Personalized Communication Channels

I built a Clay workflow that automated 100% of manual prospecting AND turned raw account data into hyper-personalized messages with specific buying signals. Watch the video to see it in action. Here's how it works: 1. FINDING THE RIGHT ACCOUNTS We pull tech companies from Apollo, Crunchbase, and Clay's native company finder. Then Claygent visits each company's website to verify if they're actually B2B SaaS. Once confirmed, Claygent enriches them with funding data, job postings, headcount growth, and restructuring news. We even scrape Glassdoor reviews to analyze employee sentiment for potential pain points. 2. IDENTIFYING DECISION MAKERS We find prospects with validated work emails and mobile numbers using Clay's waterfall enrichments. Then, we use SureConnect to check if their phone numbers are likely to result in a pickup, saving hours of wasted calling time. We then analyze their LinkedIn activity to find posts relevant to our solution for personalized outreach angles. This gives us data points that normally take hours to research manually. 3. SEGMENTING BY SENIORITY LEVEL We split prospects into three segments: - C-suite - VP/Director - Manager level Each level gets completely different messaging because their priorities and pain points differ. C-level gets strategic messaging while managers get tactical messaging. This segmentation significantly improves response rates compared to one-size-fits-all messaging. 4. CREATING PERSONALIZED MESSAGES All account and prospect data are fed into multiple Claude prompts, which write custom messages for each prospect. These messages look better than what most could write manually, as all relevant data points are fed to finely tuned Claude prompts. We create both email copies and LinkedIn messages formatted for each channel. 5. AUTOMATING THE DISTRIBUTION We distribute prospects evenly among all SDRs through a round-robin system. Each prospect gets pushed to specific sequences in Outreach.io (email) and HeyReach.io (LinkedIn). The system also checks if they exist on these platforms to prevent any duplicates. Everything also syncs to the CRM Salesforce/HubSpot, so the sales team can access all data points we gathered. ___________ This workflow now requires no manual work, allowing the sales team to focus on conversations instead of research or manual list building. If you have any questions about the workflow, let me know in the comments.

Using "Hey {first name}" in your marketing emails and calling it personalization is like picking up a rock and calling it a hammer. Technically, it works. But we have better tools now, and failing to take advantage of them is going to leave you choking on the dust of your competitors. Here's how to catch up with the times and use TRUE personalization to boost engagement, loyalty, and conversions: 1. Use dynamic content fields to customize emails based on customer attributes, behaviors, and preferences. Go beyond just {first name} – incorporate product views, past purchases, and customer lifecycle stage. Don't be creepy! Be conversational. You want the reader to feel like you understand their needs, not like you've been peeking through their blinds. 2. Set up behavior-triggered automations like browse abandonment and cart recovery flows. Make these highly relevant by including viewed products, social proof, and timely offers. Marketing is all about getting the right offer in front of the right person at the right time, and behavior-based emails are one of the best ways to do that on a consistent basis. 3. Implement Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value (RFM) segmentation to deliver personalized messaging to different customer groups. Target VIPs, at-risk customers, and prospectives customers with specific messages to convert or retain them. 4. Create personalized journeys that adjust the user's experience based on customer data or actions. For example, if you're sending the exact same post purchase sequence to a repeat purchaser as you are for a first-time buyer, you're missing a huge opportunity. 5. Use replenishment flows for consumable products, reminding customers when it's time to reorder. Or, capture email addresses on PDPs for sold out products and notify them when the item in back in stock. Easy sales. Be careful to avoid these common personalization mistakes: 🙅🏼 Over-personalizing in a way that feels intrusive or creepy 🙅🏼 Sending irrelevant recommendations due to inaccurate or outdated data 🙅🏼 Over-segmenting to the point where segments are too small to be effective 🙅🏼 Using templated, robotic language that sounds unnatural The key is finding the right balance ––  personalized enough to be relevant and engaging, but not so specific that it becomes cringey or off-putting. When done well, personalization makes customers feel heard, understood and valued. This builds loyalty, increases engagement, and ultimately drives more conversions and revenue. Level up your personalization with one (or more!) of these strategies, and your KPIs are going to shoot up and to the right.

