Litmus’ 2021 State of Email study reported that 90% of those surveyed thought personalization was an imperative business strategy, in large part because nearly 75% of buyers expected greater personal attention from marketers.
The most frequently used way to “personalize” an email is using the recipient’s name, company or some other profile data captured in the subscriber’s contact fields, with about a 10% increase in use from 2020 to 2021. Stated another way, first party data is the “go-to” tactic.
Customer segmentation based on status (active, inactive, prospect, buyer, etc.) was next most popular with marketers, growing by 30% in use year to year. I submit that chart below is more a reflection of marketers realizing that there are too many “empty fields” in their contacts’ profile and are catching up with the basics.
See the top 10 personalization factors used by email marketers according to Litmus.
But personalization factors based on the past were used less frequently in the email world. Prior purchases and previous website interactions were both down 4% in usage. Even a using customer’s expressed preferences was flat year-over-year.
Question: Do you think you'll be the guy to make the queen of the angels sigh?
Answer: Then you better know her name!