According to the research firm McKinsey, 76% of consumers say that receiving personalized communications is a key factor in prompting their consideration of a brand. And 78% say that personalized content makes them more likely to purchase from the brand again. That’s a powerful incentive to put time and effort into getting personalization right.
“Personalization” doesn’t have to mean using dozens of data points in a complicated layout, either. Personalization can be as simple as segmenting your audience into “like” buckets and using a few key data points to create relevance. Ultimately, relevance establishes that sense of feeling understood and valued. If you pick the right one, that can be done with a single data point.
But where do you get the data to create these targeted, relevant communications? You could purchase a list from a third-party data house or gather the information by getting to know your audience. Either way, you need to know what data to obtain. To know that, as in any relationship, the process starts by asking questions. You need to learn what makes your customers tick.
Personalization is important and also gives consumers a sense of worth, especially when it is printed. Nothing compares to the satisfaction of receiving a customized, real direct mail piece. It’s simple to lose touch with printed customization in today’s society because practically everything has been digitized.
We constantly encounter digital personalization, from Amazon recommendations to cart abandonment notifications, but print marketing customization is less typical. Because it sticks out, most consumers can clearly recall the last time they received a personalized, printed mail piece.
Communications should be personalized to show consideration for the recipient’s time. Everyone is continually inundated with meaningless junk mail that serves no purpose. Nobody has time for pointless letters these days. Customers are aware of the possibility of personalization and even anticipate it. They seek it out and can spot it when they do. The receiver will understand that you took the effort to make something just for them if you personalize the gift.
They are aware that they are less likely to uncover something pointless and time-wasting when they open it. In contrast, because personalized correspondence is now so uncommon, they even look forward to receiving it.
To figure out the data that will motivate your audience to action, here are some questions to ask before purchasing any data or conducting any surveys:
- Are you targeting the right audience?
- What defines this audience?
- What matters to them?
- What motivates them?
- What interests them?
- Where and when can you reach them?
- What are their perceptions of your brand?
- What does their purchase journey look like?
- What are the touchpoints that matter?
- What trends can you identify?
These questions go beyond age, gender, and location to include lifestyles, attitudes, and values. Once you have this information, you can obtain the necessary data to create highly targeted audience segments. You can also layer on true personalization to create an even more powerful recipe for driving sales.
If you have a way to go in this area, don’t fret. This information can be obtained through profiling, purchasing additional data, conducting print or email surveys, and various other techniques. (We can help.)
Give us a call, and let’s create a plan for getting to know your customers better!
