Why Personalization in digital marketing matters now more than ever.

Today people expect personalized experiences from brands. Personalization has quickly become a “must have” not just a “nice to have,” but for many marketers, personalization continues to be only partially adopted and can still feel like an overwhelming topic.

McKinsey’s Next in Personalization 2021 Report reaffirms this, highlighting that “71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions. And 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen.”

So where does a digital marketer start with personalization on their customer's journey? Here are five tips that I have found are essential in personalizing your customer's experience.

1. Start with with a clear strategy- Your personalization efforts need to be part of a holistic digital strategy, not just an isolated tactic. A personalization strategy should include personalization across all channels and consumer touch-points. Then map your personalization efforts to the customer journey- By personalizing experiences you begin to establish a deeper level of engagement with customers by understanding their individual needs and preferences.
2. Build your customized content library- It’s important that marketers have a suite of communication options that will resonate with their audience. Having too many communication options can also be confusing for customers and may lead them to disengage from your brand altogether .
3. Prioritize first-party data- Personalization is most effective when marketers can leverage existing first-party data. This means collecting customer information from your current sources such as loyalty programs, your e-commerce and email signup forms. This also means that your organization must de-silo first-party data across the Martech stack. The right technology is essential.
4. Address personalizations at scale- Personalization should be a continuous effort with the capability to address personalized touchpoints across channels at scale. This means ALL platform including email, paid search, display advertising, websites, apps and offline experiences.
5. Collaboration across all teams- Finally, personalization is most effective when personalization efforts are laser focused on customer journeys and personalization is treated as an everyday approach for all. Successfully personalizing the experience means marketing teams will need to work closely with creative, research, development, analytics, and channel teams across your organization.

The final thought I will leave you with about personalization is the most important... The Customer is Always in Control. In 2022, the expectations of customers is relevancy in marketing and communications to their own desires, needs, and interests. If they feel like they aren't getting that, you are only one swipe or click away from being dismissed. The organizations and brands that will succeed are the ones that put the customer at the center of their digital optimization and marketing strategy.

I would love to hear how your organization or company is integrating personalization with your marketing and communications. Comment below.

Until next time!