Optimizing Email Nurtures with Segmentation - Thalox & Rapidi

Rapidi's Challenge: Improving Email Engagement

Rapidi, a leader in data integration solutions, was running multiple product-specific email workflows to nurture leads and engage customers. However, they faced several challenges: 

• Low Engagement Rates: Some emails were underperforming, with low open and click-through rates (CTR). 

• Ineffective Segmentation: Their old nurtures lacked targeted segmentation, leading to generic messaging that didn’t resonate with all recipients. 

• List Health Issues: Higher unsubscribe rates (1.38%) in the old nurtures indicated poor list health and audience fatigue. 

Rapidi needed a more strategic approach to improve email performance, reduce unsubscribes, and ensure their messaging resonated with the right audience.

The Solution: Engagement-Based Segmentation 

Thalox stepped in to optimize Rapidi’s email nurtures by introducing an engagement-based segmented approach. Here’s how we did it:

Workflow for a nurture based on engagement and product interest.

1. Segmentation by Engagement Level: 

• Contacts were divided into three groups: High Engagers (HE), Dormant Potential (DP), and Inactive (IN). 

• Each segment received tailored messaging and optimized subject lines to improve relevance. 
  

2. Repurposing High-Performing Emails: 

• We analyzed past email performance and repurposed the best-performing emails for the new nurtures. 

• These emails were optimized further for better engagement. 
  

3. Larger, More Diverse Audience: 

• The new nurtures targeted a significantly larger audience (20,846 contacts vs. 754 in the old nurtures), ensuring broader reach (during the same period of January-December 2024). 
  

3. Improved Deliverability:

Thalox focused on maintaining list health, resulting in better delivery rates (97–99%) and lower unsubscribe rates (0.16–0.44%).

The Results: Stronger Engagement and Sustainable Growth

First, let’s take a look at how the nurtures used to perform.

Old Nurtures

Product Interest: NAV, 365, ERP, Other – all emails 

The new segmented approach delivered measurable improvements: 

New Nurture High Engagers

Product Interest: NAV, 365, ERP, Other – all emails 

New Nurture Dormant Potentials

Product Interest: NAV, 365, ERP, Other – all emails 

New Nurture Inactive Contacts

Product Interest: NAV, 365, ERP, Other – all emails 

1. Improved List Health:

• Unsubscribe rates dropped significantly, from 1.38% in old nurtures to 0.16–0.44% in new nurtures. 

• Delivery rates improved to 97–99%, ensuring emails reached more inboxes.
   

2. Higher Total Engagements: 

• Despite lower percentage metrics (due to the larger audience), the new nurtures drove more total clicks: 

• 24–28 clicks in new nurtures vs. 16 clicks in old nurtures (during the same period of January - December 2024). 

• High Engagers showed the best performance, with a 16.48% open rate and 4.32% CTR. 
  

3. More Stable Metrics: 

• The new approach delivered consistent engagement across all segments, even with a 19x larger audience for Inactive contacts. 

• Dormant Potential and Inactive segments maintained steady engagement, with open rates of 12.94% and 12.56%, respectively. 

4. Better Real-World Performance: 

• While old nurtures had higher vanity metrics (e.g., 26.9% open rate), the new segmented approach showed stronger real-world performance when accounting for volume differences. 

A Smarter Way to Nurture Leads 

By adopting an engagement-based segmented approach in optimizing their email nurtures, Rapidi made nurtures more effective and sustainable. With Thalox’s data-driven strategy, they not only increased engagement but also improved list health and deliverability, setting them up for long-term success. 

This case study shows how smarter segmentation and optimization can make a big difference in email marketing—proving that better targeting leads to better results.