“Does your grandmother get e-mail offers from ‘twenty-something’ dating services? The days of mass marketing are over. Today, smart marketing organisations begin to use personalised communications that address the individual needs, interests and preferences of consumers.” Jacques Gripekoven, General Manager: Destination Moon.
“Customers want you to know them” according to Hewlett-Packard Chief Marketing Officer Michael Mendanhall. “Customization and personalization is the trend…”
Customers expect you to apply the information you know about them and to continue to learn from the relationship. They don’t want their time wasted with irrelevant or inappropriate offers. The personalisation technique used has either a positive or negative impact on the customer. I think as a marketer the line between providing personal attention, and being intrusive will be the biggest challenge. By understanding and predicting customer behaviour, companies can create stronger and more profitable relationships with customers, which is their competitive advantage. Establishing relationships with customers is the biggest incentive to personalization.
“Dynamic personalisation technology allows companies to provide their customers with an entirely new experience of personalised offers and content. The process requires the collection, analysis and distribution of information about the customer. This technology enables a more precise matching of offers to customer needs, which can improve customer relationships and build loyalty. The real-time capabilities of dynamic personalisation provide greater accuracy and the flexibility to adapt to changing trends.” Sourced from Eurescom.
Figure 1: Intelligent e-Communications Platform
Each customer will see different, personalised web pages with personalised navigational links.
Figure 2: Personalised web pages
Something Memorable Via Technology
We can be Creative in our personalization of messages, by utilizing the vast technologies available online. We need to humanize our organization and marketing messages by giving them a face. It is all about leaving a lasting impression. An example that continuously surfaces is personalized video that greets recipients by name and speaks to his or her needs. This may seem tedious and a little cumbersome, but it can be really simple. Below are some online videos showing how marketers can utilise technology available online from (Talk Fusion).
Technology is here to assist personalization!
Emails can equal spam!
By personalizing emails, you differentiate yourself from spammers by making it obvious that your communication was created specifically for that person and not the masses. But the new form of mass marketing in the form unsolicited e-mails are driving us all crazy. It’s super cheap to send out spam. So cheap, in fact, that it represents about 43% of all the e-mail we receive! Sourced from Radiantbrands. There is a thin line between personalization and interruption. Your information if incorrect can be a hindrance to the consumer. This is where we can incorporate permission based marketing. Our websites and marketing material needs to entice consumers- let them take the next step into the marketing plot, and this can be the “permission”– the green-light needed to build a relationship with the consumer.
Theoretically, if marketers know more about potential customers, personalization will allow them to offer exactly what people want. But does it really build brand loyalty or does it invade individuals’ privacy? Unfortunately many marketers are bordering on the invasive tactics that so many folks are getting upset about. Is it about really knowing everything about the customer, or understanding what the customer’s interests and passions are and delivering only what they want? Consumers’ need to control marketing that goes to them. They only want to see what they want. This is where tactful use of relevant personalization targeting customers with loyalty and passion about interests or products makes perfect sense. The key is to ask Permission!
