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Welcome to Marketing Personalisation 201: Lessons from Luxury Brands!

But why are we looking to luxury for lessons in marketing personalisation? Because for these high-end brands, personalisation isn’t an afterthought; it’s the very foundation of their existence.

And lucky for us, their secrets aren’t locked away in gilded vaults.

In this crash course, we’ll explore how luxury brands weave personalisation into the fabric of their customer experience, creating connections that go beyond just a sale.

Get ready to take notes—these high-end lessons will have your customers feeling like royalty, without the royal price tag!

What is Personalised Marketing?

Personalised marketing has come a long way from adding “Dear [First Name]” to an email campaign and calling it a day.

Nowadays, personalised marketing refers to the shift from the one-size-fits-all approach of the past to a strategy that acknowledges each customer’s unique needs, preferences, and behaviours. This said shift has been driven by technology and a fundamental change in consumer expectations.

Customers want to be seen, not just sold to.

And now, with access to simple yet sophisticated data collection methods, brands get to gain insights into customer preferences, which, in turn, help tailor all marketing communications. Think targeted social media ads, personalised emails, or product recommendations based on past purchases.

Luxury brands have long been the masters of personalisation. From remembering a client’s preferred beverage to crafting bespoke experiences, everything is done to make each customer feel special.

Cause in luxury marketing, personalisation isn’t just a strategy; it’s an experience. 

An Overview of Luxury Brands’ Expertise in Personalisation

Luxury brands have mastered the art of personalisation, elevating it beyond mere marketing tactics.

These brands understand that personalisation isn’t just about offering choices. It’s about exceeding expectations by anticipating desires and crafting experiences that feel intimate and special. 

This focus on detail and human connection allows them to build lasting relationships with their customers, solidifying their position in the hearts (and wardrobes) of luxury aficionados.

Here’s a glimpse into their playbook:

The Art of Bespoke

Think bespoke tailoring from brands like Armani, where you choose every detail from fabric to buttons, or Hermès’ Birkin “program”, where obtaining your dream bag can take years.

This level of personalisation imbues the product with a special significance, a one-of-a-kind treasure that reflects your individuality.

Exclusive Experiences

Luxury stores are more than just retail spaces; they’re personalised havens. Think private shopping consultations where a knowledgeable salesperson guides you through a curated selection based on your preferences.

Tiffany & Co., for example, offers engraving services to personalise your jewellery, adding a sentimental touch beyond the physical object.

Cartier “Tank Louis Cartier Watch” product detail page (PDP) shows an option for engraving the product.
Image source: Cartier

Heritage and Craftsmanship

Luxury brands leverage their rich history and meticulous craftsmanship to create personalised experiences.

Imagine receiving a handwritten note from a jeweller like Tiffany & Co. detailing the provenance of the gemstone chosen for your custom necklace. This attention to detail and appreciation for heritage adds an emotional layer to personalisation, making it truly special.

The Power of Exclusivity in Luxury Marketing

The desire for something rare and unobtainable is deeply ingrained in human psychology.  We often value things more because they are not readily available to everyone. This fuels the allure of luxury brands, creating an association with prestige, success, and a sense of belonging.

So, how do luxury brands maintain this air of exclusivity? Let’s take a look at some of the luxury marketing strategies that create this sense of mystique:

Luxury brands masterfully walk the tightrope between personalisation and exclusivity.  They personalise experiences without sacrificing the aura of being part of a privileged few. This creates a powerful emotional connection with customers, fostering brand loyalty that transcends mere transactions.

At its core, luxury marketing is about belonging and being seen and valued as an individual within a discerning group.

5 Personalisation Lessons from Luxury Marketing for Other Industries 

Luxury brands aren’t just masters of indulgence; they’re experts in building lasting customer relationships. Here are five key lessons you can adapt for your own business, regardless of industry:

1. Anticipate Needs with Data

Luxury brands excel at anticipating customer desires, ensuring their services are received at just the right time—never too late nor early.

Because they know their customers personally, these brands know their customers’ shopping habits and frequencies and understand their preferences.

For non-luxury brands, this translates to utilising customer relationship management (CRM) systems and real-time website analytics. Analyse purchase history and browsing behaviour to recommend relevant products or services.

Think of a travel company recommending personalised vacation packages based on previous trips or a music streaming service creating curated playlists based on listening habits.

