Personalization in Marketing: Not Just a Buzz Word, it's the Future

​Personalization in marketing can mean different things to different people. Some think of personalization only as it relates to email marketing and simple things like using your customers first name in your email messaging. Others think of personalization as curating products that are of the highest interest to your customer through your ecommerce store. Some think of personalization as the straightforward approach of eliminating unnecessary information to improve the customer experience. At Think, we view personalization tactics as an extension of a YOU-centric marketing mindset that puts the customer’s needs, wants and desires first. 

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We do this because the truth is that personalization is all these things and more, all while delivering messages that actually mean something to your customer (i.e., avoid brand-centric messaging). While some companies purport to focus on personalization methods and others allocate dollars, very few brands are truly making personalization a priority in terms of implementation or consistency. Trust us, we know. Every day we look for examples of brands excelling in this regard and we consistently find very few. Still, large digital brands seem to have taken notice. According to Forrester, 89% of digital businesses are investing in personalization, including Coca Cola, Fabletics, Netflix, Sephora, USAA and Wells Fargo. The customer has spoken, and personalization is growing in significance every day. Why? Because every customer wants to feel unique and important. There are ample reasons why your brand needs to embrace a new philosophy when it comes to marketing (think YOU-centric marketing).
 
We are all customers at the end of the day, but how many times have you been sent an offer or visited a website and thought “Oops, wrong site or offer? This has nothing to do with what I need?” If that has happened to you, and we know it has, then you are not alone. This has become the norm in marketing. Offers promoted and sent blindly happen often. No wonder, according to SmarterHQ, 58% of consumers say brands send them products they would never buy.  
 
That is the reality, but let’s not concentrate on the negative. The positive is that per a recent Accenture study,  91% of brands are more likely to shop with brands who provide relevant offers and recommendations. To add more fuel, Epsilon research indicates 80% of customers are more likely to purchase a product or service from brands who provide a personal experience. If you still need more convincing, 72% of consumers in 2019 only engage with marketing messages that are customized to their specific interest. Can anyone say YOU-centric? Now more than ever, your customer expects you to know them. They expect you to value their time and do the work for them. They expect your brand to be all about them, the customer. That is why we aren’t surprised that a recent Segment report stated that on average 71% of consumers feel frustrated when their shopping experience feels impersonal.
 
These are just a handful of statistics that all reinforce the same thing: The customer is begging for your brand to make them feel important. Not just through a specific personalization tactic but in all your marketing. When you view your marketing through this lens, ask yourself this, is your company answering the call? If not, it won’t be long until another brand with a similar appeal starts knocking on your market share door. That doesn’t mean that you should live in fear. Heck no! It means that it’s time to start incorporating a YOU-centric strategy to your marketing.  That is the best way to make sure that your marketing resonates with your customers. Making your marketing customer-centric is not going away. It is becoming increasingly important with each passing day. This is the future of marketing, and it is time to jump in. Don’t worry, the water feels great!
 
Need help crafting and executing a You-centric strategy? We’re here to help. If you would rather do it yourself, then pick up a copy of our founder’s book here.