Businesses actually do know the importance of personalisation – when was the last time you received a business email addressed to Sir / Madam or another generic format? True personalisation is more than just customising a promotional email or newsletter with each customer’s first name; it’s about creating unique experiences for each and every customer. In today’s relentlessly competitive marketplaces, knowing what your customers want and promoting your products in the right way, with the right context and at the right time has never been more important as consumers continue to find experiences with brands frustratingly inconsistent when interacting across different channels.
In an odd deviation from the normal business landscape, despite some brand leaders engaging successfully with personalisation, it is yet to become something that most business owners are seeking to leverage. The two biggest successes in global personalisation so far are: [icegram campaigns=”423″]
- Nike
Nike has long been at the forefront of the battle for personalisation. This is largely because of the philosophy of CEO Mark Parker, who understands the importance of being nimble and meeting customer demands.
“One of my fears is being this big, slow, constipated, bureaucratic company that’s happy with its success,” Parker says. “Companies fall apart when their model is so successful that it stifles thinking that challenges it.” What do Parker and the company do to continue being successful? They move with the marketplace. In 2016, this means offering highly personalised product offerings.
If you log onto Nike.com to purchase a shoe, you’re given the option to customise your own trainers with different colors, textures, materials, shoelaces, and sizes. It’s something that’s been incredibly profitable for the athletic apparel giant.
- Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has also invested in personalization. This is the inspiration behind their ongoing “Share a Coke” campaign that allows people to purchase personalized bottles with different names and words. The idea is that, by allowing customers to personalize bottles, they’ll encourage a different type of purchase. It’s worked thus far. Sales were up two percent after just a few months.
E-Commerce
And yet even within E-Commerce -where personalisation is more fluid and low costed, according to new research from IT services provider Mindtree and Vanson Bourne, only 28 percent of decision-makers from about 900 companies surveyed said their organisations are investing in personalisation features that consumers want, including improved search and compare/aggregate functions. Instead, they’re focusing on features such as shopping lists, wish lists and social features.
The report, Winning in the Age of Personalization, also found that when businesses get the equation right, great results follow. Just over three-quarters (78 percent) of consumers reported that personalisation features prompted them to purchase products they’ve previously bought and 74 percent said that personalisation encouraged them to buy products and services they have never purchased in the past. The study examined more than 6,000 consumers overall.
It’s no secret that matching customer requirements—and demands—is an increasingly difficult task in today’s fast-changing business and tech environment. One of the most intriguing conclusions from the study was that enterprise leaders are frequently focused on the wrong things.
Many of today’s personalisation approaches are ineffective since they are based on a siloed view of the customer. Too often, business leaders lose sight of the fact that the ultimate goal is to create value for consumers. In order to reach the promised land, it’s essential to have the right data engine and digital underpinnings in place so that an organization can target the right people, at the right time, in the right place, on the right device, with the right content.
Ultimately, it’s about assembling the data points to create a clear picture. This requires CIOs and other enterprise leaders to recognise how the intersection of various technologies—everything from beacons and RFID to legacy and social data—generate opportunities and new data points.
But, more importantly, it’s all about breaking down data silos to gain an enriched view of customers from these various digital touch points; using context-weighted personalisation algorithms to generate relevant content, offers and recommendations; and building out the IT framework to automatically deliver customised messages and offers to customers in a cross-channel, cross-device landscape.
The report concludes that companies must focus on four cornerstones of true digital transformation and success: creating digital customer experiences; digitising the value chain across the front and back end; developing “sense-and-respond” systems; and shaping new, innovative business models and partnerships.
Make no mistake, it’s critical to recognise that business is no longer about selling to customers but, rather, earning the right—if not privilege—to be part of a continuous stream of engagement.
Business personalisation isn’t a fad or trend–it’s the way of the future. It’s taken decades to get here, but we’re finally at a point where collaborative customisation is affordable for both businesses and customers. If you haven’t recognised this yet, you’re already behind. Begin strategising ways you can move your business model towards personalisation.