We analyzed 100K+ LinkedIn DMs to figure out what works. Here's what we found: 1️⃣ Personalization beats volume every time Campaigns with copy tailored to the ICP got up to 54.7% more replies. We stopped blasting generic messages and started personalizing based on specific pain points. We're using Clay for data enrichment and personalization, LinkedIn Sales Navigator for precise targeting. Next month target: Scale personalization without losing quality. Why? Take some time to personalize your messages; it'll go a long way. 2️⃣ Short messages crush long ones Messages under 150 characters had 22% more replies on average. We track which message length converts from each persona. We aim to get our point across in as few words as possible - nobody's reading novels. Next month plan: Test extra short hooks under 100 characters. 3️⃣ Contextual outreach destroys generic Messages referencing recent activity (LinkedIn posts, role changes) saw +18% replies. We find relevant reasons to reach out every time. Tool stack breakdown: Clay for finding recent activity, role changes, company updates LinkedIn Sales Navigator for activity monitoring Expandi for sequencing Zapier for workflow automation Next month: Keep refining context triggers - when something works, you optimize it. 4️⃣ Warm approach sequences that build relationships Connection requests sent after profile visits, post likes, or follows saw +30.2% acceptance rates. We make ourselves seen before reaching out. Sequences with 3+ steps performed 42% better than single-message flows. Different relationship temperatures get different approaches. 5️⃣ Multi-channel orchestration across every platform Adding email follow-up after no LinkedIn reply lifted reply rates by 13.8%. We don't rely on LinkedIn only. This is where most agencies lose pipeline - we track everyone who doesn't respond and re-engage via other channels. 6️⃣ Conversational copy beats direct pitches The messages that actually work: "Noticed you're hiring [role] - what's working for you?" (+18.2% replies) "Saw your post on [topic], curious what are you testing right now?" (+19.3% replies) "Saw you joined [company] - how's the first month going so far?" (+21.5% replies) "We analyzed [findings] - worth sharing what others in your space are doing?" (+27.1% replies) The results: 54.7% higher reply rates with personalized outreach 40%+ acceptance rates consistently 18%+ reply rates across campaigns 8%+ positive reply rates The system works because it's not just LinkedIn messaging - it's relationship building at scale with contextual touchpoints where your prospects actually engage. Want the full outbound playbook that's generated 54.7% higher reply rates? 👉 Comment "OUTBOUND" for our 7-day email series on the exact sequences we use.

Hot take: your "personalized" recruiting emails aren't actually personal. We just analyzed millions of outreach messages and confirmed what I've suspected for years: adding "{First_Name}" and "I see you worked at {Company}" is basically the same as sending a completely generic template. The data doesn't lie. "Somewhat personalized" messages get virtually identical reply rates as non-personalized ones.  But highly personalized messages? 73% engagement rate (shocking absolutely no one who understands how humans work). Here's the thing — top talent (especially in tech) gets bombarded with dozens of these "personalized" messages weekly. They can spot the mail-merge fields from a mile away. Real personalization means: — Referencing specific projects they've built, not just companies they've worked for — Connecting their unique experience to the actual problems your team is solving — Showing you've done more than 30 seconds of LinkedIn scanning Yes, this takes more time. That's the point. Everyone else is optimizing for speed and volume because it's easier to measure. We're optimizing for signal-to-noise ratio because it actually works. For our customers recruiting for senior engineering or leadership roles, this isn't optional — it's the price of admission. I loved what Olivia from Roblox shared: she actually sits with engineers to understand the day-to-day reality of their work, then puts those insights directly into her outreach. Not some generic "we have free snacks and WFH Wednesdays" pitch. The market has spoken. You can either be part of the noise, or you can be the signal. Your choice. (And yes, we built tools in Gem to make this level of personalization more scalable. But no tool replaces actually caring about who you're reaching out to.)

Should you treat email, SMS, and WhatsApp the same? Absolutely not. Email is expected. It’s the channel customers check when they have time. It’s passive, it sits quietly in the inbox. SMS and WhatsApp are different - they interrupt. They live next to messages from partners, friends, group chats. You’re not just competing with other brands, you’re stepping into someone’s personal life. If you're going to use those channels, the message has to earn its place. What’s worthy? A product drop with real demand. A time-sensitive, high-impact promotion. A restock alert for something I actually wanted. “New arrivals” and “browse the latest” might be fine for email, but they're lazy content for SMS or WhatsApp. If you’re working across multiple platforms, the question isn’t just what you’re saying, it’s how, where, and when you're saying it. We should be considering: Sequencing: If the customer received the offer via email this morning, should SMS follow up tomorrow if unopened? Or should WhatsApp be used only if they’ve historically engaged there? Suppression logic: Avoid over-messaging. Are we throttling based on frequency and channel mix? Personalisation by behaviour: Does the channel match the customer's engagement pattern? (E.g. only send SMS to those who click and convert from it.) Context-aware content: Messaging should feel native to the channel. WhatsApp shouldn’t feel like an email copy-paste. SMS shouldn't mimic a website banner. Most importantly: your customer is one person. They deserve a joined-up, intentional journey, not three disconnected nudges about the same thing.

