Customers like it when businesses recognise and show that they know who they are. These customers expect companies to provide them with one-of-a-kind experiences.
Companies have multiple options to tailor their messages with various means to engage current and prospective customers, including in-store and across social media platforms, email, and postal. Marketers can collect user data, construct buyer personas, and evaluate habits and behaviours to generate personalised consumer experiences and communications.
The benefits of personalized marketing include:
- Conversion
- Understanding of customers
- Customer engagement and feedback
- Social sharing and brand affinity
- Lead nurturing
- Customer retention
- Higher revenue
To understand and reap these benefits of personalized marketing, marketers should know exactly what the term means.
What is personalized marketing?
Personalized marketing, also known as one-to-one marketing, occurs when a company tailors a marketing message to an individual based on data collected by the company, such as purchase history, interests, and demographic data. It differs from traditional marketing, which uses broad message strategies such as generic mailings and cold calls to reach a broader spectrum of clients.
Personalization aims to make clients feel as if the brand is communicating personally to them. For example, the corporation may use first names to address customers in emails or deliver targeted messaging about items or services in which the customer may be interested. Businesses can utilise personalised marketing in a variety of ways, including:
Content |
Marketers can segment customers and customise content depending on their industry, age range, job title, gender, and other factors. Marketers may also leverage a customer’s known preferences and interests to select the material they receive.
Emails |
Marketers can use personalization to educate, establish loyalty, or sell products to customers depending on their interests. Marketers can engage customers using email marketing methods such as welcome emails, cart abandonment emails, and birthday emails.
Product recommendations |
Customers’ purchasing history can be used by businesses to make product recommendations. If a targeted email or advertisement shows a customer a product that is comparable to one they already purchased, or an additional item that may be beneficial to that other product, the consumer is more likely to make another buy. Customers can also be asked to personalise their interests, allowing the vendor to provide more specific product recommendations.
Webpages |
Marketers can personalise webpages so that the experience is tailored to whether customers are first-time visitors or returning customers. Adding a “Welcome back!” message or an abandoned cart reminder to returning visitors is an example of personalising a webpage. When someone initially enters the site, the webpage may display a welcome message or further introductory content.
Benefits of personalized marketing
Customers dislike receiving unnecessary adverts and marketing communications, especially from firms they have previously visited or done business with. Customers may opt not to interact with a firm if it appears to be out of touch with their interests. Companies that personalise their marketing techniques may be able to retain clients more successfully and build long-term connections with them.
- Conversion
When a company sends the proper message to a prospective client at the right moment, the likelihood of conversion increases when compared to when a customer receives an irrelevant message, especially at an inconvenient time. If a company tailors an experience for that unique person, the prospective consumer is more likely to become a paying customer.
- Understanding of customers
Personalized marketing allows a company to demonstrate to customers that it understands them from the first interaction. When a company gets access to a site visitor’s data, it may tailor the experience more quickly than a company that does not.
Customer engagement and feedback
Customers may be more willing to provide comments, complete surveys, and provide personal information if they receive something in exchange, such as a coupon or discount on their next purchase. Companies obtain personal data and preferences via direct customer feedback to determine how they personalise the user experience.
Social sharing and brand affinity
Customers who have a pleasant experience with a personalised experience are more likely to tell their friends and relatives about it. When a firm or product pleases customers and they respond positively, they may share their appreciation on social media, increasing the brand’s or product’s reach.
Lead nurturing
Lead nurturing is a set of marketing methods used by sales teams and marketers to convert a prospective consumer, known as a lead, into a buyer. If sales and marketing teams concentrate on a specific prospective client and discover what that individual wants and needs, they may personalise their lead’s experience and have a better chance of converting that lead into a customer than if they attempted the same technique on everyone. If prospective consumers believe the company understands their needs and can assist them in overcoming any roadblocks, the sales and marketing teams can move those leads farther down the pipeline.
Customer retention
Customers want marketing messages and promotions that are tailored to their interests and demands. If a corporation maintains current information about its customers, it may continue to tailor communications and give them relevant content. Customer retention assesses a customer’s loyalty and if they will continue to buy products from a company. If a company makes a consumer happy with its marketing content and quality, that client is likely to buy from that company again.
Higher revenue
Marketers can target their efforts to drive a purchase if they know a customer’s preferred channels of contact. For example, if a consumer frequently visits a company’s website as well as its social media page, the marketer may prioritise those channels, make product recommendations based on specified interests, and personalise the experience. Customers that love what a company provides them, both in terms of experience and product, are more likely to purchase more from that company and return several times, increasing the company’s ROI.
Challenges of personalized marketing
Businesses also face challenges with customer data when they adopt personalized marketing strategies. Problems include:
Data silos |
Teams inside the company may manage data in several locations. A corporation with a huge volume of customer data may struggle to bring all of the data together for all teams to see and fully view the customer. Companies should employ technology to harmonise data across departments and reduce confusion, such as a customer data platform. It is not a favourable engagement to send the same advertisement to a consumer from both the sales and marketing teams.
Customer privacy concerns |
Customer data gathering is governed by the California Consumer Privacy Act, the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU, and other legislation in various nations. Regulations might make it difficult for businesses to acquire data and focus their marketing. If customers choose not to share their information with a company, it must find alternative ways to customise material for them.
Transparency in data usage |
Companies must be cautious with their marketing methods and avoid disclosing how much information they have on their clients. Customers may not recognise or recall giving a company permission to utilise their data. Personalization may frighten them. Customers should be informed about what information companies will use and how they intend to use it.
Summing-up
Personalization is here to stay. Personalization in marketing will only become more prevalent. As businesses adopt new technology, consumers will soon be able to access all of their “likes” before they can even search for them.
Companies who employ data collecting, analysis, and automation technology to send personalised content to recipients will gain in the long term through improved customer experience, brand loyalty, platform consistency, and increased revenue.
To get started, contact our team at Shergroup to learn more about how we can help your business reach its full potential.
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