Gain Relevance with Segments... Made Easy

In our last few posts, we’ve been exploring specific Bronto features that help retailers and commerce-focused companies drive more revenue.

Today’s topic is segmentation, which involves splitting your email list into groups, where each group has shared characteristics. You can then tailor your campaigns to each group. This is a proven way to increase relevance, deliver more value via email and boost revenue.

So here’s the What, Where, When, Why and How behind segmentation in Bronto.

WHAT’s cool about segments in Bronto?

• Easy-to-use—Creating segments only takes a few clicks. You can build advanced segments by using simple AND/OR statements and selecting from pre-defined criteria in drop-down menus. The number of contacts in your segment is calculated dynamically, so you can quickly see how large or small your segment is as you build it out.

• Flexible—You can create segments and target your messages based on a wide range of criteria, including contact attributes (profile/demographic data), email behavior (opens, clicks, conversions, etc), form responses and more.

• Dynamic—The segments you build and save will refresh automatically before a send so that the data is always up-to-date.  

WHERE do I create segments in the Bronto application?

Contacts → Segments → Create Segment

Name your segment and start building. Simple!

WHEN should I start using segments?

The earlier the better! Think in terms of a phased approach. Start by creating segments based on user profile data—for example, gender, birthday, location, or contact source. The next phase would be to segment on email behavior data, i.e., opens, clicks and conversions. A related best practice is to start using JavaScript Conversion Tracking. You will eventually be able to segment on conversion and product data in Bronto, so it’s good to start capturing this information.

WHY segment?

• Increase relevance—Segments allow you to be more targeted and more personal with your messages. Your subscribers are diverse; they have varying profiles, interests and buying preferences, and you want your messages and offers to reflect that.

• Boost email ROI—Segmentation is a proven method of increasing the return on your email investment. Use of segments improves conversions and increases revenue.  

HOW do I know that segmentation is effective?

Discount Dance Supply, a Bronto customer, used segmentation to more effectively target their customers, and has seen an 84% increase in e-commerce sales tied to email marketing. Read the success story here.

Other clients who have used segmentation in Bronto to drive more revenue include Sports Unlimited, Beauty Bridge, Blooms Today and American Meadows. Read the success stories here.

Also, be sure to glance at the segmentation docs in the application.

Till next time!
 

Damian Trzebunia (Che-boon-ya)
Product Marketing Manager
Bronto Software