2. Craft Memorable Moments

Luxury experiences go beyond the product itself. Imagine receiving a handwritten birthday card with a special discount or a surprise upgrade on your flight.

Non-luxury brands can create memorable moments through personalised birthday emails with exclusive offers or loyalty program rewards that unlock unique experiences.

Think about how you can inject a touch of surprise and delight into your customer interactions. For example, a fitness centre could offer a complimentary personal training session for a member’s birthday, or a restaurant could offer a personalised anniversary dessert for the occasion.

3. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC) and Social Proof

Luxury brands often leverage the power of celebrity endorsements. Take inspiration from this form of social proof marketing by encouraging user-generated content.

Non-luxury brands can leverage UGC by incorporating customer reviews, photos, or testimonials into their website, social media or newsletters.

Run contests encouraging customers to share photos or videos using your products or services. Not only does this create a sense of community, but it also provides valuable insights into how customers perceive your brand.

4. Prioritise a Seamless Customer Journey

Luxury service is all about anticipating and fulfilling customer needs.

For non-luxury brands, this translates to offering a smooth and consistent experience across all channels. Ensure a user-friendly website, responsive customer service, and a streamlined checkout process. Invest in omnichannel marketing, delivering personalised messages across different platforms based on customer behaviour.

5. Transparency, Transparency, Transparency

It is of no matter whether you are a luxury brand or not. Prioritising transparency in data collection is a necessity for all businesses. These principles apply to all:

What Luxury Brands Can Teach Us About Marketing Personalisation

Luxury brands have revolutionised personalisation, weaving it seamlessly into the very fabric of their customer experience. They’ve consistently demonstrated that personalisation isn’t just about offering discounts; it’s about creating meaningful connections and exceeding customer expectations.

While challenges like data privacy and implementation costs exist, transparency and focusing on the customer’s benefit can help navigate them. Embrace personalisation not just as a marketing tool but as a way to build genuine connections and cultivate brand loyalty that endures.

Start your personalisation journey today and craft a unique experience that sets you apart in the ever-evolving marketing landscape!

Ahh, the subject line…

The first impression, the battle cry that cuts through the noise and determines whether your message gets heard or deleted in a ruthless swipe…

While some might find the art of email subject lines elusive and challenging, you should know that you have nothing to be afraid of—as long as you A/B test.

This guide will equip you with 12 powerful A/B testing strategies to optimise your subject lines, along with crucial tips to ensure your tests deliver valuable insights. So buckle up and get ready to craft subject lines that turn email marketing from a guessing game into a guaranteed win!

Why You Need to Run Subject Line Tests

Ever heard the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”?

The same goes for email subject lines. An email’s subject line is the first impression that convinces subscribers to open your message. In fact, 64% of email recipients open emails based on the subject lines alone.

That’s why A/B testing your subject lines is crucial. A/B testing involves sending two different versions of your email to similar groups of subscribers and seeing which one improves certain email marketing metrics like opens, clicks, or conversions.

Here’s how subject line testing can boost your email marketing:

12 Ways You Can Test Email Subject Lines

Crafting the perfect email subject line is an art and a science. To truly understand what resonates with your audience, A/B testing is crucial.

Here, we explore 12 creative ways to test your subject lines, categorised into three key areas: Personalisation, Content, and Structure. Let’s dive right in!

12 different ways you can do subject line testing, categorised into three areas: Personalisation, Content, and Structure.
Image source: Segmentify

Personalisation Testing

Let’s delve into the world of personalisation testing! Here, we’ll explore two methods to see if tailoring your subject line to specific subscribers yields better results:

1. First Name vs. No Name: Personalisation is a powerful tool in email marketing, but is a first name in the subject line always the best approach? Split testing “Hi [Name], Unlock the Secrets of A/B Testing!” vs. “How to Craft Winning Email Subject Lines with A/B Testing” will let you uncover if this type of email personalisation works on your subscribers.

2. Previous Behaviour vs. No Previous Behaviour: Segmentation based on past actions and tailoring subject lines based on this can significantly impact engagement. Subject lines that speak directly to a subscriber’s past behaviour or interests can feel more relevant and, hence, lead to higher open rates. More generic subject lines, on the other hand, might be suitable for initial outreach or reaching a broader audience segment.

