Small Businesses

How to Personalize Your Marketing Strategy for 2021

  • 7 min Read
  • December 28, 2020

Author

Escalon

Table of Contents

According to research by the Boston Consulting Group, brands that create personalized experiences by integrating advanced digital technologies and proprietary data into their programs are seeing revenues increase by six to 10 percent. According to another report by Epsilon, 80 percent of customers are more likely to do business with a company if it offers a personalized experience.


These stats tell us that customers not only expect personalization, they value it.


Here’s what personalized marketing is




Today, we’re seeing an increasing number of companies providing well-defined mobile and web experiences for each of their consumers. This is happening particularly in the media service and ecommerce spaces, where content and offerings are being presented differently depending on who’s at the receiving end.


Why personalized marketing matters




There are myriad benefits of personalized marketing for both businesses and customers. When strategies are implemented successfully, personalized marketing can offer the following advantages:


Enhance the customer experience – People are more willing to provide personal details to brands if they get something in return. They are comfortable participating in surveys to get discounts or download whitepapers, prompting them to fill out forms or divulge their favorite purchases or preferences. With so much customer data being offered, consumers expect companies to offer more personalized experiences for them as the firms also protect their personal and sensitive information.


Build stronger brand loyalty – When people provide private information, they expect to be treated as special individuals having unique preferences. Organizations that spend time and resources implementing personalized marketing strategies earn their customers’ loyalty, thereby increasing their lifetime customer value.


Drive revenue – Using the right technology, businesses can identify and respond to each customer’s preferred channel and increase their ROI. They can then automatically follow up across platforms as part of a multi-channel strategy.


Build consistency across channels – Today’s customer is constantly interacting with various businesses across a number of channels, including social media, email, mobile and more. Therefore, it is essential for companies to create consistency across various channels. The app experience should match the in-store experience, which should match the social media experience, and so on.


How to create tailored campaigns




Personalized marketing involves collecting data related to current and potential customers and creating marketing experiences that target specific types of consumers. This strategy can be integrated into the different kinds of marketing plans, including social media, email, blogs, etc., to generate better results.


When it comes to personalizing marketing, data is key. The success of any marketing campaign depends on how well the data is collected and analyzed. Only with enough data can you begin to properly personalize your marketing campaigns.


Consider these five strategies to create a strong personalized marketing plan for your business.


Strategy 1: Target specific audiences – The main advantage of personalized marketing is that it allows businesses to reach specific audiences. By collecting user data from surveys, studies or list segments, businesses can develop highly-effective email campaigns that target customers based on their buying habits and other interests. So, for instance, if a particular recent news story is popular among your audience, you can reference it in your blog posts, email campaigns or email opt-in forms so you can provide a more personalized experience through content, allowing you to grow conversions.


Strategy 2: Create better content – Personalized marketing allows brands to stand out from the crowd by creating better and distinct content that leaves a special impression on the minds of their clients. Therefore, by creating unique content and promotions, you can reach individual customers while targeting a wider audience.


One example of an extremely successful personalized campaign is Coca-Cola’s “Share A Coke” campaign. In 2014, Coca-Cola launched its “Share a Coke” campaign in the U.S — after a successful run in Australia — where in it printed the most popular first names on the labels of millions of bottles. Consumers were then encouraged to find bottles with their names or names important to them and then tweet about their experiences using the hashtag #ShareaCoke. The campaign helped the company increase sales for the first time in 10 years.


Strategy 3: Build stronger connections with customers – Personalized marketing helps businesses build better and more personal relationships with their customers. It shows their audience how much they care about every individual consumer by using such techniques as sending an email on their birthdays or sending a thank you email on the anniversary of the date they joined the firm’s list.


You can begin by improving your website and landing pages using personalization so these sites feel like home for your customers, and not just a place to generate more leads and conversions.


Strategy 4: Give a face to your brand – If you want to offer a truly personalized marketing experience, you must give an identity to your business, which includes revealing its human side. You can let your users know that your firm is run by humans, not robots, by considering these tips:


* Show who’s behind your business emails by including the names and faces of your employees


* Include a reply-to email address in your automated emails so your customers can leave feedback and/or ask questions


Strategy 5: Make better recommendations – Learning about the buying habits of your audience can an extremely useful tool in your marketing arsenal. Amazon and other retail sites use this strategy regularly to offer more personalized product recommendations to customers.


