Personalization has been on the radar for years, but so far this year, it has been front and center of 100% of the client projects I’ve worked with. One hundred percent.
In a world full of spam, pop-up ads, and in-your-face marketing, customers are still willing to trade their privacy for a good deal (that also happens to be a convenient, useful experience). When those experiences are so spot-on and at the right place and the right time, they become even more compelling for customers.
Smart personalization is the data-driven dark art of being relevant in the moments that matter the most to your customers. The best strategies know how – and when – to apply what you know about your customers. Personalization strategies range from the simple and opportunistic, to complex and downright manipulative. Meaningful personalization acknowledges where customers are in their journey – as well as their comfort level in having personal information reflected in their digital experience. Smart personalization is never creepy.
How you choose to personalize depends on your goals and what your customer is willing to accept. You also need to focus on personalizing in the right way. Just because you can use something you know about your user doesn’t mean you should use it. Smart personalization means prioritizing the information that’s going to bring the most value.
Getting started with personalization may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. You can start small and grow your strategies over time. Start with contextual personalization – the foundation upon which you can build more complex strategies – and work towards journey-based personalization that looks at the customer journey to determine where each particular customer and interaction fits. Once these experiences are set in place, it’s time to test, monitor, learn, optimize, and repeat.
Today, personalization is a fundamental piece of any digital strategy. Customers expect it, the data is there, and the technology is within reach. To learn more about what a great digital strategy looks like, and how you can start building your own, download our guide.
Smart Personalization: It’s About Me. And You. And You. And You.
by Jim Hertzfeld on July 13th, 2017 | ~ minute read
