Every day, we send and receive more than 293 billion emails. Most of them are generic batch-and-blast messages we delete without even opening. Nothing stands out in the inbox better than personalization. Simply including someone’s first name in a subject line, the lowest-hanging fruit of personalization that can be achieved by simply pasting {{first_name}}, increases an email’s chance of being opened. Imagine what more advanced personalization can do.

Advanced personalization, the specialty of our sister brand Liveclicker, uses real-time data tailored to each individual customer at the moment-of-open. According to research from Liveclicker and the Relevancy Group, retailers who deploy advanced personalization tactics drive 17% more revenue than their counterparts deploying basic personalization, such as first names in subject lines.

5 Examples Advanced Personalization

“We’re used to seeing great websites and flat, uninspiring emails. This creates a situation where email becomes outdated and underwhelming,” says Liveclicker COO Kenna Hilburn, who recently shared her insights on ClickZ’s Tech Talk series. “For example, a brand might have a sale and send an email at 9 a.m. Eastern time. But someone who opens up the email when they get up on the West Coast is out of luck because all the items they like are now sold out. The email does more harm than good in that situation.”

Deploying this tactic, one Liveclicker customer experienced a significant decline in complaint volume while email duration increased by 200%. But inventory is just one element of an email that can be enhanced by advanced personalization. Other examples include:

  • Promotional information. Not everyone reads their emails right away. Advanced personalization allows marketers to ensure that customers don’t see information about sales that are already over.
  • Loyalty programs. Using Liveclicker technology, Ulta ensures everything in this personalized loyalty program recap is accurate when Kyla opens the email — not when Ulta sent it.
  • Content formats. Not every browser supports video content. This is particularly true on mobile, which accounted for 46% of email opens last year. If marketers upload different content formats — say a GIF and static image — advanced personalization technology detects the recipient’s browser, selecting the appropriate content format.
  • Weather. Bringing advanced personalization to product recommendations, you can display the right items for the current conditions. When are you more likely to think about bathing suits: when it’s 90 degrees and sunny or when it’s not?

To learn more about advanced personalization, and to see Liveclicker’s technology is action, watch Kenna’s full Tech Talk on ClickZ here.