I’m tall. 6’5” to be precise, which means that while I’m not crazy, over-the-top tall, I am taller than the vast majority of people I meet. There are some advantages to this: it helps on the basketball and volleyball courts, I’m easy to spot in a crowd, and I have no problem reaching items stocked on the top shelf at the grocery store.
There are also disadvantages. Flights of more than an hour can be brutal. I’ve been asked “do you play basketball?” oh, about 1 million times. And buying clothes (especially pants) can be a real challenge. The internet has helped a lot with this last one. Often bricks-and-mortar stores don’t carry pants in my size, but do have them available for purchase online. Still the selection is usually limited, so when I find a pair that I like and that fits properly, I tend to buy in bulk.
This provides a wonderful email marketing opportunity for clothing brands to build a relationship with me, and all of my tall brothers and sisters out there. One such company, LL Bean, does just that. I receive frequent (but not too frequent) emails from LL Bean, recommending certain items or alerting me to upcoming sales. The great thing is, these emails are targeted to me based on my buying history. While a generic “Save 25% this weekend” email might get my attention, a targeted “Save 25% on men’s chinos” definitely will. More importantly, this second subject line will make me more likely to take action, that is, to buy.
You can segment your customer base in so many ways–by age, gender, income level, dog people or cat people….the possibilities are endless. But underneath it all, your customers are human beings that have specific needs and wants. Engage your customers, listen to them, and learn what their needs and wants are. Then give them targeted, relevant information that provides a solution. This will lead not just to a short-term bump in sales, but to increased brand loyalty–loyalty that can make them customers for life.
Originally posted by Cory Schaefer