Creating tailored experiences for your potential and existing customers can significantly enhance your rapport with them, and indeed, they anticipate it. Employing this leading marketing tactic effectively has the power to capture and sustain the interest of your target audience.
However, you don’t just have to take our word for it. In this piece, we’re going to let the data speak for itself. Keep reading to learn about compelling statistics that support the need for a personalization strategy and how they can be used to gain valuable guidance as you establish one.
What Is Personalization?
Let’s start by defining what personalization is in the context of business.
Personalization is designing, producing, or offering a product or service to meet someone’s requirements and preferences.
Businesses personalize people’s online experiences and interactions by making them unique. Personalization strategies may include tailored recommendations or exclusive offers based on demographics, browsing habits, and other data.
Examples of personalization can be seen all around us. For example, your favorite Steakhouse knows you visit every Wednesday for the special, and you prefer it cooked medium-rare. So, they’ll prepare the dish how you like it without being reminded.
Personalization vs. Customization
“Personalization” and “customization” are common marketing buzzwords used interchangeably. And, in many cases, thought to mean the same thing.
However, the main difference is how both outcomes are achieved, and business owners should be clear on this before incorporating a personalization strategy.
The table below highlights the main distinctions:
|
Personalization |
Customization | |
|
Definition |
Personalization is when businesses tailor a customized user experience. |
Customization is when a user is in control and takes action to modify an experience to suit themselves. |
|
Main difference |
Personalization is created by leveraging user data and predictive analytics. |
The user ultimately carries out customizing based on their likes and preferences. |
|
Example |
Customized landing pages and personalized messages. |
The user has the option to customize their page layout for enhanced productivity. |
|
Pros |
|
|
|
Cons |
|
|
Benefits of personalization
- It boosts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue – When your customer feels valued, they’ll be more encouraged to be loyal to your business. A report found that companies with efficient personalization strategies experienced faster growth in revenue by 40%.
Source: McKinsey
- Relevant offering recommendations – You can make accurate and timely product or service recommendations based on user data.
- Understand your customers better – Learning your customer’s likes and dislikes helps you create a better experience.
- It increases time on site – We pay more attention to what interests us, so by mirroring your customer’s buying habits, they likely spend more time on your site. Therefore, notice more, such as CTA’s.
- Customers expect it – Personalization was once considered the cherry on top of a customer’s experience and nice to have. Now it’s a must. Due to the ocean of options online, it takes personalization to grab people’s attention.
Things to consider when developing a personalized strategy
Here are 5 personalization strategy tips based on best practices.
1. Identify who your customers are and their requirements
Customer personas are the best starting point to clarify your target customer. Consider their demographic details, interests, product or service preferences, and how they’d prefer to receive information and your attention. For example, eCommerce customers may choose to receive product recommendations via email.
2. Understand the customer journey
Map out your persona’s journey to illustrate how it interacts with your brand. If you’ve already collected data, analyze it and use the trends for mapping. Identify touchpoints for personalization opportunities and consider how they can be guided using personalized content.
3. Define your must-have personalization criteria
The data you need for personalization will depend on your business. Consider the type of information that will be most useful. Common examples include:
- Demographics
- Purchase history
- Website search history
Ensure the data you collect is good quality, and the analytic tools you use make it easy to create insights to inform your personalization plan.
4. Segment your audience
Go through your data and separate your customers into groups by location, age, gender, familiarity with your brand, and other business-related characteristics. There is excellent software available that does this automatically for you.
Segmenting your customer data is crucial in creating that one-to-one relationship and communication. This action lets you consider the type of recommendations and communication best suited for each group. And groups can be segmented further for more refined experiences.
5. Start Personalization and constantly refine your strategy
Your strategy should include details such as the content you want to personalize and the channels you’ll use. Decide how you’ll deliver an experience for the best results. Start small with product recommendations, for example.
Your personalization strategy will be a work in process, and you’ll constantly need to look for ways to optimize it. Analytics and the feedback you gather from your customers will help you learn what works and the areas that need improvement.
15 motivating personalization statistics
1. Companies earn 40% more revenue from personalization
McKinsey & Company asked businesses what percentage of their profits came from adding personalization to their marketing efforts. They found on average, businesses gained 40% more in comparison to their competitors.
These findings suggest that personalization isn’t just a nice-to-have feature, but a driving force for superior business performance. The ability to tailor the customer experience, according to this data, doesn’t just improve customer satisfaction—it also translates directly into increased revenue.
