9 reasons it’s time to get serious about personalization
Once upon a time, personalization meant just changing the recipient’s name before sending out a mass-targeted mailing. We’ve come a long way since then.
Nonetheless, many businesses are slow to think seriously about personalization. Some believe it takes a lot of time and effort to integrate it, while others still view it as a gimmick, or question its value.
I’m here to tell you why they are wrong.
Here are 9 reasons why it’s time to get serious about personalization.
1. Make content relevant
You and I know that content is king these days. To engage audiences, we need to create content that is entertaining. We need to create content that evokes an emotional response. We need to create content that people feel compelled to engage with!
We’ve all received marketing products that aren’t relevant to us. Discount codes for shops you visited years ago, invites to ‘exclusive’ events, and endless reminders of a FINAL final sale. All of these are annoying, and they frustrate us.
But personalization helps provide content that makes people feel understood. It makes customers happy because it’s relevant to them, and it prevents them from hitting that ‘unsubscribe’ button.
When content is entertaining and relevant, you are more inclined to engage with it. Obvious, right?
But what if that content was addressing you by name? What if it demonstrated a deep understanding of your needs and desires?
That would be something worth listening to.
2. Target your users
Personalization lets you target customers based on their interests. You can segment your user data to the individual level. That means no more ‘target groups’. Every individual is targeted specifically with content relevant to them.
Personalization gives you the ability to speak directly to customers and deliver a truly unique experience to each and every one. It delivers genuine one-to-one communication.
Targeting users individually in this way was never practical in the past. It would have involved significant time and cost. Not anymore.
When you target individuals, they receive the most relevant information possible. That’s great for you, because it improves the chances of click-throughs and conversions. But it’s great for the customer too, because finally they are receiving content that is relevant and engaging for them.
It’s a win-win situation.
3. Build relationships
The goal of personalization isn’t to make a quick sale, but to build customer relationships that can last a lifetime. The goal is to show customers that you are on their side, that you care about them, and that you can understand and even anticipate their needs and desires.
Consumers trust brands they have personal relationships and emotional connections with. We are all customers, and it’s frustrating (not to mention obvious) when brands are aggressively trying to push products on us.
Building a relationship with a customer means framing sales as a process of trying to enrich their lives. It’s not just about making money. Personalization is powerful because it puts the customer at the centre of their own world. It builds relationships and trust.
4. Create memorable experiences
The customer experience should be memorable and connected with positive feelings.
Personalization is all about making customers feel valued and understood. An effective personalized video, for example, can linger in a customer’s mind for months.
I know that is true, because we interviewed recipients of a personalized video one month after they first received it. Over half could recall receiving the video and could have a detailed conversation with us about the content of the video.
Creating positive memorable experiences is what every brand wants to do. Memorable experiences improve brand loyalty. They create feelings of delight. They increase the likelihood of return trade.
Personalized content is sticky; people remember it.
5. Cultivate advocates
Have you ever had a customer experience that so exceeded your expectations you felt compelled to tell your friends about it? Have you ever had an emotional connection to a brand that made you feel part of a family? I have, and I’m sure you have too.
Personalization can help brands evoke those feelings. It can also help them create memorable experiences. Positive feelings and memorable experiences are the pre-requisites to creating advocates out of customers.
An outstanding personalized experience can transform your customers from simple buyers into brand advocates.
Advocates are customers who spread the good news about your company and refer you to their friends. Personalized experiences create happy customers. Happy customers become loyal customers. Loyal customers become advocates. And advocates work to expand your customer base.
It is the smartest marketing strategy out there because it doesn’t cost a thing. When your customers love you, they feel compelled to promote you.
6. Improve conversions
Conversion rates have been shown to improve when brands use personalized content — but only when that content is genuinely relevant to users, and only if the content is so good that people feel compelled to engage with it. I’m not asking you to trust me, because the stats don’t lie.
We wanted to know how a personalized video would affect click-through rates. So, we did some research.
When we included personalized videos in emails, the click-through-rate was five times higher. That’s a big difference. It confirms that people respond to personalized content.
We click because we are naturally curious. We want to know how brands perceive us, and we want to feel valued.
The conversion rate for regular non-personalised messages is much lower. That’s because most of your audience have clicked away before they even see your call to action.
We found that 90% of people watched our personalized videos to the end, compared with just 43% for regular video. With personalization, more people see your call to action and more people click.
7. Leapfrog competitors
Customers want seamless services that makes things easy for them. Customers also want to be affiliated with brands that embrace new technologies.
Most brands already have a digital transformation team, which looks at how to improve customer experience. But only a handful of brands have created seamless personalized experiences for their customers. And that’s good news because it’s an opportunity.
Personalization has not become standard practice yet. That means it is still a powerful differentiator for companies who want to provide market-leading customer experience.
8. Respond to demand
Customers want personalized experiences.
In a recent poll, 80% of consumers said they are more likely to do business with companies that offer a personalized experience. Sixty-five percent said it impacts their brand loyalty.
These statistics provide some food for thought: if customers are telling us they want personalization, and it improves conversions, why aren’t we using it more?
A further 52% of consumers said they would switch away from brands that do not use personalization. This figure is likely to increase over time, as consumers begin to expect personalized experiences in all aspects of their lives. It’s not hard to imagine a time when non-personalised content is the exception, not the rule.
If customers say they want personalized experiences, brands should innovate for them. There are many ways personalized content can be incorporated into digital platforms. Sometimes brands just don’t know where to start.
9. Look to the future
It’s no coincidence that personalization crops up year after year as a tech trend to watch. The technology available for developing personalized experiences is also evolving every year. So much so that 94% of marketers agree “personalisation of the web experience is critical to current and future success”.
Early adopters of personalization send a message that they are investing in their customers and in the future. That inspires confidence and has a positive effect on loyalty.
Personalization is already being used in small ways by companies across all sectors, for example, in personalized marketing videos, personalized chatbot services, or in algorithms that provide personalized recommendations. But it has not become a ubiquitous practice yet.
And there is more innovation to come.
Advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality will soon open new possibilities for delivering deeply intelligent and relevant content.
The personalization journey is just beginning. I invite you to be a part of it and join the conversation.
