Personalisation: How to Win With Tailored Customer Experiences

Personalisation is more important than ever in today’s oversaturated market. Consumers are continuously exposed to an overwhelming amount of marketing messages across multiple channels. This noise has decreased attention spans and caused a general numbness to advertising, emphasising the importance of implementing a personalisation strategy and creating relevant marketing experiences.

By tailoring messages to individual customers based on their preferences and behaviours, businesses can cut through the noise and create experiences that resonate with customers on a deeper level, ultimately leading to higher engagement, loyalty, and conversions.

Some interesting personalisation statistics worth considering are:

• 89% of marketers see a positive ROI when they use personalisation in their campaigns
• 60% of consumers say they’ll become repeat customers after a personalised shopping experience
• 80% of consumers will share personal data in exchange for deals or offers
• 74% of eCommerce companies have a website personalisation programme
• The recommendation engine market size is projected to hit $12 billion by 2025

What is Personalisation?

Personalisation in digital marketing refers to the practice of tailoring marketing messages, offers, and experiences to individual customers based on their unique preferences, behaviours, and demographics. This approach recognises that customers have different needs and preferences and seeks to create relevant and engaging experiences that resonate with them on a deeper level.

Personalisation involves gathering customer data from various sources like website analytics, CRM systems, email marketing platforms, and social media. This data is then used to create customer profiles that contain details on purchase history, browsing behaviour, and preferences. By leveraging this information, businesses can deliver tailored marketing messages and recommendations to meet each customer’s unique needs, ultimately boosting engagement, loyalty, and conversions.

Benefits of Personalisation

Personalisation in marketing stems from the need to cater to individual customer preferences and desires, resulting in enhanced customer experiences and stronger relationships. Here are some key benefits of personalisation:

1. Enhanced Customer Engagement: Personalisation allows businesses to cut through the noise by offering highly relevant, appealing content that resonates with customers on a deeper level. Personalised marketing messages tailored to individual preferences are more likely to capture customers’ attention and encourage them to engage with the brand and interact with the content, leading to higher open, click-through, conversion rates and overall business growth.
2. Increased Customer Loyalty: Personalised marketing experiences create stronger connections and a sense of value and exclusivity for customers, making them feel understood and appreciated by the brand and demonstrating that they know and value their preferences. Personalisation helps businesses establish stronger connections with their customers. This fosters trust and loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases, long-term customer relationships, and higher lifetime value.
3. Improved Customer Acquisition: Personalisation enables businesses to reach their target audience more effectively and stand out from competitors. Businesses can attract new customers and drive growth by delivering relevant, tailored content that resonates with prospective customers.
4. Intelligent Data Collection: Implementing data-driven marketing strategies requires thoroughly understanding customer preferences and behaviour. The behavioural data collection process involved in personalisation can provide valuable insights that can be used for future marketing campaigns, customer segmentation, and overall business strategy.
5. Enhanced Return on Investment (ROI): Personalisation drives higher engagement and conversion rates, ultimately leading to a better return on marketing investment. Businesses can optimise their marketing spend by targeting the right audience with relevant content. This can result in better resource allocation, reduced marketing waste, and improved return on investment (ROI).
6. Improved User Experience: Modern consumers expect tailored experiences that cater to their unique preferences and needs. Personalised marketing experiences enhance the overall user experience, making it more enjoyable and seamless for customers to interact with a brand resulting in higher customer satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth, and increased brand reputation.
7. Gaining Competitive Advantage: In a crowded market, businesses that effectively implement personalised marketing strategies can differentiate themselves from their competitors and create unique experiences that set them apart, giving them a competitive edge in the customer journey.

