Tip #281: Want More Clicks? Segment Your Email List

Imagine yourself catching up with your extended family at Thanksgiving dinner. Chances are you wouldn’t share the same stories with your dear ole’ granny in the exact same way you would your favorite cousin/BFF. Similar to email segmentation, you may want to create different email messaging for your loyal customers versus someone who has never set foot in your store but signed up for your email list in hopes of winning a giveaway.

Segmentation is the practice of dividing individuals into groups based on similar characteristics, such as interests, demographics or behaviors. Think about what happens when you sign up to receive emails from a business, only to find you’re not interested in the content. It doesn't take long before you start to delete their emails before looking at them, and eventually unsubscribe. Segmentation helps ensure the content in your email is relevant to unique groups of subscribers.

WHY SEGMENT?

According to MailChimp, segmentation leads to better open rates, more clicks and less unsubscribe rates. In fact, users who segment their email lists experience 64.78% more clicks than those who don’t use segmentation.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Here's some ideas from BigCommerce.com for categories you could focus on to segment your email list.

• Loyal/return shoppers
• High total transaction customers
• Subscribers who have not made a purchase
• Customers who haven’t made a purchase within 30 days, 90 days and 180 days
• Demographics such as age, location, etc.

If you're wondering how to identify which contacts fit in to which segments, here's three ways to source information.

  

1. LEVERAGE SALES DATA

You may already be capturing some of this sales data through your point-of-sale system which could help you identify top purchasers and one-time purchasers. Identifying sales data could present opportunities to upsell products, that could have otherwise been missed by sending your contacts the wrong messaging.

2. ASK FOR THEIR PREFERENCE

If you don't have access to your sales data, consider adding options like those pictured below to your subscription form to help you better meet the expectations of your contacts. Or if you have a printed sign-up sheet in your store, give them the opportunity to choose from a couple different options.

Constant Contact

3. TRACK SUBSCRIBER BEHAVIORS

If you use an email service provider like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, etc. use their reporting features to identify what emails your contacts are reading, clicking and plain ignoring. Use this information to tailor emails that better suit their interests.

During the upcoming holiday season, leverage increased traffic, both in-store and online, to learn more about your customers and build a more effective email list. Identifying different segments of your contacts will not only help you better communicate through targeted messaging, but you can expect this tactic will improve your conversion rate too.

RCI Members: Constant Contact Email Marketing offers a fast, effective way to get your message out to customers and keep your organization top of mind. Start your email marketing today and receive an RCI member discount of 20% for purchasing the 6 month prepaid option or a discount of 25% for purchasing the 12 month prepaid option. Already use Constant Contact? Contact RCI to begin receiving the member discount.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Throwback Tip #146 Create Gingerbread House Kits

Photo credit: Flickr, Carrie Stephens

It’s hard to believe Christmas is just over two months away! The closeness of Christmas is why this week’s tip is a holiday idea that’s fun for kids of all ages. Host a gingerbread house making party!

A kit a Marie's Candies includes a pre-made house crafted out
of graham crackers, a bag of icing "glue" and a bag of
assorted holiday candies.

Create the individual kits ahead of time with graham crackers, icing and the colorful candies to decorate the houses. Then, charge a set fee and invite families and children to come make their own gingerbread house. Be sure to have plates available for them to take their creation home. RCI member, Marie’s Candies, has had great success inviting customers to decorate gingerbread houses during their annual holiday open house. You also could make it a weekly Saturday activity leading up to Christmas. The possibilities and ideas for this activity are endless!

Not up to hosting a party at your store yet, or don’t have the space? You can still create kits that customers can purchase and take home. Then, ask them to share photos of the finished products on your Facebook page. It’s a great way to stay connected to your customers!

RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Review past blog posts for quick and actionable tips to apply to your business. Look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip #280: Free Shipping: What You Should Know

Did you know Free Shipping Day is Friday, December 14? This commercial holiday was introduced in 2008 as a way to extend the online shopping season, that for many e-commerce retailers starts to diminish following Cyber Monday at the end of November.

Last December, Freeshipping.com attracted 500,000 consumers looking to save on holiday gifts. If you already have an e-commerce site, participating in Free Shipping Day could help your business gain exposure and entice new consumers to discover your products. 

Before jumping on the bandwagon, we highly recommend doing your research to ensure you don’t get burned by low profit margins or unexpected demand. You will find that many companies require a minimum spend (or threshold) for shoppers to qualify for free shipping, while others restrict qualifying purchases to best-selling products with the highest profit margins. Another idea may be to limit your free shipping promo code to only new or loyal customers or create your own free shipping day at a time when sales are slower, and forget signing up with Freeshipping.com until you have a better grasp on what to expect for the holiday.

If you’re looking to increase your website’s conversion rate, this is almost guaranteed to do the trick, however, it is important that you also understand this kind of promotion comes with risks, especially during the busy holiday season. RCI member, Rheo Thompson Candies, had great past success generating early Easter orders with a free shipping promotion, however, they later concluded the promotion was conditioning their customers to wait for free shipping to place their holiday orders. If this is a route you wish to explore, consider limitations to help avoid customers abusing the promotion. Perhaps limit free shipping within a certain radius of your store to reduce shipping expenses.

A free shipping promotion can be a great way to attract new customers or thank loyal customers, but as with any successful promotion it requires careful preparation and planning to ensure the result is worth the investment. To learn more and get involved, visit freeshipping.com. Here, retailers are invited to fill out a form on their website to be listed as one of the over a thousand participating businesses. Have you participated in Free Shipping Day in the past? If so, tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Review past blog posts for quick and actionable tips to apply to your business. Look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Throwback Tip #165: Celebrate Sweetest Day

Do you celebrate Sweetest Day at your candy shop? A favorite candy holiday in the Great Lakes region (more specifically Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit), it originated in 1922 when Herbert Birch Kingston, a Cleveand candy maker, decided to give candy and small gifts to the city’s orphans and shut-ins, all who are often forgotten and neglected. With the help of friends and neighbors, he distributed these small remembrances on a Saturday in October. For years to follow, other Clevelanders began to participate in the tradition, which came to be known as "Sweetest Day.”

Al Herz, 1929 RCI Board President, treats local
orphans in with chocolates and entertainment from
the Little Rascals on Sweetest Day in 1928.

In time, the idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged broadened to include everyone from family and significant others to coworkers and acquaintances with a kind act or a small remembrance. With a little help from movie stars in the 1930s, the idea quickly spread to other cities all over the country.

For many people, remembering takes the form of gift giving. For this reason, Sweetest Day offers an unique opportunity to offer all kinds of gift items. Falling midway between Father's Day in June and Christmas in December, Sweetest Day provides an occasion for the opening of fall merchandising programs and the promotion of various products, not the least of which is candy and boxed chocolate.

Other Ideas to Promote Sweetest Day

• Remind your customers of Sweetest Day through social media, email and in-store signage. Click here to download our free graphic.
• Send press releases about Sweetest Day to your local media and let them know of ways your business can help customers celebrate. Click here for more information about the holiday on RCI’s website.
• Be prepared to explain Sweetest Day and to make suggestions regarding appropriate gifts, keeping in mind that the possibilities are limitless.
• Create a prominent display of merchandise for Sweetest Day.

Gaining in popularity throughout the country every year, some RCI members have reported sales from Sweetest Day exceeding Mothers Day. This year, Sweetest Day will take place October 20, the third Saturday in October.

RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Review past blog posts for quick and actionable tips to apply to your business. Look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.