relevant marketing campaigns that reach your audience at the perfect moment. Not only does this help you keep your customers, but it also ensures that your messages remain relevant and the conversation continues.

You can use predictive analytics to forecast what products your customers may be interested in next. WinstonAI will analyze browsing history, past purchases, and spending patterns to understand your customer’s unique tastes and interests. This allows you to offer tailored product recommendations before they even know what they want themselves.

3. Behavioral segmentation

Unlocking the full potential of email marketing begins with understanding your subscribers through behavioral segmentation. Start by closely monitoring their email interactions; keep a keen eye on email metrics like opens, clicks on links or attachments, and conversions. This data lays the foundation to help you create highly effective messaging and content.

For ecommerce business owners, understanding your customers’ buying patterns is important. Take a closer look at your customers’ purchase histories, average order value (AOV), and category preferences. This information can assist you in not only refining your segmentation strategy, but also creating personalized campaigns that cater to each customer’s interests and needs.

4. Lookalike segmentation

If you’re looking to reach potential customers who share similarities with your ideal buyers, why not try Dotdigital’s lookalike segmentation tool. To start, you’ll need to use the single customer view (SCV) feature.

Dotdigital’s SCV gives you a holistic view of every one of your customers. You can see all your customer’s interactions, preferences, and behaviors from different touchpoints like email, SMS, and website activity. This helps you better understand your target audience and you can recognize their behavior patterns and trends. With this knowledge, you can optimize and tailor your email marketing campaigns.

Once you have insights from your SCV, you can then identify ideal customer profiles to represent your best buyers and create lookalike segments based on that information. With just one click, you can use these segments to effectively target the right prospects with the right message.

5. Self-segmentation

You can get customers to self-segment using preference centers. Encouraging your customers to select their preferences at an early stage in their journey allows you to use zero-party data to create customer segments.

In the preference center, your subscribers can set and modify their content, frequency, and communication channel preferences. Then you can create segments using selected preferences to easily send messages to your contacts based on their expressed interests in your brand and products.

Alternatively, you may want to send out a survey or questionnaire to learn more about your audience and hyper-personalize your messages. Let’s say your customer service survey asks someone their job title and you find that your audience base has many teachers. Try sending out messages that align with their interests and career seasonality to strategically deliver the right message at the right time to the right people.

6. Preferred channel segmentation

When it comes to cross-channel marketing, recognizing your customer’s preferred channels is your secret weapon for maximizing audience engagement. It helps you discover the communication methods your audience prefers most. 

Start by segmenting your audience based on their preferred channel. By doing so, you will not only increase the efficiency of your segmentation strategy but also ensure a seamless cross-channel customer experience for your customers.

It’s also a good idea to maintain an up-to-date contact list of your customers’ preferred channels. This way, you can easily pinpoint where they’re most active and tailor your cross-channel marketing approach to resonate with their preferences.

By reaching out to your contacts through the channels they’re most likely to engage with, you’ll be well on your way to forging meaningful connections and nurturing long-lasting relationships with your customer base. 

7. Event-triggered segmentation

Segment customers based on key milestones in the journey with your brand. You can do this by sending them a special discount on their birthday or celebrating their brand anniversary. 

Sending personalized messages to your customers is an excellent way to demonstrate appreciation and foster brand loyalty. For instance, if you have customers who were born in a specific month and haven’t engaged with your brand in a while, you can segment this group and provide them with a customized birthday discount. This not only encourages them to come back but also demonstrates your consideration for their special occasion.

Email segmentation summary

By using these seven innovative segmentation techniques, you can deliver personalized and relevant content to engage your customers. When you make your messages more in tune with individual preferences and interests, you’re much more likely to boost engagement, form deeper connections, and ultimately make your customers happier.

It’s important to prioritize customer data privacy and make it a central part of your marketing strategy. At Dotdigital, we know that understanding data privacy can be complex and you may have concerns and questions. That’s why we created this blog to explain the key considerations and best practices you should use. By embracing these practices you’ll build trust with your customers and comply with regulations.

