Collecting behavioral interests of your subscribers

Collecting behavioral interests allows you to add insight to general interests and other information. You can collect behavioral interests by making assumptions based on frequent customer questions or by observing how prospects, subscribers, or customers behave in the context of your business relations. Keeping behavioral interests private is a good idea because the subjects of your behavioral studies might not self-identify with the label that you place on them. For example, you might label someone as a discount shopper because she uses a lot of coupons, but she might think the label makes her less important than other customers. Segmenting your subscribers into private lists using behavioral observation also allows you to send more relevant information without involving subscribers in a time-consuming process. Here is a sampling of private list categories that can prove useful for sorting lists by behavioral interest. You might want to rename them, depending on how you are asking for the information:

- Coupon users: Some people buy some things only when your products or services are on sale or when they can save money over a competing product. Coupon users are more likely to respond to promotions with associated discounts and freebies, so it pays to be able to identify these folks.

- Repeat buyers: If you can identify when certain subscribers are likely to be thinking about a purchase, you can sort them by date of last purchase and send your message when they’re likely to be interested in a purchase. For example, a hair salon might note a trend that customers think about their next haircut every 30 days. For a scenario like this, your coupon should arrive around the end of that 30-day period. Here’s an example with a little longer time frame: If your business offers oil changes, try sending a promotion every three months. However, if your customers adhere to a longer buying cycle (such as customers who buy a new car every three to four years), don’t wait that long to send them an e-mail because you don’t want them to forget you.

- Very Important Customers (VICs): A VIC list can include big spenders, frequent shoppers, referral sources, or people who give you valuable feedback about your business. VICs should be pampered, thanked, and welcomed treated like royalty.

- Advocates: Hopefully, you have some customers (besides Mom and Dad) who just love your business. Or maybe people on your list love helping others, so they’re willing to spread the word to help your business grow. Segmenting advocates into a separate list allows you to send them gifts and incentives that no one else receives.

- Customers and prospects: The nature of a business relationship often changes after a person has parted with some of his money, and the nature of your communications might need to change as well. For example, after someone makes a first decision to buy, you can probably stop sending her links to online brochures or directions to your store unless, of course, the purpose of your e-mail is to ask the customer to forward such information.