The psychology of personalized marketing — and why it’s like catnip for customers

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

It seems like every brand is chasing personalization. In fact, almost 70% of companies surveyed in a recent Everstring report called it a “top priority.”

It could be easy to write personalization off as a shiny object, if not for the financial returns.

In their 2019 Personalization Development Study, Monetate outlined the ROI of personalized marketing:

• Personalized marketing drives growth: 93% of companies with an “advanced personalization strategy” saw revenue growth. Only 45.4% of companies without a personalization strategy saw equivalent growth.
• The higher the investment, the better the returns: Companies with ROI of 2x or more said personalization made up at least 20% of their marketing budget.
• Personalization drives long-term customer value: Brands that had the highest personalization ROI (3x or more) focused on loyalty as their top KPI. Companies with lower ROI targeted short term measures like average order value.

It’s clear there’s evidence supporting personalization. It compels customers to act, and they’re actively asking for more. In a recent study, Infosys found that 31% of customers wish their experiences were “far more” personalized.