Personalization in marketing is nothing new. For years, it’s allowed marketing teams to deliver more persuasive messages to the right people at the right time, which ultimately improves results.
A Demand Metric study from 2016 reported that 80% of marketers think personalization is more effective than “unpersonalized” content. Now, “hyper-personalization” has become the new norm, where companies use data to modify content based on a customer’s location, browsing behavior, purchase history and more.
Hyper-Personalization: The Risks
Automated marketing software has made collecting consumer data much easier. But the challenge for marketers is to use this data to deliver personalized content in a non-invasive way.
There’s a fine line between individualized content and perceived ‘creepiness,’ as discount retailer Target found out. They tracked one teenager’s purchase behavior to determine that she could be expecting and sent her offers for baby-related products. On seeing these offers, her father complained, unaware that she was in fact pregnant.
This highlights the need for marketers to use personal data to help customers, not alienate them. So, how do you personalize content without being too invasive? Here are nine ideas to get you started, organized by category.
Website-Driven Content
- Self-Identification
Management consultant firm Sales Benchmark Index creates individualized content for different client personas. When you arrive on their website, you select your role – CEO, sales leader, marketing leader, HR leader or sales rep – and are taken to a customized page that speaks directly to your needs.
- Geolocation
Let’s say you run an online store in Los Angeles and have customers from all over the U.S. Obviously, it costs less to deliver goods to customers in California. Using a geolocation tool that maps visitors’ IP addresses, you could display a free shipping coupon only to visitors from California. That could drastically improve your conversion rates for Californian customers.
- Website History
Every company has website visitors that don’t make a purchase or fill out a form. The next time you engage with these shoppers, via email or the Web, you can retarget them to deliver more useful content to prospects, based on which pages they have previously visited. For example, how-to guides, testimonials and price calculators. Generally speaking, this is done through cookies placed on your visitors’ computers, allowing you to deliver content that is more relevant when they return to your site, or (through display ads) deliver relevant ads to them when they browse away from your site.
Demographic-Driven Content
- Personalize Emails
According to Experian, personalized emails generate on average six times more revenue than non-personalized ones. Here are a few things to consider:
- Email subject lines including the recipient’s first name have been shown to increase open rates by 2.6%.
- Location-based emails work well for companies with brick-and-mortar locations, especially when promoting deals for local customers.
- Segment your email list by age, gender or where customers are in the sales funnel. Then deliver customized content, addressing the needs of each group.
- Birthday emails are a simple way to create a positive brand experience. Just be sure to add value to the message with an exclusive offer or some unique, tailored content. A simple “Happy Birthday!” is not enough.
Behavior-Driven Content
- Optimize Email Delivery Times
With the right software, you can automatically send messages to each email recipient based on their previous behavior. Using email open histories, t-shirt brand BustedTees was able to send emails at optimum times. Their click-through rates increased by 11% and email revenue grew by 8%.
- Trigger Emails
These are event-based and time-delayed, delivered when users perform a specific action. For example, when a person signs up to your newsletter, they receive a welcome email. Or when a person buys a product online, they receive an email a few days later recommending similar products. Amazon sends a reminder email to customers who have left items in their shopping cart.
Other Behavior-Driven Content
- Purchase History
A previous purchase is an obvious launching pad to increase customer engagement. You could encourage customers to leave reviews of a previously purchased product or provide additional content on how to best use the product. The data can also be used to cross-sell related products.
- Customize Landing Pages from Ads
If you use paid search ads, you want to send people who click on those ads to pages optimized for conversions. For example, if you’re running an ad campaign for a new dress line which features an exclusive discount code, you should include a banner containing the discount code on the landing page. This can be set up using tools like HubSpot.
- Use Social Media
Many brands create their own Twitter lists, based on Twitter users’ behavior. For example, if you want to promote your new range of financial products, you could find people using the hashtag #Finance and tweet relevant content directly to people on the list.
It’s Business, And It’s Personal
Hyper-personalization is a more sophisticated marketing approach that delivers the individualized content that today’s online shoppers expect. There are many more ways to personalize content, but these suggestions can give you a starting point.
Ultimately, it’s all about using the data you have available to be able to connect on a more personal level with your audience. Once you can find success with that, you’ll see your online conversions and revenue reach new heights.