Content Testing

Now, let’s shift gears and focus on the content itself within your subject line. Here, we’ll explore several A/B testing ideas to see which elements resonate most with your subscribers:

3. From [Name] vs. From [Company Name]: Who should your emails be “from”? Experiment with the sender name, considering the audience type. In B2B communication, a specific contact name (e.g., Sarah at [Company Name]) can feel more approachable. For B2C audiences, your company name itself (e.g., From [Company Name]) might be more familiar and trustworthy.

4. Benefit vs. Feature: Subject lines highlighting the “why” can be more impactful than simply stating the “what”, but there’s only one way to find out. Benefit-driven subject lines focus on the positive outcome subscribers gain from opening the email (e.g., “Unlock Higher Click Rates with Our New Email Design Tools ”). Feature-focused lines highlight a specific aspect or functionality the email content offers (e.g., “New Email Design Tools Available Now!”).

5. Clever vs. Clear: Clever subject lines can grab attention in crowded inboxes but might not always convey the email’s value. So, should your subject lines be witty and attention-grabbing (“Subject Line A/B Testing: From Bland to Grand”) or clear and informative (“Boost Opens: Master Subject Line A/B Testing”)? You know what to do to find this out!

6. Urgency! vs. No Urgency: Urgency can trigger FOMO (fear of missing out), potentially leading to higher open rates for time-sensitive offers or valuable information. However, you don’t always need urgency (Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf?). Test “Last Chance! A/B Testing Secrets Revealed” vs. “The Ultimate Guide to A/B Testing Email Subject Lines” to see if you need to emphasise urgency.

7. CTA vs. No CTA: Should your subject line explicitly tell subscribers what to do next? A/B testing “CTA vs. No CTA” helps determine if a clear call to action (CTA) influences open rates. No CTA builds intrigue but might not be as action-oriented (e.g., “Download Your Free A/B Testing Guide Now” vs. “A/B Testing: The Secret Weapon for Higher Email Engagement”)

Structure Testing

Beyond personalisation and content, the structure of your subject line also plays a crucial role in grabbing attention. Let’s explore A/B testing ideas that focus on how you present your message:

8. Long Subject Line vs. Short Subject: Long lines offer more context, but short lines ensure mobile visibility. Since mobile dominates as the preferred reading environment with 44.7% and has limited screen space, testing the subject line lengths can make huge differences in email open rates.

9. Question? vs. Statement: Well-crafted questions can pique interest and encourage engagement. A/B testing “How to Split Test Email Subject Lines” vs. “Struggling with Email Marketing? How to Split Test for Success” can reveal if curiosity translates to opens.

10. Emojis 🤪 vs. No Emojis: Emojis can add a touch of personality and fun to your email subject lines, but are they always the right choice? This would depend on your audience’s psyche, devices, and overall context. Since their overuse can appear unprofessional, do split tests to understand your audience’s reaction.

11. Sentence case vs. Title Case: Even a minor detail like subject line capitalisation can affect open rates. Using the sentence case creates a casual, conversational tone, while the title case feels more formal and authoritative. By monitoring “How to A/B test email subject lines” vs. “How to A/B Test Email Subject Lines”, you can determine which capitalisation resonates with your audience.

12. Capitalisation vs. no capitalisation: While it might seem unconventional, ditching capitalisation altogether can yield interesting results. Yes, no caps feels informal but you can’t deny that it does stand out in an inbox. Try A/B testing “Time to Learn How to A/B Test Subject Lines!” vs “time to learn how to a/b test subject lines”, especially if your audience is on the younger side.

Email Subject Line A/B Testing Best Practices

Here’s how to ensure your subject line A/B tests deliver clear results and optimise your email marketing:

Subject Line Testing is An Ongoing Process

Don’t feel overwhelmed by the 12 A/B testing ideas presented here.

Start with a few that align with your audience and campaign goals. As you gather data and witness the power of these tests, you can gradually explore additional strategies.

Subject line optimisation is a continuous journey, not a one-time fix. By embracing A/B testing and iterating based on results, you’ll refine your subject lines into captivating first impressions that unlock inbox dominance and propel your email marketing to new heights.

So, buckle up, experiment, and enjoy the ride!

Are you struggling with reaching your target audience?

You’re spending hefty chunks of your budget on targeted ads but not getting sales in return?

Do you wish for a magic mirror to tell you what you’re doing wrong?

We’re sadly here to tell you that no such magic mirror exists. But we might have something that can solve your problems with reaching your target audience and saving your precious marketing budget.

