PERSONALISED MARKETING
Personalised marketing is a strategy that focuses on individual consumers. It can be in the form of customized ads, individual messages or by allowing your customers the ability to add personal specifications to your products. Often the process of crafting individual messages etc. is automatic, as it is done through using computer software. In other words, with personalised marketing it is important that you use some sort of content personalisation engine.
In order for personalised marketing to be effective it requires information about the consumers. Hence, personalised marketing is more effective with the consumers that are willing to share information about themselves. Luckily, in today’s society more and more people are comfortable with sharing information about themselves in order to gain a more personalised consumer experience. In other words, when customers can get something in return they are more likely to share information about themselves. One example is by for example offering a discount if they fill out a form or a survey. Another way to gain information about consumers are through using interactive marketing.
Personlised marketing has become one of the most effective methods in order to drive revenue. By offering the right message to the right customers, at the correct time, on the correct platform, your message will resonate more with your target group. By personalising the consumer experience and service (both online and offline), people more easily form a strong bond with your company which often leads to an increase in customer loyalty. Some shops offer the possibility for their customers to become members in order to get emails with different offers. To become a member one has to share name and contact information. An easy tactic to further personalise the experience in this scenario is to take note of their name and use it when talking to them.
For example imagine a customer comes up to the cashier to buy a hand soap. The employee asks her if she wants to become a member and she says yes. She fills out a form giving up her name, Erica, and contact information. The form is handed back to the employee, who adds her to the system. Then she pays for the product which is now saved under her membership account. After the employee says; «would you like a bag with that Erica?» and instantly the customer experience have been personalised a bit more.
Erica then goes home, opens her email and notices that she has received an mail from your company where it says; «Hi Erica. Thank you for shopping at (company name) today. As a new member we would like to offer you a welcome discount on the hand cream that is from the same collection as the hand soap you purchased today.» The customer experience has now been personalised even further and your company has showed Erica that you have not forgotten about her. After a week you could send her a follow-up email, asking for her feedback on the soap. This shows that you appreciate and value her opinions and are eager to make sure that her needs are met. In addition, you make sure that she remains a connection to your company, which makes her more likely to come back.
PERSONALISED MARKETING
BENEFITS
Builds deeper relationships with your customers
Having a personalised marketing strategy will help you develop stronger connections with your customers, and it shows them that you care about each one of them.
Helps you make better recommendations
The more you learn about your individual customers, the more you will be able to help them and provide them with better recommendations.
Increase conversions
It is a win-win strategy, because it helps your customers and increases your sales. By giving tailored recommendations you are more likely to resonate with your customer and if they feel like you «get» them, they are more likely to trust you.
More engagement and feedback
Personalised marketing means that your content matters more to each user, making them more likely to engage and give you feedback.
Hello!
PERSONALISED MARKETING
STRATEGIES
BE A HUMAN, NOT A BRAND
When sending out emails be careful that the messages do not come across as something created by a machine. It is okay to use templates, but make sure they seem authentic. You want the customers to feel like this is an email from one friend to another, not as a brand communicating to a consumer. One way of doing this is to make the email appear from an actual person working in your company. This way the consumer will approach the email in another way than with a generic spam email, and the email will create a feeling of being more personal. The same goes for when you respond to your customers on social media.
EMBRACE AUTOMATION TOOLS
Marketing automation tools can help you target customers and send out campaigns, messages, emails, videos etc without you having to press send for each time. Marketing automation tools can help you tailor content and determined who is the right target group.
GIVE PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Provide them with recommendations based on the information you have, like their consumer behavior as well as their purchase history. These recommendations can for example be items related to their previous buys, or products that you believe will fit with their personality.
OFFER PERSONALISATION
Offer your customers the ability to personalise a product. Some companies offer their consumers the ability to customise products. One example is Nike who offers its customers a canvas and tools, and then let you design your own shoe through choosing what colour combinations and patterns you want.
TALK TO PEOPLE NOT CUSTOMERS
Instead of talking to them as customers by wiring dear customer, use their name. If your customer has filled out a form, you should have their name so use it!
REMEMBER INFORMATION
For example if a customer buys something from your company, ask if you can save the receipt under their name. This way, if there is a problem with the product the customers can come back and return it without having to keep the receipt. At the same time it allows you to save details about their purchase. A lot of lingerie stores uses this strategy. When a woman buys a bra, they save the receipt under their name, so if the woman comes back the employees knows what bra she bought the last time (shape, type, colour, texture) as well as her size. Hence, it is more easier to help her find what she wants.
PERSONALISED MARKETING
BMW
In addition to letting its customers take the different cars for test drives, BMW also allows them to customise their own car with BMW individual. It allows you to "Accentuate your own character with genuine exclusivity". In other words, you can choose from a range of 100 different colours, add shimmer, choose between a matt or a metallic look, and add personalised detail.
PERSONALISED MARKETING
RITUALS
When a customer enters the shop they are greeted with a relaxing vibe and dark interior. Each customer is also offered a cup of tea, a hand massage and samples that further personalises the brand experience and leaves a strong impression. By giving all their customers additional attention, something more than what they are used to, the customers develop a bond with the brand already after just entering the shop once.
Rituals have worked on making their online shopping as simple and straightforward as possible. Yet by adding an option to have the products gift wrapped as well as giving customers the possibility to write a personal message for free, or send a personalized video gift card, rituals manages to customise the online shopping experience and offer their customers something extra.
PERSONALISED MARKETING
NETFLIX
Netflix uses data tracking and analytics to make the user experiences greater. The algorithm tracks what you are browsing, when you are browsing, what type of content you like, how often you pause, skip the intro etc. This helps Netflix further personalise the experience for its users, and highlight content it thinks you are more likely to enjoy. In addition to this Netflix has used this the data tracking to show that they care about the individual, as they once sent out an email to a person who had been using the service, streaming non-stop for a whole week, to check if he was fine.
Data collection, in particular the part concerning user behaviour, played a huge role in the promotion of the series House of Cards. For this series Netflix did not only create on trailer, instead they made 10 different cuts of the trailer and showed you one of them based on your viewing habits. In other words, if you watched a lot of films/series with one particular actor that was featured in the House of Cards series, Netflix would show you the trailer with more that actors scenes. If you were more into action, it would show you the scenes with more action etc. Netflix uses the algorithms to determine who might enjoy the show, and then cater content accordingly so that it will be best received.