5 Examples of Personalisation in Marketing

1. Email Marketing: Personalised subject lines and content can significantly improve open and click-through rates. For instance, Amazon sends personalised recommendations based on customers’ browsing and purchasing history.
2. Website Content: Displaying customised content to website visitors based on their behaviour, location, or device can enhance user experience (UX) and encourage conversions. For example, Netflix uses a content personalisation algorithm to suggest shows and movies based on user’s viewing history.
3. Social Media Marketing: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer targeting options to deliver personalised ads to users based on their interests, demographics, and online behaviour.
4. E-commerce: Leveraging customer insights for personalised product recommendations, abandoned cart reminders, and tailored discounts can improve conversion rates and customer retention. For example, ASOS uses customers’ browsing history to recommend items they might be interested in.
5. Content Marketing: Personalised or dynamic content marketing can be achieved through segmentation and targeting, ensuring the right content reaches the right audience. This can include blog posts, videos, podcasts, and more.

How to Implement Personalised Marketing Strategies

1. Develop Customer Personas: Creating detailed customer personas helps marketers understand their target audience, preferences, and pain points. These personas can then be used to create tailored marketing content that appeals to different customer segments.
2. Collect and Analyse Data: Data is the foundation of personalisation. Businesses should collect data from various sources, such as website analytics, email marketing platforms, CRM (customer relationship management) systems, and social media channels. This data should then be analysed to identify patterns and trends that inform personalisation efforts.
3. Segment Your Audience: Segmenting your audience based on demographics, behaviour, and preferences is essential for delivering personalised marketing experiences. This can be done using CRM systems or marketing automation platforms.
4. Leverage Marketing Automation: Marketing automation tools can streamline personalisation by automating data collection, audience segmentation, and content delivery tasks. This allows marketers to focus on strategy and creativity while the technology takes care of the repetitive tasks.
5. Test and Optimise: Personalisation is an ongoing process that requires continuous testing and conversion optimisation. A/B testing can be used to determine which personalised elements are most effective in driving engagement and conversions. Regular analysis of data and performance metrics will help refine and improve personalisation strategies over time.
6. Ensure Privacy Compliance: With the increasing focus on data privacy and security, it is crucial to ensure that personalisation efforts comply with relevant regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This involves obtaining user consent, providing data collection and usage transparency, and implementing security measures to protect customer data.
7. Provide Value and Relevance: Personalisation should not be intrusive or overwhelming. The key is to provide value and relevance through tailored omnichannel marketing experiences that enhance the customer’s journey and encourage engagement.

Examples of Successful Personalised Marketing Campaigns

1. Starbucks

Renowned for its highly effective rewards program, Starbucks exemplifies the power of personalised marketing. Customers accumulate rewards based on purchases, while Starbucks leverages the collected data to send tailored offers and promotions. The Starbucks app also enables customers to customise their drinks with specific instructions or modifications. Starbucks delivers a highly personalised experience through data analysis and customisation options, fostering increased loyalty and engagement.

2. Spotify

Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist showcases the impact of personalisation in the music industry. Employing machine learning algorithms to analyse users’ listening history and behaviour, this feature curates a unique selection of songs tailored to individual tastes. The personalised experience of Discover Weekly has boosted user engagement, with many users eagerly awaiting their new playlist each week. This innovative application of personalisation has contributed to Spotify’s triumph as a music streaming service.

3. Cadbury

In 2018, Cadbury executed a triumphant personalised video campaign for their “Match and Win” promotion. Using artificial intelligence, the campaign generated custom videos for each user, incorporating their name, profile picture, and favourite football team. Users were encouraged to share these videos on social media, increasing brand awareness and engagement. This campaign showcased the potential of personalisation in creating highly shareable and captivating marketing experiences.

4. Coca-Cola

The “Share a Coke” campaign marked an inventive use of personalisation in the beverage sector. This promotion enabled customers to purchase Coca-Cola bottles with personalised names, either their own or those of friends and family. The campaign’s success led to a significant sales boost and helped Coca-Cola strengthen its customer connection. Harnessing the power of personalisation, Coca-Cola crafted a unique and unforgettable experience, ultimately enhancing brand loyalty and engagement.