Hyper-personalization in Email Marketing: An Overview by Our Experts

Hyper-personalization is not just advanced personalization but a deeper commitment to customers made possible by technology. Far from being an extension of peeping-Tom antics on the part of self-serving marketers, hyper-personalization is about forging deeply human relationships with your audience, not so much by knowing about as by knowing them. 

As far as email marketing is concerned, hyper-personalization is about crafting experiences so tailored to the individual recipient that they know the emails were written just for them. 

But what does all this entail? How can you leverage hyper-personalization to serve your customers and grow your business? 

In fact, why should you bother about “hyper” personalization when personalization seems to be doing the job just fine?  

Just to keep up with your competition? Maybe to mouth the shibboleth while spitballing with a potential client? 
Let’s start with that and continue in the following order: 

• Why should you care about hyper-personalization?
  
• How to hyper-personalize email campaigns?
  
• Tips on hyper-personalization in email marketing
  
• A word on multilingual email campaigns
  
• 6 tools to get started with hyper-personalization

Why should you care about hyper-personalization?

Yes, you’re already reaping off highly personalized email campaigns. 

But the difference between personalization and hyper-personalization is not just in degree but also in kind. It’s a wholly different way of connecting with your customers, and data makes this possible. 

Where personalization uses elementary data such as first names and purchase history, hyper-personalization leverages a rich pool of data (past purchases, browsing behavior, demographics, preferences) and AI to create laser-focused messaging that resonates deeply. And besides: 

• Hyper-personalization has led to a considerable increase in business results for 86% of companies. (Source: Evergage)
  
• 90% of customers find highly-tailored campaigns very appealing. (Source: Deloitte)
  
• 78% of customers are more likely to repurchase from a brand that sends them tailored content. (Source: McKinsey)

So no, not just to keep ahead of your competition, but your customers as well. Clearly, hyper-personalization is effective. And we ourselves can vouch for it. Advanced personalization was part of our email marketing program with Wag!, a pet wellness service provider based in the U.S. Check out the Wag! case study. 

How to hyper-personalize email campaigns?

There are various techniques to hyper-personalize your email campaigns. But for starters, here are five ways to do it. 

1. Collect customer data

Start by collecting customer data such as:

• Name, gender
  
• Time, season, customer location
  
• Marital status
  
• Occupation/profession
  
• Device type
  
• Products previously viewed or purchased
  
• Time spent on website and app
  
• Price point

It’s not an exhaustive list, mind you. But it shows the possibilities. 

But how do you collect customer data? dotCMS recommends the following three methods:

1. Social listening: Educate yourself about your target audience from their engagement with social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Reddit threads, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
   
2. Attribute analysis: Attribute analysis is the process of identifying and analyzing shared attributes, such as interests, values, opinions, etc., between individuals in your customer base. Use these attributes/data points to tailor the customer experience.
   
3. Behavioral segmentation and event sequence analysis: Collect data about your customer while they’re buying a product. This can include whether or not the customer used a coupon, average purchase time, device type, etc. Leverage these data points to simplify the shopping experience.
   

“The leading brands in e-commerce and SaaS are using extremely advanced levels of personalization. This is made possible because of the granular data they’re collecting from customers and prospects at various stages of the buying cycle,” says Ryan Turner, founder of Ecommerce Intelligence.

2. Perform advanced segmentation

In traditional personalization, you would segment your audience based on shared characteristics and interests. In hyper-personalization, you must create highly granular segments depending on the available data. 

Ideally, you could never be too granular with your segmentation. But you want to care, not creep out the audience. So, advanced segments could be:

• Subscribers close to making a purchase
  
• Existing, one-time customers
  
• Low-end customers
  
• High-end customers
  
• Look-alike subscribers
  
• Customers who purchased on mobile
  
• Customers who purchased on desktop
  
• Returning customers

And so on.

The point is to anticipate customer needs. As Sunil Thomas, co-founder and executive chairman of CleverTap, says, “Granular and real-time segmentation and personalization will equip marketers to individualize experiences in lockstep with what customers value in any given moment.”

3. Create dynamic content

Tailor your email content based on subscriber data. Use dynamic content to personalize product recommendations, showcase abandoned cart items, and highlight blog posts relevant to their interests.
“Traditional personalization strategies,” dotCMS notes, “saw companies send cart abandonment emails, while a more hyper-personalized approach revolves around discussing the specific items they abandoned, offering incentives for those items, and creating limited-time offers that cater to the customer.” Below is a cool illustration of this statement. 

