Our social media feeds are curated based on our “algorithms,” our TVs offer us tailored recommendations on what we should watch, and stores can even predict what we want to buy along with another item. Receiving personalized attention is always nice from a consumer standpoint, but thanks to the advancement of technology, this is becoming more of an expectation than a delightful surprise.
How can small businesses leverage one-to-one marketing to increase their customer experience? It may seem daunting, but in order to better understand how to leverage it, let’s clear up what exactly marketing personalization is.
Personalized marketing uses data gathered from individual customers to deliver branded communications that are targeted to that particular customer’s needs and wants. It goes beyond merely adding a customer’s name to an email, providing product suggestions, updates or optimizations that speak to their interests.
“Personalization…is a chance to differentiate at a human scale, to use behavior as the most important clue about what people want and more importantly, what they need.”
According to research conducted by Epsilon, “80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences.” So how can a small business gather this information? Without big budgets, it may take a little more leg work, but it can be done.
Start by using a CRM
Hubspot offers a free customer relationship management platform that helps you track a significant amount of data in one place. You can manually create customer profiles and populate them with a variety of data that helps you identify unique traits about them of their location within the customer journey.
Segment Your Audience
You can even use the HubSpot platform to create emails and send them to customer’s based on lifestyle stage, list membership, or any other info located in their customer record. Segment customers based on their previous interactions with your brand via advertising by using things such as custom audiences via Facebook ads.
Leverage the Data You’ve Collected
In a cookie-less world, businesses are going to have to rely on declared data, or data willingly handed over by customers. Using surveys to gauge particular interests, quizzes to determine archetypes, and examining ecommerce purchase data, you can gather a wealth of data points that you can use.
Being able to speak directly to customers interests has been shown to improve revenue by 10-15%. But it is important to listen to how they want this personalized attention. Research from MoEngage shows that more than a quarter of consumers surveyed prefer for their personalization to come from purchase history data, and another 21% prefer personalization based on interests.
Flatter your customers by letting them know you’re interested in their interests and you’ll see that they will respond with repeat sales and loyalty to your brand.