What is Targeted Email Marketing? (With Examples)
Consumers expect personalization: 71% want tailored interactions, and 76% feel frustrated when brands don’t deliver.
Targeted email marketing boosts engagement: Targeted email marketing is crucial if you plan to to meet your consumer expectations and create a personal connection.
Data is essential for success: Browsing habits and purchase history help you craft tailored messaging for your audience.
Clean email lists matter: Maintaining list hygiene is key to getting your messages into your audience's inboxes.
Today’s consumers expect brands to treat them as individuals, and targeted email marketing is the key to meeting this expectation.
No one wants "batch and blast" emails anymore. According to McKinsey, 71% of consumers want personalized interactions, and 76% feel frustrated when brands fail to deliver.
When brands go beyond transactions and build relationships through thoughtful follow-ups, personalized product recommendations, or asking for feedback, the results are resoundingly positive.
This is an opportunity for business owners and marketers to design targeted email marketing campaigns that truly connect with customers. Read on to learn what targeted email marketing is and how to create an email marketing strategy that keeps customers engaged and your brand at the top of your mind.
What Is Targeted Email Marketing?
Targeted email marketing is a strategy whereby businesses send out highly personalized content with the goal of reaching a specific segment of their target audience and moving them to action.
The key is to segment your audience appropriately and then identify which content most likely resonates with that particular demographic. This information can be gleaned through personal data you’ve collected, such as:
- Browsing habits
- Purchase history
- Or product usage
Example of a Targeted Email Marketing Campaign
Swiss running shoe company, On, uses personalization and email marketing automation in its campaigns to connect with running enthusiasts worldwide.
Realizing that their potential customers are avid travelers, On decided to tap into that interest to create a targeted email marketing campaign.
When runners arrive in a new city, they can download running maps from On’s website. Once they’ve downloaded a map, they automatically receive an email with the map they’ve selected. Once they’ve chosen a map, it automatically arrives in their email inbox.
Not only does it offer an interesting route for a run, but it also highlights restaurants, shops, and local destinations to check out along the way.
The company uses customer data to tailor their suggestions according to consumer purchases and interests, providing them with informative and useful content without being too salesy.
These email campaigns have directly impacted sales—the company has seen a 20% jump in e-commerce sales driven by their email marketing and 10% more engagement on personalized campaigns (Campaign Monitor).
5 Benefits of Implementing Targeted Email Marketing Campaigns
Targeted email marketing campaigns deliver tailored content to specific customer segments, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion. Unlike mass email blasts, these campaigns ensure the right message reaches the right audience, creating a more personalized experience that drives results.
1. Increases Prospect and Customer Engagement
To maximize engagement, a successful targeted email marketing campaign uses curated content related to individual needs or interests. This personalized approach leads to more opens, clicks, and conversions. Well-segmented campaigns that deeply resonate with consumers can lead to a 760% increase in revenue (Neil Patel).
Personalized messaging improves customer experience and significantly boosts your marketing performance.
2. Increases Email Personalization
Personalization strengthens your connection with customers, leading to higher engagement. Messages that speak directly to the recipient help you stand out amid increasingly crowded inboxes.
Tailored emails can drive up to 6 times more transactions than generic emails (Neil Patel), demonstrating that personalization pays.
Customizing your email campaigns fosters stronger relationships with your audience and unlocks significant revenue potential.
3. Increases Conversions
Targeted email marketing campaigns increase conversions by delivering content that resonates with specific customer segments. When you send consumers content that feels curated for them, it increases engagement and higher conversion rates.
How much higher, you ask? Segmented email campaigns can lead to a 760% increase in revenue compared to non-targeted campaigns, and using personalized, dynamic content can generate up to 50% higher open rates and 100% higher click rates (Snov.io).
Personalized messaging helps you connect with recipients on a whole new level, making them more likely to engage and convert.
4. Increases Email Campaign ROI
Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective strategies for reaching customers and driving conversions, but maximizing return on investment (ROI) still presents a challenge.
Brands that incorporate dynamic content into their email marketing campaigns see a 22% higher ROI, underscoring the importance of personalization and targeted messaging (Prism Reach).
A well-targeted email campaign can dramatically enhance ROI by ensuring that your marketing budget is spent on delivering relevant content to an engaged audience.
5. Increases Customer Retention and Loyalty
The cost of acquiring new customers is five times higher than retaining existing ones (Optimove).
Targeted email marketing is essential for keeping customers coming back. You create a deeper bond with your audience by consistently delivering valuable content and engaging in ongoing conversations. This connection turns casual browsers into loyal customers who champion your brand.
