Brandt’s optional marketing service, Atlas CRM, enables you to send automated emails to your license-purchasing customers. In email marketing, delivering the right message to the right customer is crucial for driving engagement and minimizing unsubscribe rates. To achieve this, it’s important to understand the distinction between segments and subscription groups. While both are powerful tools, they serve unique purposes in tailoring communications to your audience.
Segments: Driven by Customer Actions
Segments are built using a customer’s profile information, purchase history, and mobile app data. By leveraging this data, you can create targeted campaigns based on:
- Profile Information: Details like name, address, phone number, and email.
- Purchase Data: Insights from licenses, applications, or campground reservations.
- Mobile App Data: Metrics such as app version, app usage, or whether the app has been uninstalled.
Segments provide a dynamic way to target customers based on their actions, behaviors, and interactions with our system. For example, you could send a renewal reminder to customers who purchased a fishing license last year or a prompt to re-download your app to those who recently uninstalled it.
Subscription Groups: Driven by Customer Interests
Subscription groups, on the other hand, are a select group of customers who have opted into specific content topics. These groups reflect a customer’s interests and allow for deeper customization and personalization in marketing campaigns.
Examples of subscription groups include:
- Fishing
- Hunting
- Wildlife
- Camping
- Conservation
- Newsletters
By offering customers the ability to choose which topics they receive communications about, subscription groups deliver more relevant and engaging messages—resulting in higher engagement rates and lower unsubscribe rates.
The Difference: Actions vs. Interests
- Segments: Built from customer actions (e.g., purchases, app interactions).
- Subscription Groups: Built from customer interests (e.g., content topics they’ve opted into).
Both play a crucial role in email marketing, but subscription groups excel at fostering a personalized experience, ensuring customers only receive messages they’re genuinely interested in.
Best Practices for Building Subscription Groups
To maximize the effectiveness of subscription groups, follow these double opt-in processes:
For Current Customers:
- Email customers a link to manage their subscription preferences.
- Direct them to a webpage with subscription group categories.
- Send an opt-in confirmation email after they make their selections.
For New Customers:
- After creating a profile in your system, customers receive a confirmation link via email.
- The link directs them to a webpage where they can choose subscription groups.
- Send a welcome email confirming their selections and introducing the types of communications they can expect.
By allowing customers to choose the topics that interest them, subscription groups:
- Enhance personalization.
- Increase engagement rates.
- Reduce unsubscribe rates.
A well-executed subscription group strategy ensures your emails provide value, build trust, and keep customers coming back. By combining the insights of customer segments with the interests reflected in subscription groups, you can deliver tailored, impactful marketing campaigns that drive results.