Perfecting the personalisation potential in marketing

Personalisation has increasingly become an essential tool in marketing. It’s the practice of tailoring the content that reaches each users, often using data and/or Artificial Intelligence (AI). It can be incredibly impactful and is also something that many consumers now expect from brands when it comes to the way people experience them. Many marketers view it as the most effective tool for achieving communication that drives action and 74% have reported that it increases customer engagement. So, how do you realise its potential?

• Getting to know your data. Data is the foundation of personalisation so the first step is to take stock of the data that you have, make sure it’s reliably accurate and start to get an idea of how you can use that data.
• Segmenting your audience. It’s difficult to have a personal conversation with a large number of customers but this is achievable with data personalisation. To do this effectively, your users or audience need to be segmented into like groups. That could be on the basis of the types of products they have purchased from you, the age of the product or interest in other products, as well as location and demographic data. The idea is to use personalisation to demonstrate an understanding of the customer and their needs.
• Personalising the sender. Sometimes an email that has come from a more specific sender can feel more credible and individual. For example, a national business with local centres could use personalisation to ensure that customers in each area receive an email from their local centre, rather than a generic national brand name.
• What’s important to the customer? Personalising emails with data that is helpful and referenceable can make communication much more impactful. What is important to the customer, what do they want to know and what data might they find useful when it comes to taking steps to action?
• Addressing people individually. It’s well established that using a customer’s name in email communication is more likely to be effective than not using it. However, you don’t have to stop here – thanks to personalisation you can also reference data like information about the product they own, the details of that product (colour, size etc), the services they have used or their previous interaction with the business. This detail will make the customer feel remembered and valued.
• Integrating automation. Manual personalisation is just not feasible today if you’re looking to reach a sizable customer base. The use of automation makes it possible to send personalised communication to a much wider audience. The key is to use a programme that will personalise based on your segments and send emails regularly but avoid over-contacting people.
• The importance of tone of voice. Communication is most effective when it sounds like it is being sent by a real person – this is when customers feel valued as individuals and not just data on a spreadsheet.

Perfecting the way that you use personalisation in your business can be enormously effective. From improving open rates on email communications to achieving high average click rates and enjoying a more engaged customer base it’s well worth the effort involved.

To find out how Iconic Digital can help you perfect your marketing, get in touch today by call 020 7100 0726 or explore our range of digital marketing services.