Smart marketers rely on self-reported, past purchase and behavioral data to better understand their customers. Smarter marketers use all of the data to create educated guesses (or inferences) about why customers behaved the way that they did.

The smartest marketers understand that the way to fully benefit from all of this data gathering and analysis is to use those inferences to develop offers that customer sub-segments won’t be able to resist.  Which kind of marketer are you - smart, smarter, or smartest? Find out when you test your ability to turn inferences into actions and offers.

Inferences are Step 1; Holistically Engaging Segments is Step 2

As we've mentioned in previous columns, moving from email marketing insights into action is a process, not a one-step task. First, you need to gather the declared, past purchase and behavioral data. Then, you must analyze the data and draw inferences based on what you find. And finally, it's time to take action and turn your data and inferences into compelling email offers.

What makes an offer truly compelling? The answer is as unique as the email list segments you've created. Some email subscriber groups are focused only on the price point - messages about your superior service will likely fall on deaf ears if sent to this group. Other email list segments may be more focused on saving time, and less concerned about what things cost. Another group of recipients may be driven by a sense of empathy and emotion - an offer announcing your company's donation to an animal shelter for every product sold may be just what it takes to get these folks all the way to the checkout.

A UK-based leisure brand I do a lot of work with illustrates this particularly keenly: their best customers tend to stay away from their online – and high street – stores during the "Sale" season. Sale customers (highly price sensitive) respond completely differently than high value customers. As an aside, it’s interesting to note that those sale customers also tend to be the ones who are most likely to register negative feedback.

So how do you create a compelling offer? The key is to understand the main things that matter to each email subscriber. Your analysis of the data mentioned above should produce some patterns. Use those patterns to select segments. Then, by looking at each segment as a whole and determining the key factors that have an impact on their lives and their decisions, you'll be well equipped to develop offers that are likely to compel and convert.

Are you ready to turn your inferences into action? Practice makes perfect. Let's return to some of the marketing scenarios we discussed earlier in this series and, drawing upon the inferences we made, explore the types of offers and messages that would strike the right note with each group of email subscribers.

The Case of the Curious Fan Base

The first exercise asked you to imagine yourself as the email marketing manager for an online ticketing merchant. In your role, you noticed a sub-segment of young ladies who purchased tickets to the Rihanna concert and also purchased a pair of tickets for the upcoming professional football game. You inferred that while these women may be sports fans, it is more likely that they're taking their boyfriends or significant others out on a date.

Your offer: A young woman who buys her guy tickets to a game is certainly interested in making a good impression and showing him that she cares: after all, good tickets aren't exactly cheap! When developing offers for this sub-segment in the future, consider offers that give her the chance to show that she's thinking about how to make her man happy. For example, consider an offer that allows the couple to achieve VIF (Very Important Fan) status by purchasing tickets for two or more games at one time.

By spelling out all of the benefits of being a VIF - anything from printable VIF certificate that is good for a discount on parking or a complimentary beverage at the concession stand - you're showing the recipient just how easy it would be to impress her significant other even more, while at the same time encouraging her to purchase tickets for more than one game.

The Case of the Upside Down Sales Calendar

Next, we asked you to imagine yourself as the marketer for an online office supply store. Over time, you've noticed a group of women between the ages of 35 and 49 who tend to purchase multiple numbers of the same products, always child-oriented products like glue sticks, markers and colored pencils. Based on this information (and the fact that their purchasing peaks in July/August and plummets in December) you inferred that this sub-segment of women is likely made up of elementary or middle school teachers.

Your offer: To determine a good offer for this audience, start by asking: What matters to teachers? One of the main considerations teachers might have is cost, as teachers' supply budgets are notoriously small. With this in mind, consider crafting an offer that focuses on a price discount specifically aimed at teachers - an offer of a special sale on “back to school” products or a “buy more, save more” offer that gives increased discounts for purchasing more than one of the same item. These cost-conscious offers are more likely to be of interest to this email segment.

The Case of the Nervous Necessity-Seekers

As the marketing manager for an online baby store, you noticed a subscriber segment that spends an average of $100 per order, purchasing items like car seats and baby furniture. While these visitors virtually ignore the gift wrap option, they do spend a higher-than-average amount of time in the “Guides and Advice” section of your website. You inferred that this sub-segment is probably made up of new parents looking for the necessities for their new baby.

Your offer: These first-time parents are probably excited and nervous and want reassurance that the choices they're making for their baby are smart ones. Help these parents feel more confident about their purchases by crafting offers that provide them with proof that others think the product is a good choice. For example, an email message that focuses on “Child Magazine's Top Rated Cribs, On Sale Now” effectively gives parents a list of cribs that have been vetted by people who are considered experts.

But experts aren't the only ones who can wield influence and calm a first-time parent's buying jitters; even an offer that focuses on “Special Pricing for Our Number One-Selling Car Seat” and includes excerpts from parent-authored site reviews is likely to incite click-through action, where an email announcing a “Car Seat Sale, Limited Time” may not.

The Case of the Flying Guys

In the last example, you managed marketing for a small regional airline. Analyzing the email marketing data, you noticed a group of middle-aged male subscribers who purchase well in advance of their travel date and always purchase more than two tickets. After noticing that their browsing patterns include clickthroughs on Disney-focused promotions, you inferred that this group is made up of dads who are planning a family vacation.

Your offer: This group of email subscribers plans in advance, and certainly, they're interested in keeping costs down where they can, but the reality is that they're interested in much more than a product or a service - they're interested in creating an experience for their families.

So what's the most effective way to market to this group? Just like any other group: by figuring out what matters to them. Understanding their desire to create a rich experience, focus on how your site can help them craft their entire vacation adventure - from the hotel to the rental car and the attraction tickets - all in one place. For example, an offer that tells these dads about your “Affordable Vacation Packages they'll Never Forget” sends a strong message that the planning process will be easier than booking everything individually. In addition, mentioning the package pricing in the offer will help reiterate to your email subscriber that you’re offering him a good value - another important consideration.

The Possibilities are Endless

Were the offers you developed for the scenarios above the exact same as the offers we suggested? Probably not … and that's perfectly fine! When it comes to crafting a compelling, relevant email offer, there is no right or wrong answer; rather, there are a multitude of possibilities for enticing each individual email segment.

So how do you determine if your offer hit the nail on the head or completely missed the mark? You guessed it - by reviewing your email analytics along with your Web analytics and gauging your subscriber segments’ responses. But how will you know when you're finished with the process? That's simple - you’ll never finish! As your email subscriber base grows, your customers’ needs change and your company's product or service offerings evolve, you'll always have more data to gather, more inferences to draw and more offers to create. So concentrating on building the right framework: developing good practices and processes now will increase the probability of achieving email marketing success today and in the future.

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About the Author

Mike Weston is VP UK & EMEA Sales for Lyris. He's a leading figure and a regular speaker on the London digital marketing scene, with a particular focus on customer communication tools including email marketing and social media marketing.

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