Should you personalise your marketing?

Getting personal

It is hard to escape advertising and marketing; we are constantly bombarded with brands competing for our attention.

Every day, we are bombarded by all kinds of information, from billboards to TV commercials to social media. As a result, it’s only natural that we tune most of that out, especially what we don’t find relevant to our own lives.

We might feel irritated when we see numerous emails with our names in them, but for marketing to be personalised, we must have given our details somewhere along the way.

But why do we share these details?

In a recent study, ninety percent of respondents said that discounts on products was their main reason for sharing their data.

There is no doubt that we all love a good deal now and then. Email sign-ups are the most common way for brands to do this.

Believe us when we say that brands are more clever than you think, and so are consumers (yes, we might be a great brand, but we are also consumers)! We are quick to sign up when a brand offers an immediate discount in return.

Do we like personalised marketing? Or do we find it creepy, annoying and sometimes too generic?

The use of personalised marketing by brands is on the rise. Does it annoy us all, or should we use it more often?

Many of us have opened an email that starts with our name; you can’t deny that it’s easy to pay attention to. However, do we find it more of a reason to reply, or are we numb to the fact that we know we are amongst many to receive a personalised email?

A brand focusing on personalisation shows that they put their customers first and want to build relationships with them.

By targeting the right audience (at the right time, on the best platform), brands can make their marketing more effective, as they use it throughout all of their marketing campaigns.

However…

Is there a fine line between personalised marketing and “Assumption Based marketing”?

There is a good chance that we have all received a birthday email with a discount, and yes, most of us enjoy our birthdays, so we love to receive a birthday discount from our favourite brands.

72% of consumers say that they now only engage with personalised marketing messages which are also tailored to their interests.

On the flip side, the brand knows our name, age, and perhaps what kind of clothing we like, but they don’t know us personally.

Brands often assume they know what their consumers want, which creates a sensitive debate surrounding personalised marketing.

For example, subscribers to a promotional email database might receive promotions about buying the perfect gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. But what if they have lost a parent? To these consumers, personalised marketing is not what they want to be receiving.

This is where sometimes personalised marketing doesn’t serve its initial purpose; it could very well be enough to turn excellent customers off your brand for the long haul.

What do we recommend?

Take advantage of personalisation! But, use true personalisation – get to know your clients. In other words, you need to conduct research. Be specific and make sure it’s based on behaviour and relevance rather than broad segmentation.

Don’t forget to stick with your marketing strategy as you focus on statistics, but concentrating on your clients’ needs, enjoyments, and personal preferences will significantly increase your success.

Don’t go overboard – the line between personalisation and invasion is delicate. Make sure you don’t spam your customers. It can scare clients off by asking too many questions or using information they didn’t give you.

Communicate with them directly while showing that you genuinely care about them. Eighty-four percent of consumers say being treated like a person is very important to them. Take advantage of their natural interests and likes.

Reflecting on your marketing?

You’re missing out on a huge opportunity to engage with clients if you’re only looking to promote generic, impersonal content. If your marketing needs a little TLC and personalisation, then you can find out more about marketing at EQ here:

👉 thinkeq.co.uk/what/marketing/