Your sales emails suck. And guess what? I know because I get 30 of them a day. I see the same mistakes over and over...the boring intros, the endless rambling, and the generic pitches that make my inbox feel like a nightmare. Want to know why? Because your email has 3 seconds to make an impression. THREE. Seconds. That's how long you have before I hit "delete" So if you’re not cutting through the noise, you’re just part of the problem. Here’s why your outreach isn’t working: 🚫 Cut the fluff, now – “Hope you’re doing well” or “Just checking in” is a one-way ticket to the trash. No one has time for that. If you don’t get to the point within the first 5 words, you’re done. ✂️ Get to the point fast – Lengthy emails are a killer. Research shows emails under 50 words see 83% more replies. That means if you're writing a novel, you’re already losing. 📚 Personalize (like actually personalize) – "I see you're in [insert job title here]”—that's not personalization, it’s lazy. Do your homework and show that you understand my specific challenges and goals. If you don’t, I’m clicking delete before you even finish your sentence. 🎯 Relevance matters more than anything – If your email isn’t directly tied to what I’m trying to accomplish, it’s not going to get a reply. I don’t need a generic pitch; I need to know how you can help me solve my problems today. 🔥 Stop the lazy copy-paste – If I can tell you’re sending the same message to 100 people, I’m out. Your outreach should feel like you’re speaking to me, not to the entire world. Personalization isn’t just a buzzword. You’ve got 3 seconds to grab attention and show value. If you’re still using the same tired tactics, you’re wasting your time...and mine. 🎤 🫳 ALSO MASSIVE SHOUTOUT to the folks using video to prospect, can say that personalized video messages get a response from me every time. I LOVE them.

Prediction for how AI will be used to better reach and engage employees: ✨Hyper-Personalized AI Communicators✨ Imagine you’re a new employee at a large corporation. Part of your onboarding process will be taking an assessment to determine your personality style, communication preferences, learning style and cultural/social affinities. That assessment will create a Hyper-Personalized AI Communicator specifically for you. A super realistic AI character who will look, speak and sound like a real human being. Your Personal Communicator will interact with you via video and chat - not just sharing one-way messages but capable of live conversation. Every employee’s Communicator will be a bit different in appearance, style, energy and tone. All based around what will cultivate trust, make the employee feel comfortable, and convey authority without being demeaning. Imagine the variability in reaching and engaging a 25 year old woman working at an entry level desk based job in marketing vs reaching and engaging a 50 year old frontline manager who spends most of his day on the factory floor. The former may be matched with a Communicator who looks and sounds like her older sister. The latter may be matched with a Communicator who looks and sounds like my blue collar dad. When company communications, HR announcements or leader messages need to go out, they’ll be passed through these Personal Communicators so that every employee receives the message in a unique way that works for them. AI Communicators will highlight key points relevant to that employee’s specific role, answer questions and talk them through things. They’ll leverage a database of already approved core messaging to ensure everything shared perfectly aligns with the company mission, vision, values and strategic priorities. Over time, AI Communicators will learn about their employee partner personally as well. If that employee loves baking, the Communicator may occasionally share highly rated recipes. If the employee has a heart for animals, the Communicator may prompt the employee to take 5 minute breaks here and there to watch funny cat videos. These personal touches will only strengthen the feeling of connection between employee and Communicator, which will ultimately drive greater engagement and retention (the same way having friends at work keeps people in their jobs longer). And where does all this leave our communications leaders and teams? We’ll still be desperately needed. We’ll steer and shape the technology behind the scenes, adding human perspective and nuance along the way. There will still be a role for us in this new reality, but the role will be significantly different than it is today.

