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Standing out in today’s crowded marketplace can be a tall order, especially for small businesses in a sea of large competitors. Capturing customers’ attention requires a new approach. Today, consumers no longer want to be treated like cattle being driven to produce similar products. Instead, they want to feel special. They want unique experiences created just for them.
We all know that personalizing the customer experience is a great strategy. This is why almost 90% of marketers see positive ROI after investing in personalized campaigns. On average, these companies generate 40% more revenue than brands that don’t use personalization.
Unfortunately, over the past few decades, consumers have become desensitized to the old, boring methods of personalization. Consumers expect companies to go the extra mile when it comes to creating personalized experiences. The rise of technology is opening up new possibilities in personalization, allowing companies to successfully achieve impressive levels of hyper-personalization.
Related: Why a “personal” customer experience is critical to the success of your business
1. AI-powered personalization
In the past, companies were only able to personalize marketing and customer experiences for broadly defined demographics such as gender, age, economic status and geographic location. Of course, despite belonging to the same group, consumers can have many different needs, interests and preferences.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way companies personalize their customer experience by making it possible to tailor customer experiences to a very specific level. AI is capable of seamlessly creating unique marketing and content for thousands of customers based on dozens of different data points.
2. Interactive experiences
Consumers don’t just want to buy products; You want to have exciting and unforgettable experiences. For this reason, experiential marketing has a success rate of almost 40%. In the digital space, the possibilities are practically limitless. Combining experiences with personalization is a winning strategy.
Coca-Cola achieved this with the launch of its Freestyle machines, which provide an interactive experience as customers personalize their own flavor combinations. These experiences don’t just have to exist in the real world. Brands can also use augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) to create completely unique digital experiences for each customer.
Related: How experiential marketing events can skyrocket your ROI
3. Voice-activated personalization
More and more devices and applications are integrating voice-activated features, digital assistants and chatbots to help consumers with everyday tasks. These tools are perfectly positioned to collect important data and learn more about users’ preferences and routines through regular interaction. This information can then be used along with preset preferences and past activity to send personalized recommendations.
4. Cross-channel personalization
Cross-channel personalization has become a crucial strategy for companies looking to create seamless and cohesive customer experiences across different touchpoints. In today’s connected digital landscape, customers expect consistency and relevance no matter what channel they use.
For example, a retail brand could recommend personalized products to its customers based on their past purchases and browsing history when visiting their website. When the same customer later visits the brand’s physical store, they can continue the conversation by sending targeted promotions that complement their online shopping preferences via a mobile app.
By using advanced analytics, AI-powered algorithms and customer data platforms, companies can gain insights into individual preferences and behaviors to tailor content, offers and interactions across each of these channels.
Related: 3 Tips for Using Consumer Data to Create More Personalized Experiences
5. Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics takes personalization to the next level by using advanced data to attempt to predict a consumer’s future behavior or anticipate their needs. The most obvious example is Amazon, which uses predictive analytics to analyze past purchasing behavior, browsing history and demographic data to further recommend personalized products to shoppers. By leveraging predictive analytics, companies can predict customer preferences, identify trends, and proactively offer tailored recommendations and promotions. This strategic approach not only increases customer satisfaction, but also increases sales and promotes long-term loyalty.
Personalization is about more than just tailoring marketing messages to lead to a sale. The underlying benefits are much deeper. Personalizing the customer experience is a great way to build a bond with the customer and increase brand loyalty. This in turn leads to happier customers and higher sales.