Personalisation is on the radar for marketers in 2014. It’s about sophisticated segmented targeting; or put simply, focusing on the ‘always on’ individual customer. Personalisation is about what customers want and expect. Brands need to identify where they purchase, what channel they are using and what time of the day or night they buy. The return on investment is based on recognising the long term opportunity for a personalised multichannel brand experience.
personalisation
Top 10 insights about personalisation
1. Websites – can use basic geo targeting (where people are located), monitor past purchase data to recommend future related products; 56% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a site that recommends products.
2. Social media – is at the top of internet activity, it has played a significant role in humanising brands, giving them a digital personality, an interactive voice to harness social data to persuade people to buy products and services
3. Email marketing – easiest way to personalise, make information bespoke to the individual, it’s easy to control content and the landing/website pages this information is directed to, it improves click through rates by 14%.
4. Content management systems – align CMSs to individual purchases to personalise content displayed on a website home page, not just recommending products..
5. Single shopping experience – Amazon, M&S and Tesco currently join up their mobile apps and desktop sites in this way, 59% of online shoppers believe it’s easier to find more products on personalised online retail stores.
6. In store – 56% of consumers say they would be more inclined to use a retailer if it offered a good personalised experience, according to O2’s The Rise of Me-tail study
7. TV advertising – traditional mass media is becoming more direct, targeting, segmentation and analytics that used to be the tools of the direct marketing industry have found their way into TV advertising.
8. Video – Netflix set a good example of providing a wide range of bespoke choices at a reasonable price, customers prefer to pay an ongoing monthly subscription for this value added personal service. Customer data is being used to personalise the experience.
9. Music – Apple can make recommendations about what music or videos consumers want to download; that’s personalisation.
10. Sequential messaging – brands are beginning to convey brand messages in sequence across multiple devices and screens to capture that on demand customer, 81% of online shoppers say they receive more customised messages than five years ago.
In 2014 personalisation for email, social media, marketing communications, mobile, in-store and web experiences need to become more integrated and more focused on the individual. Retailers seem to be stealing a march on personalisation but banks and travel companies are in hot pursuit. Share your personalisation examples by leaving a comment below or on Twitter.
