Last updated on June 7th, 2016 at 12:53 pm
Modern marketing involves building relationships with prospects so that when they’re ready to make a purchase, your brand stays top of mind.
Personalized marketing is one such strategy whereby businesses can fine-tune their content according to their customers’ needs. This can be as simple as offering them a product that complements their last purchase, or as complex as automating marketing e-mails according to their demographics, consumption behavior, and location.
Here are some ways your marketing team can tap into the wealth of opportunity that is personalized marketing.
Make your customer feel that you’re speaking to them
Engaging your target audience is the first step for them to consider your offer. You need to make them feel as if you are speaking directly to them—that your products and services provide a solution to their needs.
How do you accomplish this?
Start by altering your landing page and marketing e-mails to become more conversational. Use “you” throughout your site, especially when explaining how the product will help the customer. If you have customer profile’s data, then refer to customers by name when sending out e-mails instead of the generic “Dear Customer.”
You may also wish to employ a segmentation system among prospects and customers, then target messages that are relevant only to each subset. For example, you’d want to send a different message to B2B customers as opposed to B2C customers because their particular needs differ greatly.
Tailor content according to your customers’ past purchasing habits
Speaking of purchases, this should be your springboard when offering customers other products and services. After all, past purchases mean that there’s already an established connection between your business and the customer. It’s now on you to keep that relationship going.
Take note of how often they use your products or services. How many products do they purchase every transaction? Use this information to personalize your sales pitches and marketing content.
For example, a customer that buys your product around the first of every month will certainly appreciate a heads-up on a promotion around that timeframe. That way, the marketing message coincides with their purchasing period, making them more likely to consider the benefits. Remember that you have to collect and manage your customer data to make personalized messages possible in the first place.
Know your audience’s needs
No matter how great they are, your marketing efforts will go to waste if they offer products that your audience simply doesn’t need. Leverage your customer data (demographics, behaviors, motivations, location) to accurately target your audience with offerings that are relevant to their needs.
Which of your products are best sellers? What do customers think of your prices and selection? All of these factors contribute to crafting a better marketing strategy. Ask for feedback whenever possible and always take customer opinions into consideration when updating your offer.
Segmentation goes a long way when developing a needs-specific approach to your marketing. When signing up for your newsletters, you can have customers fill out a short survey so that you can get to know them better. This benefits both parties, as customers get more relevant content while businesses enhance the accuracy of their marketing, decreasing costs and increasing conversion rates.
Perks of Personalized Marketing
When customers get what they need when they need it, it reflects well on the business. Many studies have shown how personalized marketing has helped businesses increase their sales. For example, Janrain, a company that specializes in customer profile management, reported a 19% sales increase for businesses that work on personalizing their customers’ online experience.
Whether you’re focusing on your lead generation strategy or trying to drive sales for a new product, personalized marketing significantly increases engagement conversion rates, making your message far more effective. People, in general, still appreciate the human factor when it comes to communicating with brands. In an increasingly automated world, taking the time to address your audience on a personal level can really help you stand out from the crowd and outperform the competition.
By personalizing your business offerings, you’ll be able to establish yourself as a business capable of fulfilling your customers’ needs.
