Customer Segmentation the Key for Small Businesses This Holiday Season

Begin at the top of your priority list and craft tailored messages for each segment. For example, you can create an exclusive discount for your most loyal customers and pair that with an email thanking them for their continued business. On the flip side, you could also create a "Come Back and See Us" email to customers who haven't made a purchase in a while, or send an email announcing your latest arrival of blouses for that product-specific segment. Another idea would be to take your list based on gender and send a "Gifts for Him" or "Gifts for Her" message featuring your best gift ideas.

Again, the possibilities are endless here. By taking the extra steps of tailoring your messages to specific audiences, you've personalized the experience and will see impressive gains in your email marketing metrics and, more importantly, sales conversions.

As a small business owner, you now have the recipe for the secret sauce that will ultimately keep your customers away from the mega retailers. Instead of broadcasting the same message to everyone in your database, a segmented approach will highly personalize the experience, which is a proven way to make your cash register jingle all season long.

Matt Winn is the senior marketing communications manager for Volusion, a provider of e-commerce software, website design/development and inbound marketing services.