First-party data has always been your best personalization tool because it comes from the insights your customers share directly with your brand. At its most basic level, this info can be classified as one of two categories:

• Preference (a.k.a. zero-party) data, which your customers volunteer using sources like registration forms, preference centers, surveys, or user-generated content.
• Behavior data, which you observe based on how someone engages with your emails and clicks around on your website.

You need both kinds of data to get a well-rounded picture of each customer. Because what customers tell you in preference data might be different from what you see them actually doing. Combined, this more comprehensive picture helps you create more relevant, personalized content for every customer in every campaign you send.

So, what’s going wrong for so many companies in terms of email conversions right now?

1. You’re not selling customers the right stuff.

Your goal isn’t just to send an offer. It’s to deliver value and an exceptional customer experience with every email conversion opportunity. 

Yes, you can sell. But you sell best when you recommend products or services that reflect the data you have on your customer—the kinds of products she browses and buys most often, the sports he tells you he enjoys, where each customer lives, and so on. A truly personalized customer experience only comes after you apply the first-party data insights you’ve collected about each customer to your marketing messages. Especially if it doesn’t take extra work or development resources to put into practice.

As one of the world’s largest online pet marketplaces, Rover wanted to know if dynamically personalizing its emails based on customers’ dog breeds could have a positive impact on sales. And after applying new segmentation rules and A/B testing of a generic email’s results versus one with a dynamic, breed-specific hero image the answer was an overwhelming yes. Compared to its static alternatives, Rover’s personalized email experience drove 80% more revenue to the retailer!

2. You don’t speak your customer’s language.

An irrelevant message won’t generate clicks or conversions. In the long run, the only way to win is with messages that show customers you know them. After all, emails with dynamic content elements that can be automatically adjusted based on your first-party data insights are more appealing to the average buyer.

That’s because—rather than another one-size-fits-all sales promotion—these personalized interactions are more interesting and engaging. Your customers are excited when they see a new email from you in their inbox, making your messages more likely to not only be read—but your recipients more likely to click and convert on your offer.

And that generates even more first-party data feedback. Which you can use to refine and further personalize your emails for even better results and long-term customer loyalty.

Prior to partnering with us, Hot Topic received an uptick of customer service complaints whenever Harry Potter promo emails were sent. After asking its subscribers about their Hogwarts house affiliation and segmenting the audience by their responses, the brand has eliminated this negative noise—on top of growing email engagement, open rate, conversion rate, and CTR too.

3. You’re selling to the wrong audience.

A growing subscriber list is an essential component for any email marketing strategy’s success—but size alone isn’t enough. If you don’t include as many likely buyers as possible in your campaigns, you’ll never see the CTR or conversions you expect. 

So, use the customer insights you can draw from studying your first-party data to divide your email list into meaningful segments and personas. Then and only then are you ready to target your message content to each specific group. 

When FitKit UK needed a more in-depth understanding of its email subscribers to send more targeted, engaging content to its recipients, we helped the organization build an interactive campaign that featured embedded surveys asking customers about their fitness needs and overall familiarity with the brand.

As a result, FitKit UK experienced immediate results—including a 272% increase in email clicks, a 59% increase in conversion rate, and a 298% increase in orders placed through these interactions. 

Everybody wins when you put the customer first

By following these best practices and prioritizing your customer experience, you’ll be ready to send more relevant, engaging messages that help your customers shop successfully in no time! And that’s a win-win that pays dividends for everybody involved.

Download our playbook, The Dynamic Personalization Elements You Can Be Automating to Spend More Time Creating, for a step-by-step guide to enhance your customer experience through first-party data and dynamic email elements.