2. Personalization can shrink customer acquisition costs by up to 50%
Customers prefer personalized experiences and feel more connected to a brand that best meets their requirements, which typically leads to loyalty. Ultimately, customer acquisition costs drop when customer retention increases.
Based on Harvard Business Review’s research, we can assume that when customers perceive their experiences as personalized and their needs are well-met, they are more likely to develop a deeper connection with the brand, leading to increased loyalty. This loyalty can then convert into a higher customer retention rate.
3. Personalized CTAs outperform ordinary types by 202%
HubSpot compared over 333,000 CTAs covering three different types:
- Basic: Displays the same CTA for all visitors
- Multivariate: Two or more variations of the same CTA tested against each other
- Smart: A personalized CTA
And found “Smart” CTA’s performed the best.
A CTA is typically the final interaction a potential customer has before taking the desired action (like signing up for a newsletter, purchasing a product, or booking a service). The more relevant and engaging this CTA is to the visitor, the more likely they are to take that action.
The fact that personalized CTAs outperform regular ones significantly indicates a clear benefit of investing in personalization in your marketing and customer engagement efforts. This could involve using data-driven insights to understand their customers better and then tailoring their CTAs accordingly. The reward for such an approach, according to this data, could be a major boost in the effectiveness of their CTAs, leading to increased conversions, customer engagement, and ultimately, revenue.
4. 71% of consumers presume companies will deliver personalized interactions, and 76% are frustrated if this isn’t the case
This statistic from the Next in Personalization 2021 report by McKinsey & Company just highlights how much personalization is a requirement and is no longer nice to have.
This insight carries significant implications for businesses. Firstly, it underscores the importance of personalization as a strategic priority, not just an optional feature. Given the high level of consumer expectation, businesses that fail to provide personalized experiences risk not only missing opportunities to engage and convert potential customers but also losing existing customers to competitors who are better able to meet these expectations.
In essence, the push towards personalization has shifted from being a competitive advantage to becoming a business imperative. Businesses that are slow to adapt to this new reality risk losing customer trust and loyalty, while those that embrace personalization stand to enhance their customer relationships and business performance.
5. Marketers report a 760% increase in email revenue from personalized and segmented campaigns
According to a study by Campaign Monitor, If your customers think your emails are irrelevant, they’ll likely send them to trash, mark them as spam, or, even worse, unsubscribe from your list. Send the relevant emails to the right people to keep deliverability and open rates high.
This figure underscores the importance of investing in personalized and segmented email marketing strategies. Not only does personalization enhance the recipient’s experience, but segmentation allows companies to target specific groups within their customer base more effectively. This targeted approach can result in emails that are more relevant, engaging, and ultimately successful in driving revenue.
The success of email marketing efforts hinges on the ability to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. This statistic demonstrates that personalization and segmentation can be highly effective strategies in achieving this, leading to significantly improved engagement and increased revenue.
6. Compared to non-personalized promotional emails, personalized has a 29% higher unique open rate and 41% higher unique click rate
According to Invesp, in a given email campaign:
- The unique open rate is how many individual emails are open. If a receipt opens your email several times, it will be counted as one unique open.
- The unique click rate is if your recipient clicks on all 4 links you sent in an email, they’d generate 1 unique click.
For businesses, these figures highlight the effectiveness of personalization in enhancing the success of email marketing campaigns. By implementing personalization, businesses can expect to see improved recipient engagement, which could lead to higher conversion rates and increased customer loyalty. These benefits can, in turn, contribute to revenue growth and more efficient marketing practices.
7. 39% of businesses struggle with personalization
According to Segment’s deep dive into personalization trends, several businesses invest in personalization tech but struggle to use it effectively. In addition, 50% of companies feel collecting accurate data for personalization is difficult.
This just goes to show that although many businesses leverage personalization, it doesn’t mean they find it easy. And an uninformed software purchase may hinder a personalization strategy.
8. 91% of consumers say they prefer shopping with brands that recognize, remember, and deliver relevant offers and recommendations
A survey by Accenture Interactive concluded consumers felt digital experiences were not meeting their expectations. And they are more likely to spend their money on a brand offering them personal treatment.
Personalization, therefore, isn’t just a marketing strategy, but a key component of the customer experience that directly impacts purchasing decisions. Customers value being understood and acknowledged on an individual level. When businesses meet these expectations, customers are more likely to make purchases and remain loyal to the brand.
