For a customer, there’s nothing more annoying than an irrelevant ad or a generic email. As a company, there aren’t many things more damaging than annoying your customers away. Generic customer experiences are damaging in many ways: not only do you not get conversions, but you also burn through your budget. And you also miss a great window of opportunity for your brand to stand out among hundreds of others.
One thing most successful marketing campaigns have in common is they connect to their audience. But your audience is individuals with different needs, preferences, and at different points in their buying journey.
So, where do you start? In this article, you’ll discover what personalization at scale is and the benefits of personalizing your marketing campaigns. You will also get the basics that will help you take your first steps into creating a better experience for your audience.
What is personalization at scale?
Personalization at scale means using data-driven insights to create personalized digital experiences. By leveraging those insights, your brand is able to talk to your customers in a way that is tailored to their specific preferences and needs, creating the effect of a private conversation. ‘At scale’ means you can apply this strategy to all of your audience, regardless of size. In effect, personalization at scale makes your whole customer base feel understood and connected to your brand, and delivers the right message to the right people. When it involves multiple channels, both online and offline, it’s referred to as omnichannel personalization.
The benefits of personalization at scale
Personalization is not a new concept, but it is a trending one. According to The State of Personalization Report 2024 by Twelio Segment, 89% of business leaders believe that personalization is going to play a crucial role in their business’s success in the next three years. And there are many good reasons for this.
Maybe the most important thing personalization at scale can help you with is that your brand will resonate with your customers, improving both your relationship with your customer base and your marketing campaign ROI. But the benefits of personalization aren’t limited to just that. Let’s have a look at all the ways personalization strategies can help your brand.
Higher audience engagement
If you’ve ever received a generic email or have been persistently ‘followed’ by an ad that is completely irrelevant to you, then you know how irritating it can be. Audiences connect with brands that understand them. It’s about the feeling, the shared experience and the personal pain point. And that’s what personalization helps you achieve.
Personalization at scale helps you connect with every customer in a way that is relevant to them. This creates a unique connection between you, capturing the audience’s attention and creating higher engagement.
Higher conversion rates
A product that speaks to you is a product you’re more likely to buy. Converting to a product is the natural next step from an engaged audience. A highly personalized experience helps your product ‘stick’ to customers’ minds. So, even if part of your audience is not ready to convert from the get-go, the minute the need has matured, your brand will be the first that comes to mind.
What is more, product sales targeted to specific audience segments can perform better than generic sales campaigns. This, in turn, leads to better conversion rates, and a direct increase in your ROI.
Larger Average Order Value (AOV)
Personalization has now helped you achieve better conversion rates. But this isn’t where you stop taking advantage of it. Personalization at scale encourages both upselling and cross-selling, increasing the Average Order Value.
Product recommendations tailored to customers’ preferences, needs, and previous shopping history are more likely to lead to an additional purchase before checkout. Suggesting a complementary product that fits their past purchases will also lead to larger purchases. Now, think about doing this at scale: if every customer who visits your website sees these recommendations that are tailored to their specific wants and needs, the increase in Average Order Value can be significant.
Better customer experience
No matter the industry you belong to, you aim to create the best possible customer experience. Of course, it should be smooth and include successful transactions. But if you want to keep those customers coming back, it should also be memorable.
A personalized experience answers your customers’ needs and wants, helps them feel that your brand genuinely cares for them, and ultimately makes your brand more valuable to them. Content is more relevant to them, and ads tailored to them create less ad fatigue. This adds up to a better customer experience that not only fulfils but exceeds customers’ expectations.
Customer retention
Personalization helps you create a better connection between your brand and your customers. When they feel valued, understood, and taken care of, they are more likely to keep purchasing your products. A memorable customer experience can set the groundwork for a long-lasting relationship with your customers, strengthening their loyalty to your brand and making them come back repeatedly.
Improved brand image
What makes your brand impressive to one segment of your audience might leave another one completely indifferent. All brands have their strong points, but those aren’t necessarily what resonates with everyone. Personalization at scale, however, can help you fix that problem.
When your potential customers get personalized messages, offers, and ads, you actively cater to their needs. You speak to their specific pain points and showcase the part of your brand that resonates with them. Personalization helps your brand shine in different ways based on each customer’s viewpoints and needs and helps you create a better, enhanced brand image.
Reduced Customer Acquisition Cost
Creating one generic ad campaign for everyone doesn’t work anymore. The percentage of the audience this resonates with is far too small, meaning that you’re putting effort and money into irrelevant advertising that doesn’t return the expected revenue. Personalized ads, on the other hand, can help you target the right audience and create specific messaging that resonates with them. This doesn’t just increase your ROI - it also significantly reduces your Customer Acquisition Cost.
And this isn’t the only way your CAC goes down: higher personalization means more customer satisfaction. And your best brand advocates are happy, loyal customers. These customers are likely to spread the word, helping you drive organic growth and maintain a low CAC.
Next steps
Personalization at scale helps brands across all industries connect to their target audience, creating meaningful customer experiences. Reaching your audience and answering their specific needs no matter the number of your prospects has never been more achievable or time-effective. More than just lowering your CAC and increasing your ROI, personalization at scale will help your brand resonate with a larger audience, and you’ll create long-lasting relationships with your customers.
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