Email personalization is a trending topic in sales. The discourse around personalization however lacks nuance. And with many people now joining the discourse around email personalization it’s important to get clear about what we mean.
The topic of email personalization refers to the content of an email that is personalized with respect to the recipient. There is a large spectrum of what is considered personalization. Naturally not all personalization is created equal with some formats considered more impactful than others.
To make email personalization easier to understand, we've categorized it.
The following "Levels" all fall under the “umbrella” of personalization but belong to different places on the email personalization spectrum:
Level 1: variable personalization → replacing words and names using variables that get filled in automatically e.g. {{first name}}, {{company name}}, {{job title}} etc.
This is easy to do at scale and requires the least amount of time investment. However it’s also the least impactful and easiest to detect.
Level 2: low-level observation → This includes commonalities, the college he/she went to, the sports team from the city they live in etc.
These are not easy to automate and therefore are considered better than pure variable based personalization. However this type of personalization isn’t all that meaningful other than to tell the receiver that you’re human. Level 2 is best used for p.s. Statements and follow ups.
Level 3: high-level observation →This includes data from your prospect's Linkedin profile, firmographics, news, blogs, Crunchbase, etc.
Making reference to these information sources is far more impactful and lets the recipient know that you put in the work and did your research. It shows that there is real intention in reaching out.
Level 4: relevant observation → Out of all the previous data, this one uses the most relevant to the product/industry you're selling to.
This combines Level 3 with relevance. It requires using the information sources that are most relevant to the problem or solution at hand. It not only shows the recipient that you did your research but it also explains why you’re reaching out.
Every level has its own sublevels which are a function of the quality and accuracy. And all levels can be elevated by weaving the personalization into the email naturally.
