We
have heard about the word “Amazon experience”, what exactly is that?

The e-commerce giant
gives out suggested products, top lists and extremely curated categories that
provide customers a completely personalized experience. They believe that this
website actually cares about their shopping needs and gives them, exactly what
they require.

Amazon becomes a customer’s shopping assistant and
this experience is addictive. By next year, customer experience will differentiate
between brands and major purchase decisions will be made based on this. From
Amazon to Swiggy to Spotify, there are a lot of marketing personalization
lessons to learn.  Personalization is not
merely an option, it’s a mandatory requirement.

Decoding Personalization – The term and its application

Before going into the details of marketing personalization, we must first understand what the phrase really means. This clarity is essential before moving ahead and applying it from a brand perspective.

In the digital universe, individuals
can be targeted in various ways. From who they are and what they like to where
they are located to their content consuming habits, personalization is
targeting them by using any of these attributes.

Personalization is a small thing that makes a big difference. It is about giving your customers that special feeling in every interaction with your brand. When they feel special, they develop a deeper connection with the brand and this stays. Customer preferences must always be respected and every successful brand is proficient in showing customers they care.

To Personalize or Not – Why it Matters?

There is a reason why so many brands are obsessed with marketing personalization. The benefits are superb. Check them out:

Huge brand engagement and greater brand loyalty

Personalized marketing campaigns produce an authentic experience for customers and these definitely give birth to positive emotions in their minds. The customer becomes attached to the brand and they come back for more.

More Conversions? Yes, Please!

With marketing personalization, the sales cycle becomes shorter and prospects are converted much faster. Customers look out for quick solutions and sales are going to be faster, when a brand offers that instantaneously.

Better Customer Experience

Being memorable is the key in today’s digital world and the secret ingredient that is personalized campaigns. Your customers will always appreciate you if you make them happy. They are the real brand advocates.

To really understand how useful personalization is, some numbers have to be used. 
An Infosys research suggests that as many as 31% of consumers love a shopping experience, personalized especially for them. Not only this, Deloitte’s research found out that 36% of consumers buy personalized items and avail those services. Discounts are offered by every brand, but only the smartest brands offer tailor-made discounts and people are even ready to give out their personal information to brand like these.

They key takeaway from here is simple.
Customers have the ultimate control in today’s marketing scenario. They can be
as picky as they want. Marketers on the other hand have to be innovative and pro-active.
If the marketing techniques are not customized, a huge opportunity is missed.

Getting the Basic Right – How to Approach Marketing Personalization?

Personalization
is not as easy as it sounds, as your brand’s basic groundwork must be ready,
before you even begin with the process.

1. The very step is having a detailed look at the present customer base. This observation is very vital, as the key details can be obtained from there. From their personal details to their habits and preferences, every tiny thing deserves to be seen.
2. The next step is to segmenting the customers into different groups. The segmentation scenarios are endless, but short survey forms can be very effective here.
3. The third step involves interaction. Customers remember how a brand interacted with them in the beginning and this slowly builds brand loyalty. Some responses can be automated, but the other and important ones must be human.
4. The last step is taking the necessary action and actually acting on their preferences.

Some
great examples of marketing personalization that won the hearts of the
customers:

1. Amazon: Amazon always sets the benchmarks, when it comes to personalized marketing. They have their recommendation algorithm, which continuously creates tailored experiences. Different personality aspects of the buyers are taken into consideration here and this has increased the sales of the e-commerce giant by 29%.
2. Music Streaming apps:
3. Personalization had to play when it comes to listening music and brands like Gaan, Saavn and Spotify scored big in this aspect. The discovery is easy and the playlists are created as per listening habits. The future looks good for these apps, as the level of personalization may increase as days pass by. With the inclusion of social sharing and recommendation by friends, the music listening environment has become very personal.
4. Facebook: With all the data that Facebook gets from us, it is not unnatural for them to create a personalized newsfeed for us. Only the relevant stories show up and behaviour is tracked very minutely. From photos shared and videos viewed to places visited and pages liked, everything is tailor-made to enhance the customer experience.
5. Coca-Cola: This brand was always known for its innovative campaigns and they never shy away from surprising the customers. With their campaign called ‘Share a Coke”, they offered a different kind of brand experience and especially targeted the millennials. Social shares increased and the youngsters got an new outlet to show their emotions.

From
personalized videos to the usage of dynamic content, the audience’s attention
can be captured in a lot of ways. The different channels of communication must
also be explored to find out the best method of interaction. Some brands use
mailers while others use messenger marketing to reach out to customers in a
special way. Customer insight is the keyword here and every brand must
understand this before going ahead with a personalized approach.

How
do you want to incorporate personalization in your marketing strategy? Let us
know.