The first challenge is getting prospects to open your email messages. The next is ensuring that they read your copy and, eventually, click through. 

The two biggest challenges facing web marketers in 2011 were generating relevant email copy, and delivering it at a time that maximizes response rates. This according to MarketingSherpa’s 2012 Email Benchmarking Report, which also revealed nearly a third of companies have developed strategies for overcoming those challenges.

The most crucial aspect of boosting response rates, according to the report, was segmenting lead lists and tailoring copy to engage each segment. Thus, the question becomes: “What’s the most effective way to segment corporate email lists?”

The three approaches that yielded the best results in 2011 were:

• Past purchase history: Emailing offers to specific sets of customers based on past buying habits, as well as the types of products/services that can benefit them most.
• Customer preferences: Using info from the registration process to provide customers with the specific types of offers they’ve requested.
• Stage in the lead pipeline: Are these qualified email recipients? Current customers? Past customers? Prospects who are in the midst of the buying cycle? Tailor email copy and lists accordingly.

Source: MarketingSherpa’s Annual Email Benchmark Report