It’s Personal: Why Marketing Personalisation Matters
You know that awkward moment when you chat to someone but can tell they don’t remember who you are? Well, that’s how your customers feel when you don’t personalise your marketing.
Marketing personalisation isn’t a buzzword; it’s not a passing trend. It’s crucial to competitiveness, customer acquisition and retention!
Personalisation isn’t new either. It’s been around as long as marketing itself. That’s why it goes by multiple names, like one-to-one marketing or customised marketing. Many believe that personalised marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) are the same, which is why it is sometimes called relationship marketing.
Personalisation is More Than a Name
Call it what you will, the goal remains the same: relationship. You can only build a relationship with someone if you take the time to get to know them. That’s where data tracking takes centre stage—but more on that later.
What you want to know is “why”. Picture this:
You’re wiped after a hard day’s work, with no energy to even think about dinner, let alone cook. Your options are (a) the take-away burger place 2km from home or (b) Luca’s Italian restaurant, 7kms away. The latter’s name is actually Luca’s and the owner—Luca—is there every night. He greets you when you arrive and, without hesitation, hails at a waitress to bring a deep glass of red wine. He knows your usual coffee order isn’t going to cut it.
Luca’s it is.
Was there even a choice?
About Personalisation in Digital Marketing
Marketing personalisation is: creating a personal relationship with current and future customers through tailoring their online experience to their needs.
It’s not enough to merely personalise the name field in a mass emailer. No. Your audience wants you to be Luca. They want you to be intuitive. Ask about the kids; know their usual order. Send them home with a feeling that they are your sole priority.
They’ll be willing to travel more than double the distance to get to you and spend double of what they would have anywhere else. All because they have a relationship with you.
91% of your customers are more likely to buy if you provide relevant offers and recommendations.
Source: Accenture
How Does Personalisation in Action Look?
Digital marketing personalisation is the email from your choice grocery store that shows which of the items you buy most are on promotion. More than that, it suggests other products based on your habits. It reminds you how many loyalty points you have, which can be redeemed as a discount on your next shop.
It is the SMS from your dealership that says, “Based on your average annual mileage, your car should be due for a service. Click this link to book.”
Before you’re a paying customer, personalisation is the landing page with a discount offer on the product that brought me to the page. It is the targeted image display ads that only show previously searched items.
Pro tip: Beware! Personalisation can go horribly wrong if you don’t plan properly. If a prospect hasn’t clicked your ad after three or more impressions, don’t harass them. Kill the ads and save that IP address for a leads revival campaign in a few months.
How Do You Personalise Marketing?
Remember, at the start of this we said you need to get to know someone?
Harness the power of your data!
61% of people expect brands to tailor experiences based on their preferences.
Source: Google
If you’ve ever wondered how to utilise the heaps of data that you’ve diligently collected in your CRM, this is it!
Dust off all those analytical reports from your website, sponsored ads, search engine marketing, social media marketing—the whole bang shoot. You’re sitting on a gold mine.
Personalisation is a continual process of taking what you’ve learnt about an individual and tailoring communication to that profile.
What Are The Benefits Of Customised Marketing?
Improved Customer Experience. “72% of consumers say they now only engage with marketing messages that are personalised and tailored to their interests,” says SmarterHQ.
Increased Revenue. Personalised marketing can grow sales by 10% and see a rise in the return on investment of marketing spend by 8%, according to McKinsey & Company.
Increase Brand Loyalty. 86% of consumers say that personalised marketing influences their buying choices, according to a survey by Infosys.
We’ve really only scratched the surface! See more about Customer journey mapping here.
For now, though, let’s answer your most pressing question.
Should MY Business Implement Relationship Marketing?
Yes. All one-to-one marketing adds value to the consumer and higher ROI to your efforts.
Our main target markets, Millennials and Gen Z, EXPECT personalised marketing. They are acutely aware of whom they are giving their data to and for which purpose. They’re willing to give their data, too, provided brands are responsible and give them an exceptional experience. And that’s a blog for another day.
If you’re ready to start personalising your marketing today, give us a shout! You might also like these related articles.
Planning your Digital Marketing Strategy for 2021
Why Customer Relationship Management Software is the Best Gift for Your Business