CMO's: 3 Recommendations for Personalization Done Right

As a CMO, you know that the power of knowing your audience is only valuable if you know how to target them through specific messaging. As an Integrated Marketing student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, I’m sharing my take on AdAge’s and Impact’s ideas for how to use personalization the right way. 

In January of 2018, Jim Rund shared AdAge’s predictions for the future of personalization. He incorporated findings from Epsilon’s study that revealed consumers are 80% more likely to do business with a company when given a personalized experience. CMOs and senior marketers from Cracker Barrel, Walgreens, and GIA contributed with their projected personalization plans for 2018. Among their strategies were identifying and connecting with the right people, building persona profiles, tailoring messaging according to data, and measuring impact over time. 

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While these efforts have been shown to improve the customer experience, Impact writer   Ramona Sukhraj identified the down side of personalization. Using research from Forrester, Gartner, Infosys and more, Sukari reveals some of marketer’s pain points. One of the biggest possible risks is that many brands use large segments to break up targets, resulting in a less customized experience. They also find it difficult to achieve a clear view of customers, admitting to their lack of relevant technology. Finally, she shares that personalization can only be successful once brands have gained a true knowledge of consumer’s specific affinities and preferences. 

From these two articles and my own experience as a Northwestern marketing student, I have developed three recommendations for developing your personalization strategy. They are:

·     Use Personalization Wisely

If you are going to tailor your messaging, craft it based on the actual needs and interests of your customers, not empty demographics.

·     Know Your Target Markets

Understand what is actually important to each segment you want to target without clumping them too broadly together.

·     Create Data-Driven Content

Analyze your data regularly and adjust your messaging strategy accordingly, even if it means reorganizing segments. 

Keep these items in mind to develop killer content that your customers will love.

Teresa De Pinto is a 4^thyear Communications and Marketing student at Northwestern University. She is passionate about creative marketing strategy, positive psychology, and travel. 

You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.