Marketing Strategy Tips: Why You Should Personalize Your Marketing

Ilia Jones | June 2021

Are you reaching out to individuals or the nebulous concept of a target audience? It could mean the difference between mild and massive success in a marketing campaign. 

Marketing personalization, also known as one-to-one marketing or personalized marketing, uses data to deliver marketing messaging to an individual. Rather than tossing out a generic message designed to attract the largest demographic, marketing personalization drills down to target each prospective customer.

This concept might sound creepy or reminiscent of Big Brother (and we’re not talking about the TV show). But it can be an effective method of gaining loyal customers when done well. The type of customers that are real fans of the brand, not just consumers. And who doesn’t want that?

Why Personalize Your Marketing?

We have come a long way from the classic forms of marketing; cold calls, billboards, and television, and radio advertising. Today’s consumers are bombarded with information and, thus seeing advertising and marketing content at a rate far higher than 30 years ago.

Some marketers estimate that consumers see thousands of ads in a single day, though it’s hard to find hard data to prove it. But, if you realize that people spent more than 13 hours per day consuming media in 2020, all the banner ads,  popups, sponsored ads, sponsored posts, not to mention radio and TV advertising…it all adds up. 

So, in a very crowded marketplace, where attention spans are shorter than ever, how do you really reach people? This is where marketing personalization comes in. 

Marketing personalization provides customers and prospective customers an opportunity to interact with your brand in a way that feels human, one-on-one. Like you’re speaking directly to them to address their needs.

So, how do we achieve it?

Strategies for Marketing Personalization 

While you probably realize that it’s impossible to be everything to everyone, there are some tools and technologies that make appealing to unique individuals in a personal way possible. 

USE DATA-DRIVEN MARKETING

Today, we live half in an in-person world that is sunshine and bare feet in fresh green grass. The other half is online, where we are defined by the information we choose to consume and share. Any brand in the digital space collects data from its customers, website visitors and other prospective customers. Data and metrics come from many sources, web traffic analytics, ad views, email lists, customer profiles, social media follower counts, and countless other online interactions. 

The way to marketing personalization is to use that data wisely. Find the right automation and data analytics tools to find out more about customer and target audience behavior. When you know what your customers are doing, you can figure out what they want and tailor campaigns to fill that need. 

develop MARKETING PERSONAs

While we’ve talked about interacting with customers one-on-one, that’s not realistic for most marketing campaigns. It’s also important to draw the line to avoid entering the “creep zone.” Sending a marketing email to John Smith and using his name in the subject line, that’s totally okay. Blasting out social media ads that speak to John Smith by name, that’s a little weird (and probably not cost-effective).   

So, to make customers feel like you’re speaking directly to them without singling each one out, we use personas to represent drilled-down subsets of our target audience.

Thanks to data, we can parse out detailed marketing personas. By creating personas, you can create campaigns that speak to different audiences who represent segments of your pet supply store’s target audience. For example, Jane, who loves cats, and John, who loves cockatiels. “Janes” might receive emails that highlight blog posts about cat hairball control. And “Johns” might get social media ads targeted toward new and improved tropical bird cages.  

CREATE PERSONALIZED TOUCHPOINTS

You can also use personalized marketing to create a stellar customer service experience for your customers. Using the customer’s name in any interaction can go a long way toward making them feel like more than just a number. 

For example, collect customer information when they contact you by email or using a contact form on your website. And when customers reach out by phone, have your representatives ask for their name and use it when addressing them. The same goes for chatbots and other automated technology. 

Additionally, personalized follow-up and thank you emails can help you seal the deal. If a known customer abandons their cart or doesn’t complete a transaction, send an automated personalized email reminding them and welcoming them back. This gesture may seem small, but it can help you seal the deal.  And if a customer does buy something, sending a personalized thank you email not only confirms their purchase but makes them feel appreciated.  

The Benefits of Personalized Marketing

Hopefully, now you have some ideas percolating on how to personalize into your marketing strategy. If you do, you will likely see some great benefits for your business and your customers. 

Outstanding Customer Service

We’ve already hinted at this, but with a personal touch, your customer service experience makes your customers feel truly valued. And personalization provides a way to provide excellent service every step along the way for customers, from initial contact, through and after making a purchase. And, as personalization becomes widespread, customers are beginning to expect this level of service. After all, wouldn’t you?

INCREASED SALES, CONVERSIONS AND REVENUE

By personalizing and automating several touchpoints with customers, you will stay top of mind and experience fewer abandoned carts and more completed sales. All of this is good for your bottom line. 

BOOST BRAND LOYALTY AND CUSTOMER RETENTION

When you are able to speak to more customers in a way that makes them feel seen and heard and provides a personalized journey with your brand, you’ll not only gain customers but retain them. By continuing to leverage personalized marketing after the sale, you can turn a one-time customer into an enthusiastic and loyal customer. 

Making the Internet a Bit More Friendly

While personalized marketing can’t remove all the trolls from Twitter, it can help your business be more welcoming and friendly. 

If you need help or have questions about how personalized marketing can help your business, ArcStone can help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discuss how we can help you with your marketing personalization efforts.