What is data privacy?

In a nutshell, data privacy is the protection, and the fair and transparent use of an individual’s personal information, preferences, and activities. With the rise of online customer data, new measures have been developed to protect personally identifiable information (PII) such as full names, dates of birth, email addresses, financial details, and browsing history. 

How governments and organizations are safeguarding customer data privacy

To tackle the pressing concerns surrounding data collection, governments and organizations across the world are taking action to protect personal information. As a marketer, it’s important to be compliant when collecting data. Consider keeping an eye on these regulations:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Data privacy regulations like GDPR have made a big impact on marketing. These regulations aim to give people more control over their personal data and make sure businesses ask for clear permission before getting and using their data. Due to this, digital marketers have had to change how they collect data and update their privacy policies to follow the new regulations.

One big challenge for marketers with GDPR is having to be extra clear about how they collect and use data. Companies have to let people know what they’re doing with their data and give them a choice to say yes or no to having their information collected. This makes it more complicated for marketers to target customers and personalize content, as they need to be sure they have the right permission from people before using their data.

Another key part of GDPR is handling requests for people to see or delete their data. Customers can ask companies to show them the data they have on them and request for it to be deleted if they don’t want it stored anymore. Marketers need to be ready to deal with these requests quickly and properly to follow GDPR regulations.

Emerging privacy legalization in the US

As data privacy evolves globally, the United States has started enacting its own privacy laws. Although the country has yet to implement a comprehensive, nationwide data privacy regulation similar to the European Union’s GDPR, individual states have begun stepping up their efforts to protect their citizens’ privacy.

One of the most prominent examples is the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which came into effect in January 2020. The law grants Californians more control over their personal information by giving them the right to know what data businesses collect, who they share it with, and if desired, they can delete it. Additionally, the CCPA allows consumers to opt out of selling personal information to third parties.

Several states have looked to California’s lead and are creating privacy legislation. Virginia, for instance, passed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) in March 2021, adding yet another layer of privacy protection for its citizens. Similar to the CCPA, the VCDPA gives Virginians more control over their data, offering transparency, access, deletion, and opt-out rights.

Apple’s privacy-focused updates

Marketers continue to face new challenges with Apple’s privacy-focused updates. The MPP (Mail Privacy Protection) feature, introduced in 2021, serves as one example. MPP uses a bot to open incoming emails as soon as they arrive in the recipient’s inbox. This method saves user privacy by hiding IP addresses and preventing open rates from exposing the recipient’s location or tracking their online activity.

In addition to MPP, Apple’s recent iOS 17 privacy updates add another layer of protection for users. These updates have been implemented to safeguard user data and privacy, making it increasingly difficult for marketers to track and measure engagement through traditional methods. For instance, iOS 17 features Link Tracking Protection, which automatically removes tracking parameters from messages, mail, and links, complicating the process of linking an interaction to a specific user.

Despite these challenges, you don’t need to panic. Link tracking remains a useful tool and metric, with only specific link types for certain user cases being affected. For example, Dotdigital customers are expected to see less than a 1% impact on the data they gather from link tracking. By staying informed and adapting to these changes, you can be an ethical marketer and protect your audience’s privacy.

Best practices for responsible data collection

Customers can feel limited when collecting data. If they don’t consent to data collection, their overall experience will be lessened. However, if you’re open and transparent about what data you want and why you want it, you’ll build a relationship based on honesty and integrity. Here are some ways to be ethical when collecting or using personal data: 

1. Use consent management tools: Don’t leave your customers guessing about the data you’re collecting. Use our consent insight feature at the point of sign-up. With this, you can be transparent about the data you collect, and how it will be used, and offer a fair and easy way for customers to provide (or withhold) their consent.
2. Build a preference center: Show your customers you respect their choices by providing an easily accessible preference center. Let them easily add or remove information, and include it in every email you send. 
3. Include a double opt-in: Double opt-in ensures that marketing lists are accurate and high-quality. Make it a standard for any channel you use and your customer engagement will improve.
4. Offer alternative channels: Different customers have different communication preferences. While some prefer emails, others prefer SMS or WhatsApp. Stick to their preferences by giving them the option to choose their favorite channel to ensure an optimal customer experience. 
5. Communicate the benefits: Help your customers understand how sharing their data can improve their experience with your brand. Are you offering exclusive deals? Tailoring content to their interests? Let them know what’s in it for them, and they’ll share willingly. Transparency is key. 

