Connecting With Customers: Segmentation vs Personalization

segmentation vs personalization cover image with a tangerine satsuma segment

Email marketing is constantly evolving — technological advancements have now made it possible for email marketers to send mass personalized emails to their subscribers. 

With a good email segmentation strategy and email personalization, you can now send relevant content at the best time to send emails so you can guide prospects toward conversion.

People use the terms “segmentation” and “personalization” interchangeably, but there’s a world of difference between the two. One could say email personalization is an evolved form of segmentation, but that would be an oversimplification. 

Let’s examine these two pillars of email marketing and study how you can apply them to your benefit!



What is Segmentation?

Email segmentation refers to the practice of dividing an email list into smaller, more targeted groups based on specific criteria or characteristics. This is important because it allows you to deliver the right offer at the right time to people who are the most likely to care.

Instead of sending a generic message to your entire email list, segmentation allows you to tailor your emails for specific customer segments, improving the overall effectiveness of your various email campaigns.

By sending targeted content to specific segments, you are more likely to capture the attention of your audience and encourage them to take the desired actions, such as making a purchase or clicking a link to your website.

Email List Segmentation Factors

To segment on a basic level, you need customer details such as:

  1. Age,
  2. Gender,
  3. Location,
  4. Income level,
  5. Designation at a company.

With additional data, you can segment your list based on a variety of factors, including:

  • Online behavior: Segmenting based on how subscribers interact with your emails, website, or products is called behavioral segmentation. For example, you can create segments for frequent purchasers, inactive subscribers, or those who have clicked on specific links.
  • Purchase history: Segmenting based on past buying behavior or the types of products or services customers have previously purchased.
  • Engagement: Engagement-based segmentation involves segmenting subscribers based on their level of email engagement. For instance, you might have segments for highly engaged subscribers, occasional openers, or those who haven’t opened an email in a long time.
  • Preferences: Segmenting based on subscribers’ preferences, such as content type (like blog updates or product announcements) or communication frequency.

Segmentation is a key strategy in optimizing different types of email campaigns and achieving better email marketing conversion rates.

Individualized Segmentation

Individualized segmentation is an approach combining traditional segmentation methods with individual customer data.

This can assist marketers with highly specific, one-to-one targeting. Unlike broad segments, individualized segmentation uses advanced analytics or machine learning to analyze each customer’s unique patterns. It helps create dynamic, person-level segments adapting in real time based on changing behavior.

While you can add personalization through email segmentation, there are methods to make your emails much more relevant — read on to see how.


What is Personalization?

Email personalization means customizing your content for individual recipients or specific segments of your audience based on their behavior. It involves using any data you have about a subscriber to make your messages feel directed at them and their specific situation. 

The goal of personalization is to create a more relevant experience; this increases engagement and builds a stronger connection between you and your customer. The idea is once you apply segmentation, you can further use segment personalization to make each email even more impactful.

You can apply personalization to various elements within an email, including: 

The section below shares examples of how to use email personalization.

Email Personalization Examples

Here are 7 common ways to use personalization in your emails:

  1. Instead of using a generic greeting like “Dear Customer,” you can address recipients by their first name. This simple touch can make the email feel more individualized.
  2. Merge variables let you insert contact-specific information, such as names, email addresses, or any other data. At Campaign Refinery, you can easily use this feature by selecting a merge variable from a drop-down list.
  3. Use dynamic email content blocks within your emails to display different content based on the recipient’s preferences, behavior, or other characteristics. For example, you can show product recommendations based on their past purchases or browsing history. 
  4. Set up trigger emails such as abandoned cart emails or follow-up emails after a purchase. This ensures your emails are timely and relevant to the recipient’s recent behavior.
  5. Provide personalized product recommendations based on the recipient’s past purchases or browsing history. This can be an effective strategy for e-commerce businesses looking to cross-sell or upsell products.
  6. Customize content based on the recipient’s location. This is called geographic segmentation and helps with local email marketing.
  7. Craft subject lines that resonate with the recipient by incorporating their name, location, or other personalized elements. This can help increase open rates.

Personalization leverages data and insights to deliver customized and meaningful messages to each recipient. 

Next, let’s compare personalization vs segmentation to see why both are critical to your email marketing process.