When you show that you genuinely value your customers as individuals, it not only increases their lifetime value but also boosts their likelihood of sticking around and spreading the word about your business, leading to sustainable growth. A 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by anywhere from 25% to 95% (MailerCloud).
How To Set Up a Targeted Email Marketing Campaign
When running successful campaigns, following certain email marketing best practices can boost effectiveness and maximize ROI.
From carefully selecting the right email marketing platform for the job to smart segmentation strategies, these tried-and-true techniques will make your targeted email marketing campaigns shine.
1. Gather the Relevant Customer Data
Every successful targeted email marketing campaign starts with a foundation of solid customer data. With a clear understanding of who your subscribers are and what they want, you’re way more likely to be able to give it to them.
There are several ways to collect customer data, from opt-in subscription forms and website tracking via cookies to email engagement metrics and integration with CRM tools. When it comes to data collection, more is better. The richer your customer information, the more precise your targeting will be.
Pro Tips for Maximizing Data Collection:
- Use targeted opt-in forms: Tailor your subscription forms to capture the most relevant information based on your campaign goals.
- Leverage analytics tools: Use website tracking and email engagement metrics to understand subscriber behaviors better.
- Integrate with CRM systems: Connect your email marketing software with your CRM to centralize customer data and enhance segmentation efforts.
The more you know about your customers, the better you can communicate with them. Investing time in gathering and analyzing relevant data will set the stage for highly effective email marketing campaigns that connect with your audience and drive results.
2. Use Segmentation to Create a Targeted Email List
Segmentation is a strategy for dividing your email list into groups based on shared characteristics. It enables you to send out a variety of emails tailored to each specific group, leading to improved engagement and conversions.
When you send relevant content to specific groups—whether based on demographics, behaviors, or customer preferences—you create a more personalized experience that garners better results.
This approach enhances customer satisfaction by delivering what customers actually want to receive and optimizes marketing spend by targeting only the most relevant audiences.
Pro Tips for Effective Segmentation:
- Analyze subscriber behavior: Use data on past purchases, email engagement, and website interactions to group subscribers based on their interests and actions.
- Create buyer personas: Develop detailed profiles for your ideal customers to guide your segmentation efforts, ensuring you cater to the specific needs and preferences of each customer persona.
- Test and refine: Experiment with different segmentation criteria and track your results. Regularly update your segments based on new data to keep your email campaigns fresh and relevant.
By cultivating a better understanding of your subscribers, you can maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts.
3. Use Customer and Segmentation Data to Personalize Your Emails
Once you’ve segmented your audience, it's time to leverage your email marketing tool's personalization capabilities to build email experiences for each segment.
74% of digital marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement, and they see an average increase of 20% in sales when using personalized experiences (Campaign Monitor).
To make your emails more personal, incorporate tailored email content, offers, and timing based on specific customer attributes and behaviors.
There are many ways to personalize your email marketing campaigns beyond simply using the recipient's name in the subject line or greeting. Here are some ideas to inspire you:
- Segment-specific content blocks: Dynamically adapt sections like featured product recommendations, related content/resources, and calls-to-action based on each segment's interests, purchase behavior, and sales funnel position.
- Personalized multimedia: Use the right images, graphics, videos, and other visuals to align with each segment's product interests, use cases, or verticals.
- Conditional email pathways: Rather than one-size-fits-all campaigns, trigger fully customized, multi-branch automated workflows molded for each segment profile and their stage in the customer lifecycle.
- Tailored messaging: Adapt the actual voice, writing tone, terminology, examples used, and more to authentically speak to a segment's specific roles, backgrounds, and vernacular.
Pro Tips to Personalize Your Emails:
- Collect and analyze both demographic and behavioral data
- Use dynamic content to customize email elements automatically
- Continuously test and refine your segmentation strategies
Effective email personalization transforms generic blasts into targeted conversations, fostering stronger customer relationships and driving better results.
4. Choose an Email Marketing Automation Platform
Attempting to send out segmented, personalized email campaigns manually would be an operational nightmare. Luckily, you don’t have to do that!
The best email automation software provides you with powerful automation capabilities to help you scale your targeted marketing efforts. You'll find you can also streamline every aspect of segmentation and customized campaign execution.
Pro Tips for Choosing the Right Email Marketing Automation Platform:
- Test drive before you decide: Don't just rely on feature lists and sales pitches. Take advantage of free trials or demos offered by different platforms. Get your hands dirty with the interface, try setting up a sample campaign, and see how intuitive the segmentation tools are. This hands-on experience will give you a better feel for whether a platform suits your team's needs and workflow.