Let’s start with what you’re doing wrong:

Limitations of Traditional Customer Segmentation

You are saying that generic marketing campaigns are drowning you in lost revenue.

You’re pouring resources into marketing campaigns that fall flat, leaving you with frustrated customers and dwindling budgets.

Here’s the problem: Generic approaches to customer segmentation can’t predict future actions or preferences. This means missed opportunities for personalised experiences and engagement, ultimately leading to lost revenue and brand disconnect.

The harsh reality is that traditional customer segmentation falls short in several key areas:

Ready to break free from generic campaigns and unlock the power of true customer understanding?

Then, let us explore predictive segmentation—the key to personalised experiences and supercharged engagement.

What is Predictive Segmentation?

It’s best to start with an official definition.

Predictive segmentation empowers you to truly know your customers, predicting their future actions and preferences. Unlike generic approaches, it analyses vast data to unveil their hidden potential, allowing you to tailor experiences and maximise engagement.

Imagine knowing which customers are likely to make a purchase, who might churn, and even what products or services they’ll be interested in before they even know themselves.

That’s the transformative power of predictive customer segmentation: Seeing the future of your customer relationships and tailoring your approach accordingly.

Now that we’re on the same page about how predictive marketing is not about reading teacups or looking at crystal balls let’s dive into its benefits.

Benefits of Predictive Segmentation

Predictive marketing hurls those archaic generic campaigns out the window and replaces them with laser-focused personalisation that gets you your money’s worth. Here’s how predictive marketing aids your personalisation efforts:

An eCommerce homepage personalised for someone with a new-born baby.
Personalised homepages increase chances of engagement, and therefore, conversion. | Image source: Segmentify

Challenges and Limitations of Predictive Segmentation

Predictive customer segmentation isn’t magic; like any powerful tool, it comes with its own considerations. When it comes to predictive marketing, many marketers keep a wary eye on these points:

With all that being said, these challenges shouldn’t deter you from exploring the power of predictive marketing. Remember, with the right tools and approach, these concerns can be addressed.

In the next section, we’ll explore how Segmentify tackles these challenges and ensures responsible, effective use of predictive segmentation to benefit both your business and your customers.

Why Choose Segmentify’s Predictive Segmentation?

Predictive segmentation holds immense potential, but as we’ve seen, it’s not without its challenges. So, how can you leverage this power responsibly and effectively?

Enter Segmentify, a solution designed to address these concerns and empower you with truly transformative customer segmentation:

Now, let’s dive into the concrete benefits of using Segmentify’s Predictive Segmentation:

Push notification reminding to reorder your dog’s food.
The replenishment algorithm helps increase lifetime value (LTV) by reminding customers the time to reorder a previously purchase. | Image source: Segmentify

More than just features, Segmentify offers:

Industry-Specific Examples of How to Use Predictive Segmentation

Now that we’ve explored how Segmentify’s capabilities overcome the general limitations of predictive marketing let’s witness its transformative power across different industries:

Final Words on Predictive Segmentation

Predictive marketing isn’t just about predicting the future; it’s about shaping it and creating win-win situations for both you and your customers.

While predictive segmentation comes with its challenges, these should not deter you from exploring its powers. With the right tools and approach, these concerns can be addressed.

What we discussed in this article is just a glimpse into the transformative power of predictive segmentation across diverse industries. With Segmentify, you can unlock deeper customer understanding, personalise experiences, and achieve sustainable growth—All tailored to your specific industry needs.

Take the first step towards a future-proof customer strategy—Explore Segmentify today!

Notice how everyone, and I mean everyone, talks about omnichannel marketing strategies these days? 

And yet, all that talk feels…hollow.

Sure, it’s the difference between mere engagement and remarkable customer experiences. But it’s remarkable how many brands still struggle to get it right.

Well, I’m here to tell you there are 2 sides to a stellar omnichannel marketing strategy, which often coincide with one another.

You’ll see.

1. The Practical Side of an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

Data and Analytics

Collect and integrate data from all channels

Omnichannel marketing commences with a robust data strategy. To understand your customers, you must gather and integrate data from all touchpoints. This involves not just online interactions but also data from in-store purchases, email responses, and even social media engagements.

A comprehensive data integration strategy grants you a 360-degree view of your customer’s preferences, behaviours, and historical interactions, empowering more personalised and effective marketing.

