It’s time for spring cleaning… including your marketing database!
It’s a great time of year – the windows fly open and it’s time to clean out the garage and all the cluttered spaces neglected during the cold months. In our house, spring cleaning means getting ready for a busy and productive rest of the year. The first step is to separate and sort all of our junk. In this article, I’ll try to convince you that you need to do the same thing with your marketing database.
We see lots of old data get collected year after year in salons, bogging down the marketing statistics. More importantly, marketing data remains in a large, all-encompassing list and never gets segmented into appropriate categories. There’s a lot of data there, but it’s just one big cluttered mess.
So, how do you clean up and segment your email marketing data? Here are some easy steps.
The Disengaged Need to be Ditched
Most email programs have mechanisms to clean out messages that have bounced a certain number of times, but what about those that have never engaged with your messaging? Here’s an easy three-step plan to clean up your data.
1. Look at your email list for all the recipients who have not opened or clicked on your emails over the last 1-3 years.
2. Run a new campaign to this specific category and see who engages with your message.
3. Remove from your list those who don’t engage. Spring cleaning!
Focus on Your Most Engaged Tanners
Segment your data so that you can send specific messages to your most engaged clients. The old adage is “fish where the fish are.” So often we don’t do this in marketing. You have a segment of your list that is most “tuned in” = dig in deep with these people.
Segment by Behavior
Don’t be content to leave your marketing database in one big clump like that huge stack of stuff that sits on the living room table and never moves. Segment! Separate by location, zip code, birthday month, lotion preference, age, gender, product purchases, EFT packages, etc. After segmenting, market to them specifically and watch your engagement rate soar.
Test, Test & Test Some More
Have fun with this. Test different subject lines, promos, and send specific messages to segmented lists; then measure success rate and repeat. Always have a mechanism to measure your efforts.
Spring cleaning can be a huge boon to your marketing efforts. By removing the dead weight and sorting your data, you will improve your metrics and get yourself prepared for successful marketing in the months and years to come.
Enjoy your spring!