As consumers, we expect information to come to us. I used to think personalized ads were creepy, but now I'm just thankful. Sometimes, ads are so calibrated that I'm like, "Thank you for showing me exactly what I needed/wanted to see" 🙏 Get this: Companies know more about their employees than their customers, yet 72% of companies blast the same message to all (Gallup). Starting to see the disconnect here? ⛓️💥 Would you ever read a newsletter... that's not meant for YOU? Your employees aren’t dodging you. The reality is you only have 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 to capture their attention before they scroll or archive. There are now 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 in the workplace. You must think like an internal marketer. Otherwise, your messages will continue going unread. I like dos and don'ts, so here are a few I learned from our customers: ❌ Don't force your employees to log into something to digest information. ✅ Meet them where they are. YOU need to provide the versatility. ❌ Don't rely on one medium across all your employees e.g. newsletters. ✅ Diversify multiple formats of content to match mediums to mindsets. ❌ Don't send your message once and expect information absorption. ✅ Schedule a series of 7-8 touch points to reinforce the message. It doesn't need to be boring; it can be fun! And what's in it for you? Well, companies that hyper-personalize see 3x higher engagement and 40% lower turnover (McKinsey). 🧪 TRY THIS EXPERIMENT 🥽 Create dynamic content in your newsletter tailored toward your exact audience by department and region to start. Ask the Department Head to write a few relevant sentences at the top (above the fold) and include a background image of their local city... ... then say what you need to say. Notice your uptick in readership and reactions. Continue experimenting, iterating, and sharing tangible data back to the business. Master the art of how to capture your employee's attention... ... and you'll become a very popular internal communicator in no time. Don't be surprised if people ask you to help them with their campaigns 🏆

5 effective communication strategies for different platforms. Need to cut through the noise? Understanding how to tailor your communication to each platform is not only key but allows you to make a more meaningful impact. This isn’t just about reaching your audience—it’s about connecting with them in a way that aligns with their needs, preferences, and the context of those particular platforms. 5 strategies… ⭐ Personalization: Regardless of the platform, the most effective strategy is to personalize your communication. Generic messages fall flat because they don’t address the specific needs or interests of your audience. Reference something unique to the recipient—like a recent post they shared or a challenge they’re facing. ⭐ Timing: Strategic timing can make or break your communication efforts. Pay attention to the timing of your messages—whether it’s sending an email during business hours, posting on LinkedIn when your audience is most active, or following up at a moment that’s convenient for the recipient. Being mindful of timing demonstrates respect for the recipient’s time. ⭐ Consistency: Consistency in your messaging builds trust over time. Regular, consistent communication—whether through weekly newsletters, regular LinkedIn posts, or timely follow-ups—keeps you top of mind with your audience. This consistent effort helps to reinforce your message and build stronger, more reliable relationships. ⭐ Value-driven content: Always lead with value. Before reaching out, ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” Whether you’re offering insights, solutions to a problem, or simply sharing useful resources, make sure your communication is designed to benefit the recipient. ⭐ Adaptability: Different situations call for different approaches. A flexible communication strategy allows you to adapt your message based on the context and platform. Adapting your style to fit the medium ensures that your message is received in the best possible light. Building an omnichannel strategy isn’t about being everywhere at once; it’s about being in the right place at the right time with the right message. 🤓 Question What effective strategies are you using on different platforms? 🤷🏻♀️ #omnichannel #communicationstrategy #relationshipbuilding

𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗠𝗦. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁. That's a criminal misuse of WhatsApp that’s quietly killing retention for both D2C and B2B brands. Brands get access to the WhatsApp API, upload a list, and hit “Send to All.” It feels efficient. But it creates what we call the broadcast trap, a pattern that burns through customer trust fast. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸: Without enough personalization, messages feel generic and irrelevant. Customers start ignoring future messages after 1–2 interactions. Engagement and repeat purchase rates drop significantly. We’ve seen this across hundreds of brands before they changed their strategy to: → 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Messages are sent based on user actions, such as abandoned carts, product views, or purchase inactivity. → 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Returning customers, first-timers, and high-LTV buyers each get a different experience. → 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: Instead of one big push, messages are sent at the right moment — like 2 hours after a missed checkout, or 1 day before an offer expires. → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Each interaction builds on the last instead of restarting from scratch → 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝘁-𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴: Customers feel in control, not spammed. → 𝟮 -𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Hooking each message with contextual chatbots that continue the conversation. 1-way announcements don’t work, 2-way chats do. Here’s what changes when the 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: Higher conversion rates Better repeat purchase rates Dramatically fewer unsubscribes and spam reports That’s the power of doing WhatsApp 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. And for those wondering how brands manage this kind of personalization at scale? They use tools that make it effortless (we built one we’re pretty proud of 😉).