How to build trust and transparency

Trust is an important part of being a responsible marketer. Trust is no longer just a nice to have, it’s a necessity. Customers are more aware than ever of the potential risks associated with sharing personal information online. By establishing trust with your customers, you can reassure them that their data will be handled responsibly. This not only helps to build a positive reputation for your company but also ensures that customers feel safe and secure when interacting with you. 

Here are ways to build trust and transparency:

1. Collect zero and first-party data: To create trust and show respect for privacy, focus on collecting zero-party data by asking customers to share information via a survey or sign-up form. Also, gather first-party data from your customers’ direct actions, like website visits or social media engagements. 
2. Use data protection tools: Keep customer information safe by using encryption, secure storage systems, two-factor authentication, and safe data transfer methods. This will protect data from breaches. 
3. Educate your team: Get your team involved in a workshop or training so they can understand data privacy rules and best practices for protecting customer information.
4. Appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO): Have a dedicated person, a DPO, in charge of ensuring your company follows data privacy rules. They will also be the main contact between your company and the official authorities.
5. Regularly check your practices: Review how your company handles data privacy. Look for any weak spots and fix them to keep your practices up-to-date and effective.

Key considerations for marketers

Whether you’re aware of it or not, your data is being collected almost constantly. Regulatory breaches, brands, and buying and selling customers’ data have led to an ethical conundrum for marketers.

To tackle these ethical challenges head-on, consider the following concerns when collecting and using customer data. This will make your decisions more responsible and help maintain the trust of your customers:

1. Privacy invasion: It’s not right to take personal or sensitive information without your customers’ permission.  This could make them uneasy about their privacy and potentially put your brand at risk of legal consequences.
2. Data security: You have a responsibility to protect your customer’s data. Data breaches can lead to financial losses and damage the reputation of both your customers and your business.
3. Informed consent: Your customers should be clearly informed about the information being collected, its intended use, and the reasons for it. Transparency goes a long way in building trust.
4. Data minimization: Keep it simple, focus on collecting only what’s necessary, rather than keeping extra data. This approach reduces risks and shows respect for your customers’ privacy.
5. Unwanted communications: It’s not okay to use customer data to send emails, text messages, or make calls without their permission. Doing this can invade their privacy and might even break privacy laws.
6. Unfair targeting practices: Avoid using personal information like gender, race, or disability to unfairly exclude groups. This can lead to discrimination and unequal treatment.
7. Misuse of data: Hold off on using customer data without permission. These actions are not only unethical but can also break down customer trust. Marketers have a responsibility to make sure any third parties they work with handle data properly.
8. Accuracy of data: Double-check and keep customer data accurate, current, and up-to-date. When you use incorrect information it can lead to a negative customer experience.

By sticking to these guidelines, not only will you reduce risk when collecting data, but you’ll also create an environment where your customers feel valued and respected. When your audience knows their privacy is a top priority, you’ll establish a strong foundation of trust that paves the way for more meaningful and long-lasting relationships. In turn, your marketing efforts will flourish as your customers reward you with their loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and a genuine appreciation for your brand’s commitment to ethical practices.

Future-proof your marketing with Dotdigital

As a marketer, you should use a marketing platform that values data protection and customer trust is essential. Dotdigital, an ISO 27701-certified customer experience and data platform (CXDP), equips you with the tools to stay ahead of the curve and deliver personalized customer experiences. By using these best practices, you’ll stay compliant with data privacy regulations and grow stronger relationships with your audience.