However, beware that as the amount of data you collect through various channels rises, the need for unified data becomes more and more important.

Implement advanced real-time analytics tools

Once data is gathered and integrated, advanced real-time analytics tools come into play. These tools provide actionable insights into customer behaviours and preferences.

By leveraging data analytics, you can segment your audience effectively, gauge campaign performance, and optimise your marketing efforts. Analytics tools reveal customer trends, pain points, and engagement opportunities, all of which are vital for crafting personalised marketing strategies.

Customer Segmentation

Create detailed customer personas

Data collection alone is insufficient. Brands need to create detailed customer personas based on the collected data.

These personas should delve deeper than basic demographics, encompassing insights into customer preferences, behaviours, and pain points. By comprehending various customer segments, you can tailor your marketing strategies to cater to the unique needs of each group.

Types of online customers listed with their corresponding icons on the Segmentify dashboard.
Image Source: Segmentify

Personalise messages and offers

Once you’ve established customer personas, you can fine-tune your messaging and offers to resonate with specific segments. Personalised marketing messages are more likely to capture customers’ attention and drive engagement. This personalisation extends to product recommendations, discounts, and content, creating a profound connection between your brand and the customer.

Technology Stack

Select the right omnichannel marketing software

Choosing the right omnichannel marketing software is pivotal. These tools facilitate the efficient management and orchestration of marketing campaigns across various channels.

Look for software that offers customer data integration, automation, and analytics features. It should be adaptable to your brand’s unique requirements and scalable to accommodate future growth.

Integrate CRM, CMS, and other systems

To offer a truly seamless customer experience, it’s imperative to integrate customer relationship management (CRM) systems, content management systems (CMS), and other relevant technologies. Integration ensures that customer data is seamlessly shared across various systems, allowing consistent and cohesive customer interactions.

Read more: Breaking Down Data Silos in eCommerce—Unlocking that Extra 30%

Content Strategy

Craft consistent brand messaging

Your omnichannel marketing strategy thrives on consistent brand messaging. Customers should encounter a unified brand identity across all touchpoints, from the website to social media to physical stores. Establishing a style guide and ensuring that all content aligns with it is essential for building a strong and recognisable brand presence.

Optimise content for various channels

Different channels have distinct content requirements. Long-form blog posts might excel on your website, while shorter, visual posts are better suited for social media. Brands must optimise their content to align with the specific characteristics of each channel. This includes considering content format, tone, and timing.

2. Customer Touchpoint Mapping

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the two sides of building an omnichannel marketing strategy often overlap. Customer touchpoint mapping also fits perfectly into the data and analytics, and customer segmentation steps mentioned previously.

However, I believe it’d be better for comprehension to also look at it separately and in more detail:

Identify All Customer Touchpoints

This will be repeating myself, but the first step to mastering omnichannel marketing strategy is identifying all the touchpoints where customers interact with your brand, both online and offline.

Common touchpoints include the website, mobile apps, social media, email, physical stores, customer service, and more. Mapping these touchpoints provides a comprehensive understanding of the entire customer journey.

Collect Data at Each Touchpoint

Once touchpoints are identified, data collection at each touchpoint becomes crucial. This includes tracking user behaviour, purchase history, contact information, and any other relevant data. Standardising data collection across all touchpoints ensures consistency and accuracy.

Analyse Customer Behaviour

With data from various touchpoints, brands can analyse customer behaviour. This analysis yields insights into how customers move through the sales funnel, which channels they prefer, and what types of content or offers are most effective. Understanding customer behaviour is fundamental for creating more relevant and engaging marketing campaigns.

Create a Comprehensive Customer Touchpoint Map

To fully understand the customer’s journey, you should create a comprehensive touchpoint map. This map visualises the customer’s interactions across all channels and identifies key touchpoints and moments of truth.

By connecting the dots on this map, you’ll gain a holistic view of the customer’s experience and can refine your marketing strategies accordingly.

Final Words on Omnichannel Marketing Strategies

Whether you’re an established brand or a budding enterprise, the power of seamless, personalised customer experiences cannot be underestimated. Yet, it’s astounding how many fall short of its promise. The quest for a seamless, personalised customer experience is a challenging one, but it’s far from impossible.

By following the crucial steps outlined in this chapter, you’re well on your way to mastering omnichannel marketing. It’s a journey, one that can be significantly smoothed by the right business partner.

