Today's customers have higher expectations for businesses than ever before and that includes an expectation for digital personalization. But what is digital personalization and why has it become more important?
What is digital personalization?
Consumers now expect to have more power than ever before over how they interact with service providers. Increasingly, they expect tailored, personalized, smooth experiences in all of their online interactions. In other words, they want a personalized digital experience. If their experience with a brand is anything less than satisfactory, they are likely to look elsewhere.
This article will explore how digital personalization and personalization in digital marketing helps to shape the way brands interact with customers online and the benefits for both businesses and consumers.
What are the business benefits of digital personalization?
Businesses stand to gain significantly from focusing on personalization in digital marketing to create a personalized digital experience. Companies that can effectively tailor their experience to individual customers will stand out and are more likely to meet or exceed customer expectations in a marketplace where generic content and experiences are turning people away.
Here's how companies can benefit from web personalization:
- Because customers today want a personalized digital experience, they overwhelmingly favor brands that provide personalized, relevant offers and recommendations. In fact, 91% of customers are more likely to shop with brands that deliver on this promise, according to an Accenture report. Personalizing your customer experiences (CX) means you'll gain and retain more customers and grow your business more reliably.
- If your marketing isn't personalized, you're likely actively pushing customers away. According to SmarterHQ, 72% of consumers say they only engage with personalized messaging. So brands that do not integrate personalization in digital marketing may be losing out on a significant segment of the market.
- Web personalization helps move customers through the funnel more quickly. By giving your prospects a wealth of personalized, valuable content, you'll make it easier for them to progress swiftly through the sales funnel, decreasing the time to convert leads into sales and streamlining your business.
- You'll reap tangible financial rewards. According to a McKinsey Insight report, companies that take the proper steps to personalize their customer experiences and content can expect up to 15% more in additional revenues.
- Web personalization helps build more trusting and lasting relationships with your customers. Customers shouldn't be treated as one-time interactions, especially when it comes to service providers. If you can build long-standing, meaningful relationships with your customers, they are more likely to provide reliable and steady value for a long time to come.
How does the customer experience benefit from a personalized digital experience?
Personalized customer experiences can help to minimize pain points and maximize delight, making every interaction more positive and rewarding. The statistics are striking: 90% of US consumers "find company messages that are not personally relevant annoying," according to Statista.
Here's how it works:
- Online personalization provides a more seamless and rewarding experience. With web personalization, the customer journey isn't cluttered with irrelevant information and cookie-cutter content. Brands can show customers what aligns with their desires and needs, cutting out anything detracting from a productive and value-packed interaction.
- Another benefit of digital personalization means that personalized recommendations and offers bring customers into contact with services and products they may not have even been aware of but could, in fact, prove advantageous.
- Irrelevant content is a primary concern for today's digital consumers—70% of millennials say they're frustrated with irrelevant marketing emails and prefer personalized communication, according to a SmarterHQ report.
The challenge of digital personalization?
Digital personalization is only possible as a result of the vast reservoirs of data to which today's businesses have access, and that can pose a challenge.
One on one hand, this comprehensive data allows brands to understand their customers much more intimately, make customized recommendations and build personalized experiences for each customer on a case-by-case basis. Customization criteria, for example, might be based on location, age, past consumer behavior and more. This way, companies can blend the human touch of personalization with all the benefits of data, enhancing their relationships with customers.
On the other hand, a common objection to this level of digital personalization is that, in some cases, customers may not wish to share their data with a third party.
Still, people are much more willing to share when they're offered a more personalized online brand experience. For example, Verizon estimates that 45% of 18-to-24-year-olds say they would share their data in return for a more intuitive and personalized user experience.
Ultimately, consumers want interactions that are simple, secure and transparent. When data is leveraged correctly, you can connect with your customers more effectively, personalize the customer experience throughout the digital sales process and grow your business faster and more reliably.
Now that you have a better understanding about digital personalization and why personalization in digital marketing is important to today’s consumers, find out how Verizon can help you build data-driven experiences with web personalization while prioritizing privacy and security.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.