Personalised Marketing: The Benefits, and the Fine Lines
By Steve Grant | October 6th 2015
By Steve Grant Research has revealed that two thirds of consumers across every age group in the UK and Germany are demanding personalised communications.
The findings came from a joint study between Netimperative and Celebrus technologies.
Do your customers feel valued?
Engaging with customers at an individual level is vital if you want them to feel valued. You know yourself, if you feel your needs have been considered, that you have been listened to, how reassuring that feels.
Customers who feel valued are far more likely to stay loyal to a brand. But how to go about creating this feeling?
Personalising Across Multiple Channels
Unfortunately, the simple initiative of sending a personalised email based on particular preferences or browsing behaviours is no longer enough. Yes it’s important, but there is a lot more to do, and there is definitely more than one channel to do it across. Campaigns need to be tied together: everything needs to be personalised. From social media and online ads to email and then across multiple channels from desktop to mobile, failing to join it all up is going to leave your customers confused and unsure as to whether you really care.
Making the Most of Sales Spikes
If your sales calendar is highlighted with peaks then you can put personalised campaigns to good use in order to capitalise. Forward planning could significantly enhance success: by identifying which segments of your audience will be more receptive to certain seasonal campaigns, you can boost up your activity to meet real time demand.
Think of times like Christmas or other major sales spikes like Valentines, Mother’s or Father’s Day, Cyber Monday or Black Friday. An email lands in your inbox that’s totally relevant to you: it’s something you’ve purchased before or shown an interest in. Your social feeds reinforce the message. Over on your mobile – your very own personal space – everything is amplified. This is where you definitely don’t want to see any that bears no interest to your individual tastes. On the other hand, when you see something that is totally relevant, it is likely you’ll take instant, positive action because the messages that mean something have reached you in a place you feel safe and at home.
At times like Christmas, or other major sales spikes like Cyber Monday or Black Friday, if an email lands in your inbox that’s totally relevant to you, it’s likely you’ll take instant action.
The Fine Lines: Personalising with Caution
It is however important to proceed with caution when working on personalised campaigns: after all, you don’t want to cross the line. Imagine yourself if you were fed an advert that quoted something about you that you’d really rather have kept to yourself, or at least not shared with an advertiser, such as your age or address. It can all get a bit overwhelming: no one wants to feel that their privacy has been invaded, so content crafting needs to tread that fine line.
The mechanics of personalised marketing can be quite a challenge to tackle, but the rewards in return on investment can make it all worthwhile. If you’d like some help in putting together personalised campaigns and gathering the data you need to make them work, get in touch.