What about customers’ privacy concerns?




Personalized marketing strategies depend on users’ personal data, which can range from their purchase histories and web browsing habits to their birthdates, genders and location tracking data. According to marketing experts, without this type of reliable data, any kind of meaningful personalization becomes much more challenging.


However, customer anxiety surrounding data protection and privacy has evidently increased in the last few years. A study by TRUSTe and the National Cyber Security Alliance showed that “more Americans are worried about their data privacy than they are about losing their main source of income.”


A survey by The Pew Research Center found that “many Americans do not trust modern institutions to protect their personal data.”


Another study by Consumer Reports revealed that “seventy percent of Americans lack confidence that their personal data is private and safe from distribution without their knowledge.”


So, how can business owners make use of user data in order to offer more relevant consumer experiences without risking customer privacy? Here are five tips:


1. Know your audience: Whether your users feel you are going overboard will most likely depend on their ages and comfort level with digital technology. Generally speaking, millennials are much more comfortable with sharing personal information in order to get more personalized experiences, as opposed to older consumers.


2. Be transparent: Most people are aware of the use of cookies. However, it’s important to explain why you are doing so you achieve a high level of transparency.


3. Give users a choice: Allowing your customers an option to opt in and opt out of personal communications with your company is a great way of building trust with them.


4. Take context into account: Before launching personalized marketing campaigns, take into account how specific your content is, how private or public each channel of personalized communication is and whether it can come off as inappropriate or invasive.


5. Test and learn: Ultimately, the only way to really find out if your personalization campaign is useful to your users is to test it. One way to test your campaigns is to run an A/B test on a selection of messages. Monitor your social media pages for any feedback and keep track of your campaign’s KPIs to ensure you’re achieving the desired results.

Talk to our team today to learn how Escalon can help take your company to the next level.

  • Expertise you can trust

    Our team is made up of seasoned professionals who bring years of industry experience to the table. You gain a trusted advisor who understands your business inside out.

  • Quality and consistency

    Say goodbye to the hassles of hiring, training and managing in-house finance teams. You will never have to worry about unexpected leave of absence or retraining new employees.

  • Scalability and Flexibility

    Whether you’re a small business or a global powerhouse, our solutions scale with your needs. We eliminate inefficiencies, reduce costs and help you focus on growing your business.

Contact Us Today!

Tap into the latest insights from experts in your industry

Taxes

How to Maximize Your Tax Deductions: Essential Tips for Startups in Q2

Tax season often triggers stress and complexity—especially for startups laser-focused on building products, acquiring customers, and scaling operations. Yet savvy...

Read More
Startups

Mid-Year Financial Checkup: How to Assess and Adjust Your Startup’s Budget 

The halfway mark of any given year is more than just a date on the calendar; it’s a valuable checkpoint...

Read More
Consumer Goods

Inventory Accounting 101: Navigating Costing Methods and Their Impact on Financial Health 

For consumer goods companies, managing inventory efficiently is critical—not just for operations but also for financial health and risk management....

Read More
Technology & Security

Compliance Considerations for SaaS: Protecting Data and Staying Secure

As more businesses transition to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, data security and regulatory compliance have become top priorities. From handling sensitive...

Read More
Accounting & Finance

How Outsourced Accounting Supports Scalability in Portfolio Companies 

For portfolio companies, whether backed by private equity, venture capital, or family offices, scalability is essential for maximizing value and...

Read More
Consumer Goods

Insights from a Consumer Goods Expert: Building Brands, Inventory Management, and the Power of Outsourcing

Insights from a Consumer Goods Expert: Building Brands, Inventory Management, and the Power of Outsourcing  In a recent conversation with...

Read More
Private Equity

The Key to Private Equity Success: Strong Financial Oversight and Compliance

Private equity deals are becoming larger and more complex, making financial preparation a critical part of the process. Take Novartis’s...

Read More
Accounting & Finance

Navigating Grant Management and Financial Reporting for Biotech Startups 

Biotech startups operate in a unique financial landscape, where securing grants, venture capital, and government funding is crucial for driving...

Read More
Accounting & Finance

Financial Compliance in the Decentralized Era: What Web3 Startups Need to Know 

As the world leans into the decentralized era, Web3 startups are at the forefront, exploring the possibilities of blockchain, cryptocurrencies,...

Read More