Now that technology can provide the information brands need to make experiences meaningful to more targeted groups of people, the obligation is on brands to add value to their customers’ lives. Here are a few ways direct-to-consumer marketers can leverage customer data to create personalized experiences for every customer:

Ross Paquette, CEO and founder, Maropost

For the past decade, marketers have been chasing opportunities to personalize communications to a degree that inspires an individual to make a purchase. But most brands are finding it increasingly difficult to execute.

Our team figured there has been a gap forming between the experiences most brands provide today and the expectations of the consumer. We conducted a research study to test that theory. The study confirme9 95% of companies report their markets are becoming more competitive,  and they were almost unanimous (95%) in their agreement that customer expectations are getting higher and higher.

Humanizing business transactions is a tricky art.

So, consumer choice is at an all-time high, but most companies are telling us they aren’t able to identify and communicate a meaningful point of difference to help them stand out.

The general demand is for a personalized experience that was once reserved for VIP customers and heavy spenders. And why not? Isn’t that the price brands pay for collecting behavior data from their customers? Now that technology can provide the information brands need to make experiences meaningful to more targeted groups of people, the obligation is on brands to add value to their customers’ lives.

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While it’s easy to make that point, humanizing business transactions is a tricky art. Below are a few ways direct-to-consumer marketers can leverage customer data to create personalized experiences for every customer:

You’re no longer a retailer, you’re a curator. Own it.

74% of customers feel frustrated when they receive generic messages. People don’t want to wade through everything, they want fewer choices that are relevant to what they’re looking for or to their personal style. Retailers that can curate compelling options at the right moment open people up to their brands. They make the shopping process feel so good that customers enjoy returning to their store.

Understand your products AND your customers deeply.

As a retailer, deeply understanding your products is a given, but customers are often generalized in broad categories or understood at a surface level. Brands that can unify the product data with customer data—like purchase behavior, demographics, and interactions with the brand—can create customized marketing strategies that are hyper relevant and drive much more revenue.

Greet your customers everywhere they are—multichannel is the marketing equivalent of compound interest.

Your customers should feel cared for personally, whether they’re shopping in your store or online. Find out where individuals are engaging with your brand and deliver an omnichannel shopping experience that feels seamless and helpful. Single-channel strategies have a shelf life when it comes to growing your revenue but delivering value across channels your customer is already frequenting adds value.

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Invest in experiences that foster confidence, connection, and community.

Smart marketers know it’s much more lucrative to sell to an engaged and fanatical audience, which is why the proactive customer engagement strategies like user-generated content and referral and loyalty programs are becoming so commonplace—they’re the top performers. Today’s consumers are seeking out brand platforms that encourage self-expression they take the customer experience personally. If you can humanize the experience, you’ll stand out from the competition.

If you find you’re lacking the data points you need to create a meaningful experience for your customers wherever they prefer to interact online then you’re losing revenue. Today’s marketers must balance digital with the human touch. Brands that have caught on to this have already experienced an increase of 10% to 20% in the value of the average order and in purchasing frequency.

Maropost provides a unified customer engagement platform.

 

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