In this pursuit, consider the pivotal role of Segmentify. With its advanced personalisation and analytics solutions, Segmentify is the key to transforming your omnichannel marketing strategy from ordinary to extraordinary.

Elevate your omnichannel marketing with Segmentify and discover what it truly means to deliver a seamless, personalised experience. Don’t wait; start your journey to excellence today. Try Segmentify and watch your brand soar!

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Never Mind the Bo**ocks, a whitepaper on omnichannel marketing, and has been edited to fit this medium.

It’s an email marketer’s worst nightmare—ending up in the spam box. 

It destroys your engagement metrics and email sender reputation. And it only gets worse from there.

Because even if you take the necessary steps to correct a past mistake that got you in the spam folder in the first place, that is a red stain on your reputation. And it takes a lot of time and resources to mend the said reputation.

So you need to start caring about reducing your spam complaint rate long before it becomes a problem.

This article will discuss the new email sender requirements by Yahoo and Gmail, why the spam complaint rate is even more critical now, and a 10-step program on how to reduce your spam complaint rate.

New Email Sender Requirements from Yahoo and Google

One of the biggest digital marketing trends that will define 2024 will be, without a doubt, the new email deliverability rules by Yahoo and Gmail.

Starting February 2024, all email senders who send over 5,000 emails daily to Yahoo and Gmail users are required to comply with these new rules:

Gmail has been recommending these as email marketing best practices for a long time, and now, organisations are required to provide a safer inbox for consumers.

You can get more information on how to comply with these new email sender requirements on Gmail’s Help Center.

Let us move on to another pressing matter: How to keep your spam complaint rate as low as 0.3% 

10 Steps on How to Reduce Your Spam Complaint Rate

You’ll see that those two of those new requirements being put into action by Yahoo and Google are not really new; you already needed to comply with them to keep your spam complaint rates low.

Keeping the maximum spam complaint rate under 0.3% will be the end result of following these best practices:

1. Build Your Own Email List

Whenever someone asks, “Why shouldn’t I buy email lists?” an angel loses its wings.

Buying email lists can create serious problems for your organisation:

Building your email list, on the other hand, will get you an engaged audience and reduce spam complaints.

2. Provide Double Opt-In

A double opt-in process is essentially a two-stop verification to validate and confirm email subscriptions. It is a great way to ensure you’re complying with the Internet privacy laws and regulations.

Providing double opt-in:

3. Authenticate Your Email Domain

Used to be a strong recommendation for digital marketers to reduce spam complaint rates, email domain authentication is now a requirement by Yahoo and Gmail.

Authenticating your email domains through these security protocols will validate and verify the authenticity of your email campaigns.

Reminder: If you don’t have a Custom Sending Domain (CSD) set up, you must do that before the email authentication step. If your emails go from @yourdomain.com, they will look more professional, and the chances of them being marked as spam will be lower.

4. Comply with the Internet Privacy Laws

Various laws govern email marketing depending on the location of both the marketer and the recipients. However, the essential data privacy laws that every marketer should be familiar with are:

Failure to comply with data privacy regulations may result in substantial penalties.

In the UK, for example, breaching the GDPR may result in “a maximum fine of £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover — whichever is greater — for infringement of any of the data protection principles or rights of individuals.”

5. Keep a Clean Email List

A healthy and clean email list leads to better email deliverability rates, ensuring your emails reach their intended recipients.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use email engagement metrics, such as open rates and click-through rates, to assess the quality of your emails. Since a clean email list tends to have higher engagement, this practice directly and positively affects your email deliverability.

Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses and promptly address any bounces. 

Another important way to ensure low spam complaint rates is to enable one-click unsubscribes—something that you are now obliged to do.

6. Enable One-Click Unsubscribe

As of February 2024, you are not only advised but required to allow one-click unsubscriptions with a 2-day processing time, according to the new email sender requirements by Yahoo and Gmail.

Adopting suppression list management as a regular practice will help you greatly in this regard.

Suppression lists guarantee that you do not send emails to individuals who have chosen to opt out, allowing you to communicate solely with an engaged and interested audience. This minimises the likelihood of your messages being marked as spam.

7. Send Relevant Content

Based on what was discussed so far, this one should be obvious.

> Send people the content they wish to see (a.k.a. the reason why they subscribed to your email list in the first place)

> Get higher engagement

> Improve your email sender reputation

> Unsubscriptions and spam complaints are minimised

Adopt email segmentation best practices to take advantage of personalisation’s power and increase your email campaigns’ relevancy.

