Customers are constantly being bombarded with information and advertising in today’s digital world. Personalised marketing is therefore no longer simply a luxury, but a necessity. It is about perceiving a customer not only as part of the masses but as an individual with totally specific needs and wishes. Yet how is personalisation effectively actioned? And what challenges need to be championed?

Personalisation 101

Before businesses can start personalising their marketing, they need to do their homework. What does this mean? They need to gather and analyse customer data to create the basis for personalising their marketing strategy. 

Customer data covers everything from demographic information, to buying behaviour and interaction history. Based on these details, businesses have the possibility to create customer profiles and to understand what their respective customers really want.

How to best reach which customers

The second step is then about rolling out a personalised strategy. There are different ways to achieve this. Here a few proven methods to reach customers via a range of channels:

Personalising e-mail

Many businesses still believe that e-mail marketing is not really important. But that is not the case! E-mail helps with a direct and personal customer approach. It is possible to send messages that are geared precisely to the person reading them.

If businesses know their customers well and categorise them into different groups, they are able to cater even better to the respective needs and wishes of their individual customers. For example, they may send out specific offers that cater exactly to what the customer likes or needs.

The advantage of e-mail marketing is that you are not simply sending out an advertisement. It is possible to send out useful information and offers that the customer will appreciate. That is how they will feel understood and well looked after.

Personalising a website

The use of cookies and tracking tools allows businesses to analyse how customers behave on their website, thus creating a very personal experience. This may include personalised product recommendations, content or special offers based on the interests and earlier conduct of the visitor.

Which means: Businesses can find out what visitors to their website like or look at often. They may then show this person exactly what they are interested in, such as products they would like to have, articles they are thrilled to read or special offers that are a good fit. This makes shopping or browsing the website so much more of an interesting and personal experience for the visitor.

Social media and personalised advertising

Social media offer a plethora of possibilities for personalised advertising. Targeted advertising campaigns based on the interests and conduct of users let businesses effectively gear their messages to the respective target audience.

Advantages of personalised marketing

Personalised marketing offers many advantages both for businesses as well as customers. Personalisation may help companies to:

• Increase customer retention: Customers that feel they are being addressed and appreciated are more inclined to buy again from that specific business.
• Increase sales figures: Personalised offers and recommendations often lead to higher purchase volumes.
• Improve marketing effectiveness: By specifically addressing customers with relevant messages, the marketing budget is used more effectively. And this means that in the end, your business makes more money!

Personalised marketing done right

To successfully personalise marketing, businesses need to gather and analyse data about their customers in a first step. These data may, for example, originate from customers’ buying behaviour, their interests or usage behaviour.

There are different tools and technologies that help businesses to personalise their marketing campaigns. They are, for example:

• CRM systems: Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM systems) help businesses to store and manage customer data at a single location.
• Marketing Automation Platforms: Marketing Automation Platforms allow businesses to create and send out automated e-mail messages, personalised content as well as other marketing campaigns.
• AI-based solutions: Artificial intelligence (AI) can help businesses better understand the needs and interests of their customers in order to give them relevant offers and information.

Challenges and privacy

Amidst all the euphoria about the possibilities in personalisation, the challenges should not be underestimated. Privacy protection and compliance with legal requirements are decisive. Customers are increasingly concerned about the use of their data, which businesses need to treat transparently and responsibly!

Conclusion

Personalised marketing gives businesses the opportunity to stand out in a fiercely competitive advertising landscape and build a deeper connection with their customers. By using modern technology and observing ethical principles, personalisation may lead to better customer experiences and, ultimately, to greater business success.

About the author:

BASIC thinking is an online magazine and one of the widest-reaching tech portals in German-speaking countries. The editorial team posts daily on social media, marketing and business topics. This article was written by Christina Widner of BASIC thinking GmbH and BASIC thinking International.