It’s Time To Get Personal
It’s time to get personal with your customers. Personalising your marketing will help your business engage with your customers as well as increase sales and loyalty.
It’s not always easy to start, companies such as Amazon and Netflix have been doing this for years and have access to big data and intelligent AI that enables them to connect the customer dots. Their data includes website behaviour, browser history and previous purchases, all of which translates to a very personalised experience for their consumers.
However, if your marketing isn’t personal then you could be adding to the noise that customers are bombarded with on a daily basis in the form of emails, offers and information, which may not be relevant or of interest to your customer. But imagine reaching out to your customer as if they are stood in front of you, the very moment they are looking at your product and you could personalise that offer to increase the chances of a purchase – sounds great doesn’t it? So, where do you start? Here are four strategies you can adopt now:
1. Shopping Abandonment Carts
Remarketing adverts are specifically designed to target a customer after they visit your site but left mid-purchase. I’m sure most of you have encountered this when online, it’s when you’ve spent time browsing and adding to your shopping cart and then maybe you left, became distracted and then just forgot about the purchase you were thinking of making. Later in the day when you pop back online you might get a reminder saying “Hi Lorraine, you have left your bags in our house”, this is where remarketing, if personalised and executed well, can be really effective at encouraging the customer to come back and complete a purchase.
2. Customer Feedback
In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s more important than ever for brands to make sure they are living up to their customers’ expectations; surveys are a great way to gather feedback. For example, if I reserve something in Argos and pick it up a day or two later I receive an email asking for feedback about the service and products purchased – this is a good to let your customers know that their opinion matters. Response rates from surveys can vary, to increase replies try an incentive, but even with feedback from a small customer population it will provide insights into your customers’ experience. The quantitative research can help guide what changes you can implement to increase customer happiness and in turn repeat purchases, ensuring you stay ahead of the competition.
3. Recommendations
I shop a lot. I’ve admitted it, it’s out in the open. Now my confession is out of the way, I will briefly touch on what my shopaholic tendencies have shown me.
Some brands are very smart at getting me to buy more! Using my data on previous shopping purchases and my browser history to show me complimentary or matching products. Amazon is well known for this and were early adopters of these techniques. “Hey Lorraine, you bought this book last time you may like this one.” This proven method works, and with the right AI and ecommerce solution, you can increase conversions and encourage new purchases.
4. Location Targeting
Brands hold lots of informative data on their customers that can feed greater personalisation, with predictive analysis enabling us to communicate with smartphone users (approximately 48 million in the UK) based on their user location and behavioural trends. Location targeting is a great tool to capture your customers when out shopping, combine this with AI and predictive analysis and it will take personalisation to a whole new level. Delivering adverts in the moment as they approach a store or restaurant, known as the ‘Just in Time’ method, which is an efficient and targeted way to communicate with customers, increase purchases and maximise return from your ad spend.
These technologies give marketers and brand owners the tools to change the way they communicate with their customers; as an industry we must remember to be respectful of people’s personal data and the way in which they want us to communicate with them. Our industry is on the cusp of an exciting transformation but our intentions should be authentic, beyond just the sell and seek to develop connections, after all, us humans are hardwired to build communities and with our complex set of emotions, we all need to be treated with care and respect – our customers are no exception.
Sum-up
Personalisation is key, customers expect it. Don’t bombard customers with generic emails and offers. Invest in intelligent AI or at the very least segment your lists and customer data. For your next campaign can you try to personalise your digital or OOH advertising? It’s vital to build trusting relationships. A brand has to be more than just its product to win the hearts and minds of its customers.