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4. Set up automated triggers

Set up automated emails triggered by specific actions. These feel super personal because they arrive at exactly the right moment. 

For example, here is a browse abandonment email from Marine Layer. The high-point of this email is the browse-optimized CTAs.

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5. Use location data

If you have location data (with permission, of course!), use it to personalize your emails. Local deals, store opening hours, or even weather-related product recommendations can add a nice touch.

In this email, Loisa simplifies it all with a store locator feature.

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Tips on hyper-personalization in email marketing

Hyper-personalization is not just fancy tech. Consider the following tips:

• Use a friendly and conversational tone: Write like you’re talking to a friend, not a robot.

• Keep it concise and scannable: People are busy, so get to the point quickly and use bullet points and visuals to break up the text.

• A/B test everything: Test different subject lines, content, and layouts to see what resonates best with your audience.

• Don’t be afraid to get creative: Personalization doesn’t have to be po-faced. Use humor, emojis, or even GIFs to add personality.

A word on multilingual email campaigns

A critical component of hyper-personalization is multilingualism. If you are a global brand, you need to set up multilingual campaigns because:

• People are more likely to engage with content presented in their native language. This can lead to higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
  
• A multilingual approach shows customers you value their culture and preferences. This fosters trust and strengthens relationships.
  
• Multilingual campaigns demonstrate your commitment to inclusivity and global awareness, portraying your brand in a positive light.

“To hit the mark with audiences abroad,” says Natasha Zack, journalist and writer, “you need to not only translate your copy but localize all the content you use in your campaigns. That means you have to consider cultural differences and country specifics, paying attention to idioms, slang, wordplay, references, tone, and imagery to avoid coming off as weird, unpersuasive, intrusive, or even offensive.”

Evidently, it’s not just translation but thoughtful transculturation. It’s not growing the spots but being the leopard.

6 tools to get started with hyper-personalization

Our experts recommend the following six tools to get started with hyper-personalization in email marketing:

1. Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
   
2. Dynamic Yield
   
3. Persado
   
4. Salesforce Einstein
   
5. Evergage
   
6. RightMessage

Let’s look at each of these in brief.

1. Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly, Pardot)

Pardot, a Salesforce product, excels at understanding your accounts in-depth. It collects comprehensive data, including demographics, interactions, and engagement history. This information is then used to create highly targeted emails, such as re-engagement campaigns for inactive leads or personalized welcome messages for new customers.

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2. Dynamic Yield 

Dynamic Yield is a dynamic personalization platform that adapts to your audience’s behavior. It leverages data to craft re-engagement emails that resonate with individual preferences. For instance, if a customer abandons their cart, Dynamic Yield can send a personalized email reminding them of the forgotten items and suggesting complementary products.

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3. Persado 

Persado uses generative AI to create emotionally resonant emails. By analyzing audience data, Persado generates content that connects with readers on a deeper level. This leads to higher open and click-through rates. Moreover, Persado’s deep learning models continuously monitor email performance and make real-time adjustments for optimal results.

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4. Salesforce Einstein

Salesforce Einstein is an AI engine that analyzes your audience to identify the most effective language and tone. It creates highly personalized emails that resonate with your customers, making them feel understood and engaged. Einstein’s insights help you tailor your messaging to individual preferences and drive higher conversions.

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5. Evergage 

Evergage, now part of Salesforce Interaction Studio, offers real-time analytics across various channels. It enables you to create a “affinity graph” that visualizes detailed customer profiles. This information can be used to send personalized product recommendations, special offers, and abandoned cart reminders.

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6. Right Message

RightMessage leverages behavioral data to create personalized emails. 

By analyzing information such as website visits, reading history, and ad clicks, RightMessage tailors email content to individual preferences. The tool integrates with your email marketing platform to enable seamless personalization.

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In closing: Ditch the batch, get (hyper) personal! 

Hyper-personalization is about making every message count. It’s not just a technological improvement over traditional personalization but also about connecting with customers on their terms, from their points of view, and spontaneously mirroring their values, interests, and choices. 

Ready to take your email marketing to the next level? Contact us to explore how hyper-personalization can work for your brand.