Email Segmentation vs Email Personalization

Email segmentation and personalization evolved as marketing strategies as they help us communicate more effectively with subscribers. Emails, at one point in time, were sent with no knowledge of the recipients — as marketers understood the importance of sending relevant emails, segmentation entered the picture. 

With improvements to technology and customer tracking methods, the next bit of innovation was personalization, which quickly became a powerful feature in email marketing.

What is the Difference Between Email Segmentation and Personalization?

While segmentation helps you become a superior marketer by understanding your audience better, personalization is a strategy you use to appeal to the human side of your audience. 

In short, segmentation is a good way to keep content relevant for your recipients, and personalization helps you speak to them individually. It’s important to understand the nuances of personalization vs. segmentation to achieve better results from email campaigns.

Let’s look at the key differences between segmentation and personalization in this table:

FeatureEmail SegmentationEmail Personalization
DescriptionDividing the email list into smaller segments based on specific criteria or characteristics.Tailoring email content to individual recipients based on preferences, behavior, or demographics.
GoalImprove targeting and relevance of email campaigns.Enhanced individualized experiences, which increases engagement and builds stronger connections with your recipients.
RelevanceAims to make campaigns more relevant to a group of subscribers with similar characteristics.Aims to make each email highly relevant to the specific preferences and characteristics of individual recipients.
It can be applied to both one-time campaigns and automated campaigns.Very early in a customer’s funnel journeyComes in use much later in the sales funnel as you aim to close the deal.
Use in campaignsCan be applied to both one-time campaigns and automated campaigns.Role in the sales funnel
ExamplesTailoring content for specific geographic locations.Content for specific genders.Addressing recipients by name in the greeting.Offering product recommendations based on past behavior.
Differences between segmentation and personalization

Using segmentation and personalization as part of your email marketing arsenal can bring you a range of benefits, which we explore in the next section.


Segmentation and Personalization Benefits

Segmentation and personalization offer several benefits significantly enhancing the effectiveness of your campaigns. Let’s look at the benefits of each.

Email Segmentation

Implementing segmentation to your email list can bring you these benefits:

  1. Email segmentation allows you to send relevant content to specific groups of subscribers based on their characteristics or behavior.
  2. Subscribers are more likely to engage with emails tailored to their interests, resulting in increased click-through rates.
  3. By understanding and addressing the unique needs of different segments, you can build stronger relationships with customers and improve loyalty.
  4. Segmentation enables you to analyze email campaign metrics of different segments separately, helping you refine and optimize your overall email marketing strategy.
  5. Targeted messages lead to better conversion rates as these messages align better with the preferences and needs of your subscribers.
  6. Email segmentation can also teach you about the general preferences of your customers and help shape your focus as a company.

Clearly, segmentation has its benefits. Does email personalization bring as much to the table? 

Email Personalization

Here are the top benefits of implementing personalization in your email marketing efforts:

  1. Personalized emails create a more engaging and positive experience for subscribers, enhancing their perception of your brand.
  2. Personalized subject lines and content increase the likelihood that recipients will open and interact with your emails.
  3. Fine-tuning individual preferences and needs through personalization contributes to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  4. Email personalization allows you to set up email sequences triggered by specific customer behaviors, such as abandoned carts or recent purchases.
  5. Relevant and personalized recommendations can lead to better ROI, as customers are more likely to convert if they see offers tailored to their interests.
  6. Personalization enables the use of dynamic content that adapts to individual preferences, creating a more engaging email experience. You can even extend this experience to your website, using optimized landing pages.

“Know your customer” is the number 1 rule in sales — and email personalization makes that possible. Without it, your emails would just be a lot of guesswork! 


Good Customer Data: Vital for Both Segmentation and Personalization

If the earlier sections have you excited to get started on email segmentation and personalization, you should know both of these strategies require you to collect the best customer data you can.

Lead generation is a crucial aspect of email marketing — it involves attracting potential customers and capturing their information to grow your email list

Here are several effective methods of lead generation you can use:

  1. Design dedicated landing pages with clear CTAs to encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list. Make sure the landing page content resonates with your audience.
  2. Create valuable content like blog posts, video tutorials, email marketing newsletters, and webinars to appeal to your target audience. Offer this content as gated resources, requiring users to provide their email addresses to access the material.
  3. Run contests or giveaways on social media or your website. Require participants to submit their email addresses to enter the contest or receive updates.
  4. Place opt-in forms strategically all over your website. Clearly communicate the value of subscribing to encourage signups.
  5. Run lead generation ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and wherever possible, include a lead form that users can fill out directly on the page.
  6. Create quizzes, puzzles, or interactive tools on your website. Require users to enter their email addresses to receive personalized results or insights.
  7. Offer a free email course that provides valuable information over several days. These work remarkably well, and you should use them to collect email addresses at the start of the course and continue to target these leads with an email drip campaign.
  8. Use email surveys or feedback forms on your website to collect user opinions. Include an option for participants to provide their email addresses for additional information.

