Personalization in Marketing: Can it Build Brand Loyalty?
Personalization online is now a key driver in marketing: "Customers want you to know them" according to Hewlett-Packard Chief Marketing Officer Michael Mendanhall. Theoretically, if marketers know more and more about their potential customers, customization and personalization will allow them to offer exactly what people want. But does it really build brand loyalty or does it invade individuals' privacy? This is a big issue which both marketers and consumers are confronting. Is it about really knowing everything about the customer, or understanding what the customer's interests and passions are and delivering only what they want?
The Age of Mass Communication is Dead — Or Is It?
According to Ad Week magazine the age of mass communications is dead. The large-scale media campaigns targeting millions of eyeballs are giving way to market segmented ads, narrowly targeted messaging and, in many cases, no ads at all. Knowing more and more about customers is critical to tailoring ads, communications and messaging to the customer. It's becoming easier and easier to segment markets, especially online. Ultimately, the goal of a great marketing campaign for a brand is to only market to those customers interested in what you provide are actually telling you by looking for it. Is it so bad to have other related brands and ads in the same place?
But the new form of mass marketing is driving us all crazy. It's that flood of unsolicited e-mails, of spam that drive consumers crazy. it's super cheap to send out spam. So cheap, in fact, that it represents about 43% of all the e-mail we receive!
So we have two trends: more and more personalized offers to customers and, at the same time, spam — the never-ending solicitations for Viagra and penny stock investments.
This only emphasizes the consumers' need to control marketing that goes to them. They only want to see what they want. Luckily the opportunity to do this is greater than ever. This is where tactful use of relevant personalization targeting customers with loyalty and passion about interests or products makes perfect sense. But you have to ask permission. That's the key.
When is Personalization Important?
…when it's relevant to the right consumer. This is where brands can really build equity and relevance behind what they stand for. Again, it's not about knowing where I live and my first name! That borders on the invasive tactics that so many folks are getting upset about today. It's about saying, "here's something about dogs — in fact, English Bulldogs — which we think you'll love" when you know that about the customer. This is the key to being relevant and building a branded personal relationship with customers.
All great brands want to be relevant to their customers. I emphasize their customers because it's about focusing on what makes the brand unique and valued in the brand experience.
Some key marketing areas where personalization and relevance can be extremely valuable if coupled with opt in:
- Personalized direct marketing
- Personalized ecommerce offers
- Personalized email offers
- CRM systems at the retail level (that track buying history)
You'll only succeed with relevant offers connected to what the customer values and requested by them, NOT unsolicited direct mail or e-mail — that's intrusive! (Even if they bought something like that before). Customers like to build on what they know and want — not what you want them to know.
Rules for Personalization and Branding
- Define your brand around the values of your customer.
- Know your customer persona — what makes them unique?
- Avoid over-personalizing — it's intrusive!
- Connect your brand to the customer's experience.
- Never assume you know what the customer likes.
- Ask permission and then make an offer.
- Make your brand relevant and personal — using the knowledge you have about the customer.
Building Brand Relationships the Personal Way
The key is to make the personalization insignificant to the consumer. If they feel they are getting what they want and getting offers that make sense, customers build more loyalty around specific brands, specific products and specific experiences.
So when it comes to using personalized consumer marketing use it with the customer's interests in mind.
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