With recent improvements made in computer software and artificial intelligence, personalization in marketing has never been easier. Computers can track consumer search history and display banner ads that relate to their interests. This has proved to be a highly successful practice for online retailers. But how much does personalization affect direct marketing? When calling, emailing, and texting, does it matter that the message be personalized?
Return on Investment
Marketing costs money. In direct marketing, you cut out the media advertising middleman, but you still need to pay your marketing team. For the costs to be worth it, you need to see an increase on your return on investment (ROI). It will be more expensive to use a program that personalizes emails, but the statistics show that it is worth it. Properly personalized email marketing often gets 440% ROI. Similar statistics are seen from personalizing texts. Phone calls are also greatly improved by personalization. Rather than just calling random people and gaining a reputation as an annoyance, your call center can be reaching out to people that are looking for your services.
How Customers Respond
Nobody likes reading mass emails or texts. An offer hardly feels “exclusive” if you know that a million other people just got the same message. But by starting the email with by addressing the individual by name, you connect with the consumer. Furthermore, the contents of the communication need to be personalized. If a customer is constantly getting ads for things they don’t use, your communications are going to get marked as spam.
Personalized marketing increases conversion rates because it focuses marketing efforts on those most likely to respond favorably. A great example is a practice used by many grocery stores. The store tracks commonly bought products by members of their rewards programs. The store then sends coupons to the member based on their shopping preferences. This may cause a momentary reduction in profit, but it is a cheap way of gaining the customers loyalty. This sort of practice is one of many that can help with your conversion rates.
Customer Insights
The more you focus on personalizing for your customer, the more you are going to learn about your customer. Consumer data is the most valuable asset that a business can have. From this data, you are learning what the consumer wants and how they try to solve their problems. If you can show a consumer that you have the solution to their needs, then you will have a profitable business.
They say that the customer is always right. While that may be debatable, focusing on the customer is always the right thing for a business to do. As you focus your efforts on providing a better personal experience for customers, your business will grow. You will succeed in taking care of both your customer and your employees.
Here’s another great article you might enjoy: How to Understand Your Online Store Analytics Data
As always, if you need any assistance with your branding and direct marketing, our MGR Team will be happy to chat with you one-on-one. Use this link to contact us and set up your free consultation.
Thank you for reading. Until next time, this is Manuel Gil del Real (MGR).