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How to Implement Email Segmentation

Nobody likes irrelevant emails — recipients expect to receive targeted email marketing messages, or they will immediately mark your mail as spam. Segmentation is a solution for this problem, as you will understand your email list better and know what content to send to which groups.

Here is a table explaining how you could use different types of segmentation data:

Customer dataSegmentation strategy
DemographicHelps you categorize customers based on quantifiable traits, providing a foundation for broad list segmentation.
Psychographic dataGives you insight into the opinions, interests, motivations, and values of your customers, allowing for more nuanced list segmentation based on personal characteristics.
Position in the sales funnelDepending on where the customers are in their buying process, you can send targeted and relevant content for each stage.
Communication preferencesHelps you send your marketing messages to customers through their preferred channels.
Customer feedbackHelps you identify loyal customers while also understanding areas for improvement.
Other industry-specific dataRelevant to your specific goals — this data helps create segments aligned with the unique characteristics of your business.
Social and cultural Useful if you operate in international markets, allowing for segmentation based on cultural influences and social affiliations.
Types of segmentation data in use

Now that you know about the different ways to use email list segmentation methods, let’s look at how to actually do it.

Using Segmentation Data to Improve Email Marketing Efforts

Here’s a step-by-step guide on using segmentation on your email lists:

  1. Define segmentation criteria: Identify the criteria you will use for segmentation. 
  2. Create segments: Based on your defined criteria, create different segments within your email list. For example, you might create segments for new subscribers, like leads that attended a certain webinar, high-value prospects, location-specific leads, or inactive subscribers.
  3. Use segmentation tools: Email marketing platforms and CRMs provide segmentation tools or features. Use these to segment your list based on various criteria. You may have to create rules or conditions that automatically place subscribers into specific segments.
  4. Personalized emails: You can also add personalization steps to your segmentation process. Tailor your email content to each segment to create different versions of your emails or dynamically insert content based on the segment.
  5. Automated campaigns: Implement automated campaigns triggered by specific events or actions. Like welcome email campaigns for new subscribers or abandoned cart emails for users who leave your website before completing a purchase.

Remember to regularly monitor the performance of your segmented campaigns to understand the effectiveness of your segmentation. With the help of this awesome feature, you can send more targeted emails, improving the relevance of your messages and increasing engagement with your audience.


How to Personalize Emails

Once you have your email segmentation strategy in place, it’s time to focus on personalization. Mastering it involves a combination of strategic planning, data analysis, and continuous optimization. 

Follow these 7 steps to nail email personalization:

  1. Clearly outline your objectives for personalization. Whether it’s increasing open rates, improving click-through rates, boosting conversions, or enhancing customer loyalty, having specific goals will guide your personalization efforts.
  2. Segment your email list into smaller, targeted groups before you think about personalization. This allows you to tailor content to the unique characteristics of each segment.
  3. Write personalized subject lines to grab your reader’s attention. Address the recipient by name or use their location, or incorporate any other relevant information to make the email feel more individualized.
  4. Use dynamic content in your emails to automatically change certain elements based on the recipient’s data. A good example would be an offer or discount that is specific to their location.
  5. Map out the email marketing customer journey and identify points where personalized interactions can enhance the overall experience. This includes pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages.
  6. You can set up automated email workflows triggered by specific user actions. A good example would be emailing a customer with a product recommendation or special discount a day after they spend some time browsing that product’s page on your website.
  7. Implement real-time personalization where possible. For example, dynamically update the content of your emails based on the latest interactions a subscriber has had with your website or app.