8. Optimise Email Sending Frequency

There is no universally perfect frequency for sending emails. The optimal email sending frequency varies based on factors such as industry dynamics, brand identity, and target audience.

However, irrespective of these variables, sending emails with too little time in between each can result in subscriber fatigue, higher unsubscribe rates, increased spam complaints, and diminished engagement.

9. Monitor Your Email Engagement Metrics

Besides measuring the impact of your campaigns and understanding what your subscribers respond to, closely monitoring email marketing KPIs serves as an early warning system.

By vigilantly tracking these metrics, you can swiftly identify any emerging issues or patterns that could adversely affect your campaigns, such as the changes in spam complaint rates.

This proactive strategy empowers you to make timely modifications, mitigating the risk of harm to your sender reputation and ensuring the overall success of your campaigns.

10. Utilise Spam Checkers

Spam checkers are web-based utilities that enable you to assess your emails, indicating the probability of recipients marking them as spam. While ISPs ultimately determine message filtering, spam checkers frequently reassure marketers as they plan new campaigns.

Homepage of Mail Tester, a spam checker website.
Source: Mail Tester

Stay Compliant with Yahoo and Gmail Sender Requirements and Avoid Ending Up in the Spam Folder

Here’s what you need to do to reduce spam complaint rates:

Once you make these best practices a regular part of your routine, keeping spam complaint rates below 0.3% will be as easy as breathing!

No, email marketing is not dead. And yes, personalised emails are more effective than generic emails.

But, let us choose the road less travelled today.

This article isn’t about the same old email marketing FAQs or the benefits of personalised emails—been there, done that.

Instead, we’ve handpicked five questions straight from you that cut to the chase. But be mindful that these questions aren’t just about email marketing; they’re about showing you the ropes on how to practically wield email marketing to your advantage. 

Let’s answer some questions and dish out the nitty-gritty on how to make email marketing work for you!

1. Why shouldn’t I buy email lists?

Here are a few problems buying email lists will cause you:

When you buy an email list, you’re getting a bunch of email addresses, but you don’t know if those people want to hear from you. Some might get annoyed or upset because you’re sending them emails they didn’t ask for.

That’s why it’s better to build your own email list.

That way, you’ll have a list of people who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer, and you can send them emails they’ll be happy to receive.

2. What are some best practices for writing better email subject lines?

Crafting effective email subject lines is crucial since they serve as the initial impression and decisive factor for open rates. So follow these best practices:

3. Should I use first names while creating my email marketing campaigns?

The decision to use recipients’ first names in personalised email campaigns hinges on strategic placement—in the subject line or email body. 

But first, consider daily conversations: While using someone’s first name grabs attention, incessant repetition becomes off-putting. Similarly, in emails, leveraging first names can be effective for ensuring attention but risks appearing unsettling if misapplied. Context is paramount.

And this falls under the category of “overusing personalisation”.

Using first names for email personalisation can work so well when you want to make absolutely sure you get the recipient’s attention. But beware of the context and what you’re trying to achieve unless you want to be known as “that weirdly sinister brand”.

Balancing personalisation with tact will ensure your email campaigns resonate positively with recipients.

4. What’s my ideal email marketing frequency and how do I find it?

The truth is there isn’t one single ideal email marketing frequency. Your ideal email sending frequency depends on your industry dynamics, brand, and audience.

But regardless of those parameters, excessive emailing can lead to subscriber fatigue, increased unsubscribes, spam complaints, and reduced engagement. You just need to find where that limit lies for you. To find the right balance:

5. How can I measure the success of my email marketing strategy?

You can measure the success of your personalised email marketing strategy by leveraging data for precision. Tracking specific email marketing KPIs provides insights into the performance of elements like subject lines, content, and design. This detailed feedback enables data-driven decisions, empowering you to optimise future campaigns.

Additionally, analysing email analytics enhances your understanding of the audience by revealing preferences, behaviour, and engagement levels. This knowledge allows tailored messaging, significantly boosting relevance and effectiveness.

Moreover, email marketing KPIs serve as an early warning system, helping you detect issues or trends that could impact campaigns negatively. Proactively monitoring metrics facilitates timely adjustments, preventing potential damage to your sender reputation and ensuring overall campaign success.

