The term “audience management” is slowly creeping into conversations about email and CRM, and in this context means something like this: by managing your target audience, you combine direct marketing methods, promotion through social networks and other types of digital influence.
As a result, each segment of your subscribers (or future subscribers) gets the right mix of marketing tactics through the channels that are optimal for them. Some industry theorists also include retargeting here, but that's a slightly different story.
In general, audience analysis is an amazing thing. Today you can learn everything or almost everything about these once faceless people. Starting with which device they use most to access the Internet, and ending with their tastes, hobbies and behavioral patterns. You can figure out that a person is interested in or wants to buy a certain product, and show him an ad for this product in the right place and at the right time - for example, when he is on a related product site or browsing a topical community on a social network. Analytics captures the behavior of the audience online, so the time spent has been reduced by tens and hundreds of times. Of course, the probability of conversion increased by about the same ratio. First, you work with each segment separately. Secondly, you can immediately filter out users with the least potential to close a deal. Well, of course, today's range of communication channels with the client is very wide, which makes marketers almost omnipotent.
In the case of email marketing, the task of a specialist is to make the format of the message digestible for the recipient. The first question to answer when preparing a campaign is “To whom?”. This is exactly what audience analysis is for. It will help to determine who from the list of leads may really need the promoted product and how best to approach this segment.
Social marketing is inferior to other types in terms of monetization, but it is a huge information field that has a strong impact on other online channels and on electronic CRM. On social networks, you can get comprehensive information about what is happening in people's lives, what they are interested in, what brands they prefer, etc. - so that you can use it in your campaigns later.
In economics, there is such a thing as "panel data". These data help to identify the regularity of processes at different time intervals. Certain objects with variable characteristics (features) are observed at certain points in time in order to answer a particular question, predict a situation, and choose a strategy. In essence, panel data helps to see the process in three dimensions. Approximately the same effect can be achieved by audience management methods.
Returning to email marketing and CRM, there are three more important questions to highlight:
- What kind of user information do you want to use for campaigns?
You know that the client has an apartment, a car, two children attending a private school, you know that he is more or less interested in 30 product categories. You also know which of these products he has already purchased, so you can predict his buying activity. Analytical data can affect the discount system, the duration of promotions, the time and frequency of mailing, test strategy, etc.
- How will you use user data in your program?
Systematic is important here. Integrating email campaign metrics with customer information can affect the overall algorithm. Let's say you have a segment with the highest click-through rate (the first category of value). If you overlay custom analytics on this metric, you will see that the segment in question also differs in other characteristics that you did not take into account before (age, marital status, profession, etc.).
- How often will you use this data?
User data is a dynamic indicator, so it is important to adapt the developed mechanisms if the situation requires it. Even if established models have proven their effectiveness in previous campaigns.
Outcome
We know that the whole world today is connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. We know that people's lives have a non-linear nature, which means that it is necessary to constantly adapt to it. Marketers need to be aware of how trends beyond their control affect their campaigns. They must be able to predict these trends in order to be fully equipped in this ongoing battle for user response.
