Overlooking email segmentation means you are missing out on sending information that converts your target audience. There are various ways to segment your email list, one of which is based on the geographical location of your users. But why is it important?

The benefits of geographic email segmentation

There are many reasons why segmenting your email list in this way makes for effective marketing.

#1 Different needs and wants relating to location or region

Segmenting your email list based on the location of recipients allows a brand to target the varying wants and needs of customers dependent on where they live. For example, your product may be incredibly useful during long dry, hot spells and if you know a particular area of the country is in the grip of a heatwave, you could target them directly with an email campaign that solves some of their problems and gives the answers they need.

#2 It’s cost-effective

For very little marketing cash, you can grow your business substantially in this way. This is because rather than a general online marketing campaign, you are targeting a campaign to reach specific people. By doing so, you are offering them the products and services that solve a problem that they have.

In other words, a creative email campaign aimed at the right people is more efficient and effective than a blanket approach.

#3 Geographical email segmentation is easy (when you know how!)

You’ve put a lot of time and energy building your database of interested customers. You have asked them for key pieces of information, such as their location, for a reason. Now is the time to use it.

With effective tools in place, you can pull out groups based on different criteria, such as location, to send them emails that are specifically tailored to be of interest to them.

Key to the success of any segmentation of emails is understanding customer behavior. Effectively, you need to identify what the customer’s problem or issue is and how your product or service can solve it.

When does geographic segmentation of emails work?

There are many examples of when this kind of segmentation can work…

Example 1 – Global outdoor wear company

As a global outdoor wear company, sending a blanket email to customers across the globe with money off short-sleeved shirts when half of their customers are shivering in winter makes little sense. A waste of money and effort, this email would only appeal to customers who are in the middle of summer.

By segmenting their email campaign, they can email discounts of summer clothing to those customers enjoying summer and suggest what to look for a padded jacket for those in the grip of winter.

Example 2 – A cycling company

The first example was a broad and obvious one, but what about a cycle company who has a nationwide following? How would geographic segmentation work for them?

There are different kinds of cyclist – there are those who commute by bike to work or an urban cyclist. Then there are those who compete in road races or as part of triathlons. And there are rural cyclists or those that enjoy taking their bike off the beaten track.

Instantly, you can see the different groups and how the environment and their location would affect the type of bike they buy and the type of equipment and clothing they would need. They would also have different problems that need solving.

By identifying the geographic pressure, sending targeted emails to the urban cyclist means a better response than a blanket email to all customers and followers.

Does email segmentation work?

It can seem like a lot more hassle to take the time to segment your database list of email contacts. But here’s the thing – if customers receive emails that are of no interest to them and they continue to receive them, they are more likely to unsubscribe from your list. And so the blanket email approach can do more harm than good.

There are statistics that strongly suggest email segmentation really works. With targeted emails that are of interest to the customer, the email is four times more likely to be opened. Just over a quarter of companies also said that since they started email segmentation, unsubscribe rates dropped dramatically.

24% of companies who regularly segment their email campaigns also found that deliverability improved, sales leads increased and revenue increased as a result.

Research by HubSpot also found targeted, segmented emails that nurtured leads led to an increase in click-through rate – so people clicking on your website from the email – by 8%. In non-segmented emails, this was as low as 3%.

Still not convinced? Research by Jupiter Research found that compared to broadcast emails – the ‘just email everybody on the list’ approach – segmented emails drove 18 times more revenue.

Is geographic email segmentation right for every business?

It can be, and if not, there are other kinds of email segmentation that will work. The message when it comes to email segmentation is clear – a segmented approach means more clicks. And with a great landing page, brilliant website and product descriptions and the like, that can mean more customers and more revenue for your business.

Every customer wants to feel that they are valued by a company, and that starts with sending emails that are useful and interesting, solve their problems and meet their needs, because by doing so, your customer is more likely to engage.

But of course, getting your head around how to do this and what offers to send can be difficult. Which is why email segmentation is an essential part of outsourcing your online marketing efforts. Working with a company who understands the background of successful email marketing is the first important step.

No brand has a bottomless pit of marketing cash, and so it’s no surprise that successful businesses use email segmentation as part of their online marketing efforts. Are you using segmentation? Do you think it might be time you did?