Nobody asked, but I’ll say it anyways:

A digital marketer’s Roman Empire is the next “big” thing (not Metaverse) that will become the next Google (not Meta).

Before anyone tells me the Roman Empire thing is already in the past, I am very much aware, but honestly? I couldn’t come up with a better introduction for this article.

The Game Awards 2023 activated a prompter asking Swen Vickne, director of Baldur's Gate 3 and the CEO of Larian Studios, to "wrap it up" during his Game of the Year Award acceptance speech where he was dedicating it to the dev team members who had passed away during development.

Anyway…here are this year’s top 3 ecommerce and digital marketing trends to watch out for!

1. New Email Deliverability Rules by Yahoo and Gmail 

Google and Yahoo have partnered up to build a safer, more enjoyable experience for Gmail and Yahoo email users. And if you’re an email marketer who sends over 5,000 emails daily, you need to listen up.

“No matter who their email provider is, all users deserve the safest, most secure experience possible,” says Marcel Becker, Sr. Dir. Product at Yahoo.

This strategic partnership between Google and Yahoo aims to:

What are these new email deliverability rules by Yahoo and Gmail, then?

If your organisation sends more than 5,000 emails daily to Yahoo and Gmail users, you need to:

The new email deliverability rules by Yahoo and Gmail will be put in motion starting February 2024. Start taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance with these new requirements as a part of your 2024 email marketing strategy!

2. Hyper-Personalisation with Big Data and Real-Time Analytics

As digital marketers, we’ve been discussing the various aspects of personalisation for a couple of years now. Personalisation has been both the source and the reaction of consumers’ expectations about tailor-made interactions and experiences.

Jennifer Gaier, Director of Marketing at Elwyn, tells Forbes why she sees hyper-personalisation as one of the biggest digital marketing trends for 2024:

“With the vast amount of data available from various touch points—be it social media, websites or even physical stores—brands can harness this information using sophisticated analytics. This results in hyper-personalised marketing strategies where content, product recommendations and even advertisements are customised for individual consumers.”

Ken Condon, Global Channel Director at Segmentify, ventures a bit deeper into the rabbit hole of personalisation and draws attention to a challenge created by these various touch points:

“Insights gathered from an SEO campaign are very rarely shared in ‘real-time’ with the email marketing or social selling channels and instead form part of the siloed data for SEO…Insights or trends created offline in your bricks-and-mortar very rarely re-merchandise a PDP page or a trigger email.”

As the amount of data collected through various touch points rises, personalisation becomes trickier due to the need for more unified data.

So yes, hyper-personalisation will continue to be all the rage, but true personalisation can only be achieved through breaking down data silos. Then, you can really really personalise your content.

3. Video Marketing and Short-Form Content

It’s not that static content is going extinct; it’s just that video marketing and short-form content continue their momentum.

“Video on landing pages can increase conversion rates by over 80%, and mentioning the word ‘video’  in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%,” says Helen Aboagye, CMO of Divido and former CMO of Imagen, an intuitive video management platform.

The main reason for the continued rise of video marketing is that video production is less time-consuming and expensive than in the past. 

In-house content creation is booming, with marketers building studios to meet the insatiable demand for fresh content. But looking at brands like Duolingo or Ryanair on TikTok, you don’t even need an “in-house corporate studio”. A Gen Z with an iPhone and an unhinged sense of humour can work wonders.

Social media, mainly TikTok and Instagram, is becoming increasingly a form of entertainment rather than a social platform. And this transformation goes beyond ad creation.

This level of scalability goes beyond ad creation and gives the brands the freedom to tell their stories at their own pace. That is obviously not to say that you’ll never ever need to produce videos with a proper production.

But for marketers with limited budgets, such low-budget, short-form video content will continue to be an excellent way for community building, if they deem video marketing a worthy endeavour to pursue.

Wrapping Up

Without a doubt, there are more things one can add to a list titled “Top eCommerce and Digital Marketing Trends for 2024”. However, we’ve wished to keep our list concise and focus on the digital marketing trends and updates that we deem the most important and require the most attention.

Once more, let’s go over the top 3 eCommerce and digital marketing trends to look out for in 2024:

And remember, digital marketing is hella dynamic. Even one month after this article is published, we’ll have new updates and marketing trends to talk about. So follow Segmentify on LinkedIn to stay on top of new digital marketing and eCommerce trends!