9. Consumers are 40% more likely to spend more than anticipated when they feel they’ve received a highly personalized experience
According to Google, businesses can achieve hyper-personalization or advanced personalization using lots of real-time data, AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics to get individual information about their customers to display highly curated products and content to them.
Clearly, investing in personalization isn’t just about improving customer satisfaction – it’s a strategic move that can have a significant positive impact on the bottom line. By creating highly personalized experiences, businesses can encourage consumers to make larger purchases, increasing average transaction values and overall revenue.
10. 60% of consumers are more likely to become repeat buyers after a personalized experience
This statistic is based on Segment’s survey of 3,000 businesses and consumers’ views on the state of personalization. This figure increased by 16% when Segment asked this question in 2017.
Segment also found out that consumers wished brands knew the following about them:
- style preferences and what suits them – 40%
- household needs – 24%
- economic situation – 20%
- goals and dreams – 14%
11. 83% of consumers are happy to share their data to support a personalized experience
This stat is from Accenture’s Pulse Check report and confirms how meaningful personalized experiences are to consumers. And the good news is that they understand that their data is required to shape the experience.
For businesses, this presents a significant opportunity. With consumers more open to sharing personal data, businesses have the chance to gather valuable insights into customer preferences, habits, and needs. This wealth of information can greatly enhance the effectiveness of personalization efforts, leading to more relevant and engaging customer experiences.
12. 11% increase in ad click-through rates implemented from personalized first-party data
A Harvard Business Review experiment found a rise in ad click-through rates when consumers were told the personalized data used to create the experience was based on their interaction on the site. In addition, time spent viewing ads increased by 34%.
The key business implication is that investing in data collection and personalized advertising strategies can lead to higher levels of user engagement. An increase in ad click-through rates directly translates into more potential customers being directed to your product or service. Moreover, the longer time spent viewing ads indicates a deeper level of interest and engagement, which can potentially lead to higher conversion rates.
13. 73% of consumers said a business has never communicated with them in a way that felt overly personalized or invasive.
At the same time, Accenture reveals that consumers draw the line when it comes to how their data is used for personalization tactics. This statistic is encouraging as it indicates that businesses, so far, are considering finding a balance between encouraging conversions and being intrusive, which will likely have the opposite effect.
For businesses, this presents a two-fold implication. On one hand, it’s encouraging, indicating that most businesses are effectively navigating the delicate balance of using personal data to create customized experiences without crossing boundaries that make consumers feel uncomfortable or that their privacy is being violated.
On the other hand, it serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining this balance. Overly aggressive or invasive personalization can be counterproductive, causing discomfort or alarm among consumers and potentially damaging the relationship between the customer and the business.
14. 24% of businesses say their investment in omnichannel personalization is successful and found departmental silos and legacy infrastructure being the key hurdles to success.
A Twilio Segment report found omnichannel was being overlooked when it came to businesses investing in online personalization strategies.
This presents a clear call to action. There is a need to break down departmental silos to ensure a seamless, consistent customer experience across all channels. This might involve fostering better cross-departmental communication and cooperation or potentially reorganizing to reduce these silos.
Similarly, legacy infrastructure that is not designed to support omnichannel personalization needs to be upgraded or replaced. This could be a significant investment, but given the potential benefits of effective omnichannel personalization—such as increased customer engagement and loyalty—it’s likely to be a worthwhile one.
15. 35% of consumers said receiving ads on social sites for items browsed on a company’s website was one of the “creepiest” personalization tactics.
Accenture asked consumers how “cool” or “creepy” they found specific personalization methods like apology emails following a poor online experience; they found the most invasive to be using consumer’s locations to offer personalized deals.
This statistic illustrates the fine line businesses must tread when it comes to personalized marketing tactics. It highlights the importance of tactful and non-invasive personalization.
While personalized ads can increase conversion rates, this data suggests there’s a point at which personalization becomes too intrusive and can lead to negative customer perception, potentially harming the brand’s reputation. Ultimately, businesses should always strive to use personalization to enhance the customer experience, rather than just to drive sales.
Personalization is the way forward
By delivering personalized experiences, you demonstrate that you understand and value your customers, which can foster loyalty and boost conversions. The data underscores the significant benefits of personalization. However, it’s a delicate balancing act to promote conversions without making the customer feel uncomfortable.
Here at Findstack, we provide complimentary guidance and resources to assist you in selecting the best software to boost your marketing initiatives. Whether you’re venturing into creating a personalization strategy or need assistance in deciding among various options, we’re here to support you.
