E-mail on Steroids

Dynamic personalization
With dynamic personalization, messages are customized to a customer’s specific needs and interests by automatically inserting appropriate content in real time into an e-mail message. This sophisticated technology allows marketers to deliver hundreds or thousands of offer or segment combinations where the messages can be managed and assembled “on the fly.”

Typically, this technique is employed as part of a marketer’s regular messaging program. A portion of the message may be customized by including a particular item of interest to a segment of the list or a special announcement for certain groups of customers.

Think about the last time you visited an auto dealership to purchase a car. The salesperson probed to find your hot buttons. He or she first wanted to understand whether you were interested in a luxury, sport or utility vehicle. You then were asked about factors important to you, such as fuel economy, leg room, performance and reliability. Then the sales pitch was tailored to your wants and needs.

With online marketing, you can use similar intelligence gathering to craft your messaging. Demographics, prior purchase history, e-mail clickthrough information and online browsing behavior all can play a part in your decision process. For example:

* A sales organization might customize e-mails to account holders by inserting a picture of their specific account representative and having his or her signature and contact information in each customer e-mail.

* A retailer might use geography as a key messaging factor and insert information about in-store events based on ZIP code. The entire list might receive the same featured items for the campaign, but the insertion of local promotional information makes the message feel more personal.

* A B-to-B marketer that serves multiple verticals might collect industry, department and title information to send content that will resonate with each recipient.