Customers these days can behave erratically. Such moodiness is no wonder when you consider the abundance of communication choices they toggle on a daily basis. Bouncing from pixel to ping with lightening speed is enough to edge anyone into mutable mayhem. As a marketer, observing and predicting customer behavior-especially in the media maelstrom-is key to getting noticed. To do this well, and with dividends, you must know your customers: what they do, what they like, what they view and what they buy. As you follow these patterns, you’ll piece together the clues to why they click the way they do. And this insight is worth tons in the long run.

Email’s flexibility breeds focus

The personable, flexible nature of email makes it especially adaptable to individual reader habits. Unlike other media, such as online advertising and one-way videos, email is the perfect tool for writing to your audience needs. That’s because email functions as a conversation-and based on user behavior, you can specifically focus that dialogue to address customer interests and patterns. With a behaviorally crafted email strategy, you ferret out prospect lifestyle and can then speak to these nuances. This tact not only keeps you in their good graces, it ultimately leads to higher conversions rates. When you integrate ’smart’ email content with other online tools, you build prospect relationships that yield ongoing success.

Going mental over great content

One way to maximize the impact of any message is to boost the ‘wow’ factor. There’s nothing like a tantalizing email hook to entice a hungry reader. But this ploy only works if your target is really hungry - and enticed by your message. The key is, offer up content that impresses and meshes with the everyday habits of who you’re selling to. You can do this by applying some basic psychology.

Once you understand how customers act-and react-you’ll know how to connect. As you hone your understanding, keep these basic behavioral categories top of mind:

• Activities
• Interests
• Past purchases
• Viewing habits
• Other traits specific to website, email campaign, or media engagement

Journey inside your prospect’s brain

Research from multiple sources and from clients consistently shows that sending the right person the right email message at just the right time can, obviously, significantly drive email marketing ROI. The question is how do you read your recipients’ thoughts and send just what they want, when they want it? To answer this, learn and adopt these ‘best practices’ for targeting results:

1. Be a reliable email partner

Establish a consistent and trusted pattern of email communication with your customers. For humans, most routines are hard to break and this will play in your favor.

2. Segment your sends

Monitor the actions and repeat behavior of each market segment in your database and track that data. Over time, patterns will emerge-such as clicking on certain ads or special offers-and you can adapt your sends accordingly.

3. Reward the loyal ones

Tie email to cross-channel loyalty programs, which help companies amass data to fuel customization of their email programs. This approach also leads to significant increase in email click-through and engagement.

4. Talk like they do

Write email in the voice of the customer-literally. Targeting this way, along with consumer-generated contact, can lift conversion by more than 20%.

5. Remember history repeats itself

Identify individuals who are likely to purchase based on past history, activity and interests. Develop these propensity models as a regular part of your monitoring process. With the data, you can customize dynamic emails with the most relevant content.

6. Follow abandoned carts

Use website analytic data to target specific emails based on browsing activity and abandoned shopping carts. Response emails can be extremely targeted and produce an immediate revenue stream.

7. Sprinkle in up-sells

Optimize transactional messages to cross sell or drive consumers back to your site.

Note, be careful to follow CAN SPAM rules with opt-outs, but leverage the opportunity while you have it.

8. Send replenishment reminders

Remind individuals or procurement managers that its time to re-order. Set up triggered emails based on previous purchase behavior to automatically send. Test for timing, content and offers to monitor engagement behavior.

9. Ease ‘em over

Let users choose their preferred engagement channel. Remember, some consumers are still hesitant to purchase online. You don’t want to scare them off with overwhelming Web offers and ads. As you work to win them over online, stay neutral enough so that they still want to purchase your product-online or off!

10. Survey after purchase

Continue your customer connection with post-purchase messages. Send emails that gather market research and involve customers in product development and/or customer service reviews.

This high-touch technique helps customers feel more connected to your brand. It also gives you the opportunity to drive additional purchases and show customers you value their business and opinions.

11. Prevent lapses & inactivity

Apply data to create campaigns that divert poor behavior, such as consumer inactivity. Some marketers use offers, while others have success with simple reminders about program and product benefits.

Making Sense of Next Steps

Now that you’ve got a handle on behavioral email best practices, let the implementation begin! As always, consistent tactics backed by solid strategy is the best path to results. As you engage, be thoughtful of these success steps along the way:

• Audit your data and understand what’s available right now and where you want to go in the future.

• Analyze consumer trends and identify opportunities to target customers based on certain behaviors.

• Start with one campaign/program and develop testing that allows you to learn, prior to automating or developing dynamic campaigns.

• Start again with your next campaign opportunity.

• Track ROI and share your success with executives!

Consider the future

Email has proven itself as a revenue-building asset for years. Scalability, flexibility, and customization make it a choice that marketers can count on to deliver results. Surges in media outreach and digital storytelling simply build on email’s inherent power to connect and produce ROI.

Satisfied with your email marketing program? Get your free trial of Yesmail Direct, an affordable email marketing program. Be sure to take a look at Yesmail’s other email marketing solutions too.