- Consider integration capabilities: Look for a platform that complements your existing tech stack. The ability to seamlessly integrate with your CRM, e-commerce platform, or analytics tools can be a game-changer. It ensures data flows smoothly between systems, enabling more accurate segmentation and personalization. It'll save you countless hours of manual data entry or imports.
- Prioritize scalability: Choose a platform that can grow with your business. While it might be tempting to go for a more straightforward, cheaper option now, consider whether it will still meet your needs in a year or two. Look for platforms that offer tiered plans or modular features so your business and email marketing efforts can grow right along with it.
Using custom field mapping and personalization functionality, you can automatically inject tailored copy, images, offers, and calls-to-action into email marketing templates coded for each segment with just a few clicks.
Here’s our pick of the very best email marketing automation software and what each does best:
5. Write an Engaging Email
A well-crafted email can make all the difference between a successful campaign and one that falls flat.
A well-written email helps build trust with your audience, increases brand awareness, and drives conversions.
Pro Tips For Drafting an Engaging Email:
- Personalize your email: Address your readers by name and tailor the content based on their preferences and interests.
- Keep it concise: Keep your email brief and to the point, avoiding clutter and unnecessary information.
- Use storytelling techniques: Write an email readers can relate to by using anecdotes, metaphors, or customer testimonials.
Recipients tend to favor emails that feel like they were written just for them,, so take the time to get it right!
6. End with a Specific Call-to-Action (CTA)
A compelling CTA is the linchpin of a successful targeted email marketing campaign. By crafting a clear, prominent, and actionable CTA, you can convert leads into customers and drive noticeable results.
The correct CTA tells your email recipients what to do next. Depending on your target demographic, you may want them to "Sign up now" or "Learn more." Keep your audience in mind as you would with other elements of your email. Consider if they’re likely to want to learn more or are ready to purchase.
3 Pro Tips for Crafting Compelling CTAs:
- Make it prominent: Use eye-catching design and placement to draw attention to your CTA.
- Use action-oriented language: Verbs like "Get," "Discover," and "Explore" encourage action.
- Keep it simple: Avoid clutter and ensure your CTA is easy to understand and click.
A well-designed CTA can significantly boost conversion rates, drive website traffic, and generate leads.
7. A/B Test Your Email Before Sending to the Larger Group
The most minor details can significantly affect the results of your email marketing campaign. Before you send out your emails to the masses, use A/B testing to assess the impact of different variables and secure the success of your campaign.
A/B testing involves experimenting with multiple variations of your email campaigns, such as subject lines, sender names, call-to-action buttons, and email content, to determine which version performs best.
You'll split your list into sample segments, analyze engagement metrics, and send out the winning version to your remaining recipients.
Pro Tips for Getting the Best Out of A/B Testing:
- Test one variable at a time: Isolate the element you're testing to ensure accurate results.
- Use statistically significant sample sizes: Ensure your sample segments are large enough to produce reliable results.
- Set clear goals: Define what success looks like for your test, whether it's open rates, click-through rates, or conversions.
A/B testing allows you to continuously optimize and refine your targeted email marketing approach, ensuring maximum impact and ROI.
8. Measure Email Marketing Success and Optimize Where Necessary
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates to gauge the success of your campaign and identify areas for improvement.
Pro Tips for Tracking KPIs and Optimizing Your Email Marketing:
- Track and compare email open rates by segment: Monitor how different audience segments engage with your emails by tracking open rates. Compare these metrics across campaigns to identify which segments need more tailored content or different timing.
- Monitor click-through rates by email element: Use heatmaps or click tracking to analyze which elements (links, buttons, images) drive the most engagement. This data allows you to optimize future emails by placing high-performing elements in prominent locations.
- Focus on conversion rates for A/B testing: While tracking conversions, A/B test various components like subject lines, email layout, or CTA positioning. Focus on conversion rates to see which variations lead to the most actions, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Regularly tracking metrics and adjusting your approach ensures that your email marketing campaigns continue to drive results, improve over time, and align with your overall marketing goals.
Targeted Email Campaign Use Cases
Targeted email marketing allows us to deliver personalized content based on specific data points, creating more engaging and relevant experiences for customers.
By leveraging user insights such as location, preferences, and behavior, brands can optimize their email campaigns to boost conversions and customer loyalty. Below are different use cases for targeted campaigns and practical email marketing tips to ensure success.
Use Case #1. Location-Based Targeted Email Marketing
Location-based email marketing uses geographic data, such as zip or postal codes, to segment users and deliver relevant content based on where they live, work, or vacation. This strategy allows businesses to offer personalized promotions, updates, or recommendations that resonate with the recipient’s local environment.