Email Personalization Strategies

Below is a table explaining different email personalization strategies:

Customer dataUse in email personalization
Purchase historyOffer personalized discounts on frequently bought items.
Product preferencesTailor product recommendations and promotions based on customers’ preferred categories or brands.
Browsing behaviorPersonalize website content, such as suggested products or content, based on pages visited and time spent on specific sections.
Interaction historyPersonalize communication by referencing past interactions like customer service inquiries or feedback.
Feedback responsesUse feedback to improve products and services, and tailor future interactions based on expressed preferences.
Customers in loyalty programsRecognize and reward loyal customers with personalized offers, exclusive discounts, or early access to new products.
Social media engagementCustomers are often more vocal on social media. Leverage this to send customized content.
Sales funnel stageYou can use personalization to rapidly move customers through the sales funnel by using behavioral data, especially in the later stages.
Email personalization strategies

It’s important to stay up-to-date with email marketing trends in personalization. Monitor your competitors to track the different tactics and strategies they use. Attend industry events and read relevant publications to stay connected with the evolving landscape.


Why You Need Both Email Segmentation and Personalization

Email segmentation is a must and so is email personalization. Impersonal emails can be a turn-off, but more importantly, using segmentation and personalization methods effectively can clock many more conversions for your business. The better you know your customer, the better your pitch will be. 

In an age where users only skim through your email for a few seconds, keeping it relevant can make all the difference. While segmentation lets you cast a wide net, personalization lets you reel them in.

Segmentation and Personalization Statistics

  • According to Sender.net, segmented email campaigns drive 30% more opens and 50% more click-throughs compared to unsegmented campaigns.
  • A significant 78% of marketers from the study above believe subscriber segmentation is the most effective strategy for their email marketing campaigns.
  • 25% of revenue is generated from a segmented email list, according to Data and Marketing Association.
  • Marketers have reported a 760% increase in email revenue from segmented campaigns.
  • The same study tells us emails with personalized subject lines achieve a 26% higher open rate.
  • Personalized emails generate a 14% higher click-through rate compared to non-personalized ones.

Next,  let’s check out what the future of segmentation and personalization looks like.

Segmentation and Personalization Trends

What is the Difference Between Email Segmentation and Personalization

One might assume email personalization is more important than email segmentation, but that’s not true. Segmentation gives you an overview of your customer pool and helps you focus on the kind of customers you want to sell to. Personalization is where you zoom in and use specific details to guide customers toward conversion. 

Both strategies have their appropriate time and context. Utilizing them in tandem enhances the overall effectiveness of your email marketing strategy.

Segmentation and Personalization Strategies

Customer segmentation and personalization strategies help businesses connect with their audience on a deeper level. For instance, a clothing brand might segment customers by style preferences and send tailored recommendations for new arrivals matching their tastes.

Below, we look at examples where personalization and segmentation are used together effectively.

Type of campaignSegmentationPersonalization
Recurring emailsMarketers group subscribers by their birth dates or other relevant dates.Emails include the recipient’s name and a special birthday discount or gift.
Abandoned cart emailBusinesses target users who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase.Emails feature the specific products left in the cart and a tailored discount to encourage conversion.
Upsell emailCompanies identify customers who recently purchased a specific product.Emails recommend complementary products and include a thank-you note using the customer’s name.
Event email marketingMarketers segment recipients based on their attendance or interest in specific events.Emails highlight event-related content, such as exclusive access or discounts, customized for each recipient.
Local email marketingBusinesses group subscribers by their location or time zone.The emails include region-specific offers aligned with local holidays or weather conditions.
Using personalization and segmentation together

Segmentation and Personalization Ideas

The 10 examples below demonstrate how personalization and segmentation come together to make email marketing more effective:

  1. A bakery segments customers by birth date and sends an email offering John a free cupcake on his birthday.
  2. An online clothing store has a segment for shoppers who leave items in their cart. The store then emails Sarah, showing the dress she added, with a 10% discount.
  3. A hotel chain segments customers by location and emails Alex, highlighting winter packages available near their city.
  4. A pet store segments recent dog food buyers and emails Emma with a recommendation for matching treats.
  5. A tech company segments attendees of last year’s conference and invites Mike to this year’s event, offering early bird pricing.
  6. A coffee shop segments loyalty program members and emails Lisa, showing her points total and a free drink offer.
  7. A gym segments inactive members and emails Mark, saying, “We miss you!” along with a free week to restart his workouts.
  8. A gaming company segments players of a specific genre. They then send an email to Jamie, introducing a new game tailored to their interests.
  9. An island resort creates a segment of past guests. The team then contacts Ava, reminding her of a past vacation and attaching a discount for her next booking. The hotel also notifies her of a referral program for her friends.
  10. A shoe retailer segments customers who browsed a sold-out sneaker and emails Jake when it’s back, offering priority purchase.

