The Importance of Personalization

Have you ever wondered why putting in the extra effort to personalize an interaction with a customer is worth it? They’re being offered the same thing, so personalization shouldn’t make any difference, right? Well, people don’t like to be thought of as just a number – because they aren’t! Personalized experiences actually greatly influence people when it comes to choosing a product or service.

Relevancy

Every brand interaction that a consumer has should be connected and relevant. You don’t want your advertising campaign to only address the needs of one group of consumers; you want to reach as many people as possible.

Have you ever been on a road trip or a vacation where the gas stations and knick-knack stores have keychains with different names on them? If so, haven’t you looked for your name – even though you know you’re not going to buy it? It’s because they’re personalized! This strategy has been around for decades, and now larger brands are adopting it and greatly benefiting from it.

Representation

People want to be represented; an inclusion of a variety of identities broadens your audience. But to do this properly and respectfully, you must make sure it’s authentic; you want to respectfully reflect the community around you. Avoid using an aspect from a minority culture without knowing the meaning behind it. Once you know the meaning – and you still intend to use it – make sure you honor it.

And this isn’t limited to just cultures. You want to build a person’s profile with as much diverse information as possible, such as age, hobbies, level of education, industry, and so on!

Perspective

Put yourself into your customers’ and potential customers’ shoes. Do you want to go for the product or service that is generalized for everyone? Or do you want the product or service that has addressed your direct needs? Odds are, you said “Of course I want the product that is more relevant to me!” Well, your customers do too!

When a customer has a great, personalized experience, they are more likely to recommend the company that provided that service. And there’s more good news: with the advances in technology we have, getting personalized consumer information is becoming easier and easier. In fact, a study conducted by Salesforce in 2016 determined that customers are more willing to give their data to a company for personalized offers and deals.

Customers trust companies more when they give personalized experiences. The result? More trust in your company and brand, more referrals to you, and more sales and profits.