For instance, real estate platforms like Zillow use zip code data to send property market reports tailored to their users’ specific areas of interest.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Segment according to local trends: Group users by location and send content that refers to local events, trends, or seasonal factors.
- Use geo-targeted offers: Tailor promotions or discounts to specific regions to increase conversion rates.
- Test location-based triggers: Set triggers based on user actions within specific locations (e.g., visiting a particular store) to automate follow-up emails.
Location-based email marketing helps you reach customers with personalized, hyper-localized content that enhances engagement and drives action.
Use Case #2. Preference-Based Targeted Email Marketing
Preference-based email marketing involves segmenting users based on their priorities, such as preferred product categories, communication preferences, or frequency of updates. By catering to each recipient’s specific interests, you can send more relevant emails, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Survey your audience: Ask subscribers about their preferences to gather direct insights that inform your campaign strategy.
- Use dynamic content: Personalize email content dynamically based on user preferences without needing separate campaigns for each segment.
- Optimize frequency: To reduce unsubscribe rates and improve overall satisfaction, offer users the option to choose how often they receive emails.
When you tailor emails to a customer’s specific preferences, you increase engagement and loyalty, ensuring that your content feels more personal and less intrusive.
Use Case #3. Gender-Based Targeted Email Marketing
Gender-based email marketing segments users based on gender identity, allowing brands to deliver targeted promotions, content, and product recommendations. This method can be particularly effective in industries like fashion, beauty, and wellness, where product lines or campaigns may differ based on gender.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Avoid stereotypes: Ensure your messaging is inclusive and avoid gender-based assumptions that may alienate certain customers.
- A/B test campaigns: Test different messaging and visuals for different gender segments to identify what resonates best with each group.
- Consider non-binary audiences: Include gender-neutral options to respect and engage with non-binary or gender-fluid customers.
Gender-based marketing can effectively boost relevancy, but it’s important to be sensitive and inclusive in your approach to avoid alienating segments of your audience.
Use Case #4. Weather-Based Targeted Email Marketing
Weather-based email marketing allows businesses to deliver content based on local weather conditions. For example, a retail brand might promote winter coats to customers in colder regions while suggesting beachwear to those in warmer climates. This highly targeted approach can increase engagement by offering products that meet consumer needs.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Leverage real-time data: Use real-time weather data to trigger location-based campaigns that reflect current weather conditions.
- Promote seasonal products: Highlight season-appropriate items or services, such as rain gear during stormy weather or sunscreen in sunny areas.
- Include local imagery: Enhance relevance by using imagery that mirrors the recipient's weather, such as snowy scenes for cold regions.
Weather-based email marketing is a dynamic way to deliver highly relevant, timely content, making your campaigns more engaging and actionable.
Use Case #5. Behavioral-Based Targeted Email Marketing
Behavioural-based email marketing targets customers based on their actions, such as past purchases, browsing activity, or engagement history.
By understanding a user’s behavior, you can send tailored recommendations, abandoned cart reminders, or re-engagement emails that reflect their interests and needs.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Track user activity: Use website analytics to track customer behavior and trigger emails based on specific actions, such as viewing certain products.
- Send abandoned cart emails: Recover lost sales by reminding customers of items they left in their cart, possibly with a discount to incentivize completion.
- Offer personalized recommendations: Suggest similar or complementary products based on previous purchases to encourage repeat business.
Behavior-based marketing directly responds to customer actions, increasing the likelihood of conversion by offering timely, personalized messages.
Use Case #6. Product Lifestyle-Based Targeted Email Marketing
Product lifecycle-based email marketing targets users based on their stage in the customer journey, whether they are new customers, regular buyers, or users you haven’t heard from in a while.
This strategy ensures that customers receive relevant messaging that aligns with their current stage in the lifecycle, encouraging retention and continued engagement.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Create a welcome sequence: Send a welcome email sequence to new subscribers, introducing them to your brand and products.
- Reward loyalty: Provide exclusive offers or loyalty rewards to regular buyers to keep them engaged and coming back.
- Re-engage lapsed customers: Use win-back campaigns with personalized offers to re-engage customers who haven’t interacted with your brand in a while.
Lifecycle-based emails ensure that your messaging is relevant to the customer's journey, improving engagement and retention.
Join For More Email Marketing Insights
Incorporating targeted email campaigns into your strategy lets you personalize the customer experience and improve engagement across different segments.
By leveraging data like location, preferences, behavior, and more, you can craft different types of emails that resonate with your audience and align with your marketing goals. Track KPIs and continually optimize your approach to stay ahead of the competition.
Ready to elevate your email marketing game with a more personalized, data-driven approach? Subscribe to The CMO newsletter for more targeted campaign tactics to help you stay ahead of the curve.
