Segment Email and Social Networks for a Vitamin-Power Boost
When a customer posted on the Nature Made Facebook Wall that she no longer wanted to receive the company's status updates, the Internet marketing manager, Sheryl Biesman, responded personally. It turns out that the customer loved the email program and wanted to stay subscribed. She just preferred not to connect via Facebook.
A story with a happy ending for that customer, but such a hands-on approach doesn't scale.
"We sell vitamins, we are focused on the niche, we don't go for mass appeal," Biesman says. "Still, we want to market efficiently and are committed to isolating our most important customers—be they buyers, social influencers, or our most loyal."
The answer is in stronger email and social-network segmentation. For example, Nature Made wants to reach out to Facebook fans who have more than 300 friends in order to share new product concepts as well as test a unique set of offers.
The company is still testing how best to do this on Facebook, where most of its status updates are blog postings from the website.
Meanwhile, Biesman is using segmentation to build stronger email connections with customers and prospects. "There are two ways of talking about social networks in our email," Biesman says.
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Stephanie Miller is vice-president of market development for Return Path, Inc. (www.returnpath.net). Reach her via Twitter (@StephanieSAM) or stephanie.miller@returnpath.net.