Up next, we share guidelines to help you get both segmentation and personalization right.


Email Segmentation Best Practices

For email marketers, applying segmentation and personalization can only be beneficial. Follow the best practices below to create meaningful, individualized experiences. This will help drive both customer satisfaction and business growth.

Email Segmentation Best Practices

Email segmentation is a powerful tool in email marketing, and implementing best practices can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns. 

Here are top 8 list segmentation best practices to consider:

  1. Conduct thorough market research and analyze your existing customer data to understand the characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of your audience.
  2. Clearly define the criteria for segmenting your audience. This may include demographic information, behavioral data, location, purchase history, or engagement level.
  3. You can also combine different criteria for a more nuanced list segmentation. For example, you might create segments based on both demographics and behavior to target a specific group of high-value customers.
  4. Good email list management dictates you keep your segments up-to-date by regularly refreshing the data. 
  5. Use automation tools to dynamically update segments in real time based on user interactions, ensuring your campaigns are always targeting the most relevant audience.
  6. Consider creating segments that align with the different stages of the customer lifecycle. This could include new subscribers, active customers, lapsed customers, and loyal customers.
  7. Regularly test the effectiveness of your segments by comparing the performance of segmented campaigns against non-segmented ones. Use email A/B testing to fine-tune your list segmentation strategy.
  8. Allow email marketing subscribers to manage their preferences and opt out of certain segments if they choose. Respect user choices to maintain a positive relationship.

While segmentation is a powerful tool, avoid creating too many segments. Over-segmentation can lead to smaller, less impactful groups and make managing campaigns more complex.


How to Use Email Personalization Like a Pro

Email personalization, used effectively, could set you apart from your competitors in a big way. 

Here are the best practices to implement so you execute personalization successfully:

  • Be diligent about data collection. The effort you put into collecting accurate data will pay off in the long run.
  • Start off slow. If you’re new to email personalization, start with basic elements such as addressing recipients by name in the email and using personalized subject lines. As you gain confidence, gradually introduce more sophisticated personalization techniques.
  • Don’t over-use personalization. Set your objectives clearly — whether it’s improving open rates, increasing click-through rates, or driving specific actions, having clear objectives will guide your personalization strategy.
  • Test your triggered campaigns so you can understand your customer’s mindset better. Conduct A/B testing to optimize email personalization elements such as subject lines, content variations, and CTAs. Use data-driven insights to refine your personalization strategy continually.
  • Obtain explicit permission from users before collecting and using their data for personalization. Be transparent about how you use their information and allow them to manage their preferences. This is not only important for compliance, but your customers will appreciate you for it.

By incorporating these personalization best practices into your email marketing strategy, you can create more targeted, engaging, and relevant experiences for your subscribers, leading to increased customer satisfaction and better email performance.


Segmentation and Personalization at Campaign Refinery: Piece of Cake!

At Campaign Refinery, we understand the importance of both email segmentation and personalization.

We aim to empower our clients to execute the most successful email campaigns they can, and list segmentation and email personalization play a critical role in making this possible. That is why we offer the best email list management tools along with automation flows that let you plan the most complex campaigns with ease.

Take a look at our search page, for instance. You can easily pull up a group of subscribers with certain characteristics and create a segment so you can target them with specific email campaigns. 

Campaign Refinery Contacts Search
Campaign Refinery Contacts Search

With your list segmentation in place, you can use merge variables next, to ensure your content appeals to them on a personal level. Observe how easy it is to include merge variables in your email on our simple user interface.

Campaign Refinery Personalization Options
Campaign Refinery Personalization Options

With segmentation and personalization locked and loaded, wouldn’t you love to see a massive boost to your open rates? 

Hey, we’ve taken care of that too! Campaign Refinery offers a Gamification feature that will send your engagement levels to the moon; we’re talking open rates of 76.37% and a 72.76% click rate

We also built a tag-based system into our platform that lets you monitor each customer’s sales journey on a microscopic level. No matter what your personalization strategy is — you can find a way to make it come alive at Campaign Refinery. 

Sounds interesting?

Sign up to join Campaign Refinery today!

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