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Knowledge of its basic principles and the benefits that can be derived from it are near-enough universal. But despite this, many enterprises are still struggling to execute their personalisation at a level that gives them the results they want – and that’s because it’s much easier said than done, for a variety of reasons.

So what can you do to take your personalisation in marketing forward this year, 2019?

Here are five key tips and emerging trends that can help you connect with new and existing customers like never before, boost brand loyalty and increase your sales.

Personalisation in Marketing – 5 Key Tips

Co-ordinate across channels

Email personalisation consistently proves to be an effective means of reaching out to customers: research by Experian has found that personalised emails can improve transaction rates sixfold.

But emails only really scratch the surface of what’s possible – there are so many more touchpoints where personalisation can be deployed, such as web pages, ads and even video.

Where the magic can really happen is when several different methods are stitched together and co-ordinated in a holistic customer journey.

That way, customers receive specific content or offers based on what they have (or haven’t) viewed across other channels in the past, and how they’ve responded to previous communications. Together, they can make your personalisation strategy worth more than the sum of its parts.

Cloud communication tools like voice, video, and chat can also help improve personalisation across many different channels.

Go the extra mile and stand out from the crowd

The stats about how enterprises are struggling to achieve their personalisation potential are surprising. For example, 60% of enterprises are finding it difficult to personalise content in real time, even though 77% believe that it’s crucial for their businesses. But don’t think of this as a barrier – think of it as an opportunity, instead.

If so many firms are finding it hard, then anything you can do to improve your own personalisation is likely to deliver significant results.

So it’s worth taking the time and making the effort to consider how you can stand out from your competitors and talk to customers in ways that none of them are managing.

In a world of companies doing personalisation badly, half-heartedly or not at all, it’s a golden opportunity to differentiate your own business.

Make sure your communications don’t feel automated (even if they are)

While customer journeys and automation are the best way to carry out personalised omnichannel programmes, it’s important not to go too far down the road of letting technology do most of the work. As we mentioned in our recent blog about marketing automation for small enterprises, customers have a sixth sense for spotting personalisation that’s forced, half-hearted or just a little clumsy.

For example, if you send an offer email with a customer’s first name in the subject line, but the offer isn’t really relevant to their previous browsing or purchasing history, the recipient is more likely to be confused than empowered to find out more. So while there is a place for the likes of analytics and artificial intelligence when trying to connect with a customer, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Don’t fear using personal data

In the era of GDPR, customers are (rightly) super-sensitive about the privacy of their personal information. But that doesn’t mean that they expect you to shy away from using data to personalise your communications with them. In fact, the evidence suggests that the opposite is true.

Research conducted by Salesforce has found that more than half of consumers will share personal data if it gets them personalised offers, personalised shopping experiences or product recommendations that are relevant to them.

It is obviously important to make sure that your organisation is fully compliant with all relevant privacy rules and legislation. But as long as you have collected and stored data properly, customers will generally react positively when you use that information for personalisation.

Delivering these services effectively requires data that is fairly detailed, so you shouldn’t worry too much that making the most of this data will end up being perceived as creepy or invasive.

Involve customers and make their opinions feel valued

Personalisation is about so much more than you talking to an individual customer: it’s about them being able to talk to you, too. If you can open a running dialogue with a customer, then you’re far more likely to build a strong relationship that should deliver not only one sale, but repeat business over a prolonged period of time.

Consider ways in which you can engage people in a way that will encourage them to make proactive contact in the future. Social media competitions, surveys and crowdsourcing campaigns are among the options that can make customers feel like valued parts of a wider community.

The potential knock-on benefit of increased brand loyalty could prove immensely useful to your enterprise, in a modern world where that loyalty is increasingly difficult to come by.

A lack of time to devote to an advanced strategy is one of the most frequently cited reasons why enterprises struggle with personalised marketing.

Work with the digital marketing experts at Creation Agency, and we can take the strain to help you get the results you want. To find out more on what we do and how we do it, click here.