Personalizing with Purpose

A few months ago, I was on a call with a customer whose marketing department wanted to personalize every component on a page for three distinct personas. The philosophy was that the more personalization they had running, the better; they wanted an excellent customer experience, after all. I didn’t agree – it seemed like an over-investment in a tactic unlikely to generate the ROI the marketing team was expecting. The whole conversation was deep dive into interesting topics, and it got me thinking about the philosophy of personalization.

Every organization in the world has spent the last ten years being told that they need to personalize. They’ve heard it from implementation partners, software companies, conference speakers, blog articles. And for good reason! There’s no denying that a 1:1 marketing strategy requires an understanding of and investment in personalization capabilities. But it’s not the only option we have available to create those superior experiences…and sometimes it’s not the right one. I think it’s worth hitting pause and taking a moment to think about WHY we personalize, what it’s meant to achieve and how we make the most of it.

Personalization is, without question, a key component to an excellent customer experience. Companies like Amazon, Spotify and Netflix have elevated that experience to such a level that it’s part of the general conversation. Customers expect it, and when it’s not there they notice; It makes their experience more streamlined and convenient which is another thing that nearly every member of every audience is looking for while also providing a content rich and intuitive process. But I think at a deeper level what they expect is the level of understanding that personalization suggests. Audiences expect the companies they interact with to remember and acknowledge them, to understand their current needs and anticipate what those needs might be in the future. Seeing customization from brands they interact with is a subtle but unmissable signal that they are heard and seen and understood.

Taking this into account can open opportunities to improve the overall experience and gives us, as content creators and marketing teams, a larger opportunity than we may have realized to communicate our audience. If we think of personalization as a prime opportunity to build relationships with our customers, we can begin to incorporate this broader understanding into a specific strategy.

That means personalizing with purpose. It means taking time to consider what personalization is, what it’s meant to do, and most importantly how it improves the customer experience. It also means thinking critically about when personalization might not be the best option. A co-worker of mine uses an image of a man lighting the candles of a birthday cake with a blowtorch to illustrate this concept; to paraphrase Jurassic Park, we shouldn’t get so wrapped up in what we CAN do that we forget what we SHOULD do.

For personalization to be highly effective it should be relevant, be shown to the right person at the right time, and it should serve a purpose – such as moving the customer forward through the funnel or along the path toward a conversion point. Personalization should be a part of a larger strategic approach and should be used in service of larger strategic and marketing objectives; it works best when it’s part of a system, rather than as something that stands alone. Using personalization to create a better customer experience and/or to help the brand to exceed customer expectations are excellent reasons to employ personalized experiences. “Because we were told to,” “because it’s cool, “or “because it boosts brand metrics” are less excellent reasons. I’m the very first to say that personalization is neat to see in action, but it will still be neat when it’s planned for and well incorporated into a roadmap and that’s what we should all be striving for.

This is one of the reasons I believe so strongly in a process that begins with strategic objectives and digital KPIs and ENDS with personalization tactics – it helps ensure that personalization tactics work toward a goal. Getting everyone on the team into a room for a few hours and hammering out how to reach customers in a way that helps them, communicates with them as people and begins to build trust with them that also serves the long-term goals of the brand is an incredibly important strategic step. And I’ll tell you now, it is harder than it sounds – building consensus always is. But it’s essential for long term success.  

We should all be striving for a customer experience that is helpful and educational, one that tries to understand what customers need in the moment and does everything it can to provide it. Considering the whys and the why nots of each tool we have available can help us get there. Personalization should be specific, helpful, and valuable. It should be a deliberate choice made to improve the experience of the customer, and one that incorporates strategic roadmaps as well as marketing plans, content strategy, and customer personas. It should be used when it's the best tool for the job, and it's not always the best candidate for a quick fix. Like so many tools, it's all about how and when its used. Taking the time to consider what the tactic is meant to accomplish and how it serves the marketing and strategic objectives of the brand can go a long way toward helping get the largest ROI and the biggest impact.