The value of personalization to businesses & consumers

Why Personalization Matters to Businesses and Consumers

Personalization is one of the biggest trending topics in the business world in 2021. More and more companies are implementing personalization in marketing, sales, and customer service, while customers are increasingly asking for more personalized experiences. However, what exactly personalization entails is not always clear, nor is how it can be implemented in the customer journey.

In this article, we will be answering fundamental questions about personalization such as:

• What is personalization?
• Why should businesses use personalization?
• What do customers like about personalization?
• How can businesses implement personalization into their customer experiences?

By answering these questions, we will demonstrate why personalization has become such an important topic as well as why all businesses need to be paying attention to this trend.

What is personalization?

Personalization can be defined as “a process that creates a relevant, individualized interaction between two parties designed to enhance the experience of the recipient” (George). In more simple terms, this means crafting an experience that betters the recipient by catering it to their individual wants and needs. According to Salesforce, in terms of the business world, this means “personalization is the act of tailoring an experience or communication based on information a company has learned about an individual”.

Companies are using personalization when they send messages, promotions, and suggestions based on the individual’s preferences. Think of it in the same way you would writing a message or buying a gift for a good friend. In your day-to-day life, you personalize your interactions with others according to what you know about the other person in order to communicate more effectively and give people what they want. In the same way, businesses use personalization to better meet customers’ needs by using individual information.

Why use personalization?

Unsurprisingly, customers respond better to more personalized experiences. Studies have shown that approximately 69% of customers are willing to pay more for more personalized experiences. So, personalization is important for business profitability. In fact, customers prefer personalized experiences so much that many are willing to pay more for them!

Additionally, personalization helps raise customer retention rates–approximately 68% of customers report that the reason they stopped using a given business is because they felt it didn’t care about them. If you are sending your customers generic messages or offers, they are less likely to feel like their personal needs are known and being met. However, if you work to get to know your customers as people through personalization, then they are more likely to be satisfied with your company and keep using it.

How can I start implementing personalization?

There are many ways that you can implement personalization into your business. Nonetheless, at its core, the only way you can successfully use personalization is by first getting to know your customers. You need to know what your customers like and need in order to personalize their experiences.

Major businesses, like Google, collect data from their customers’ search terms, clicks, and shared demographics to better personalize their experiences on the platform. You can use similar strategies by collecting customer data on your website. Website personalization could involve tracking what pages or items a given customer clicks on or orders, or it could mean asking your customer to build a personal profile. It is important, however, to give your customers the option of “opting out” of data collection. Though most people prefer personalized experiences and are willing to offer up personal information to receive them, some are more concerned with privacy. You still want to retain these customers, so be sure to respect any boundaries your customer sets in terms of what information they allow to be collected and stored.

The easiest way to keep track of individual customer history, including purchases, communications, and other experiences with your product is through a CRM platform like Salesforce or Pipedrive. These platforms store all of the information you need on your customers and manage your leads. If you plan to implement personalization in your messages and offers to customers, then you should consider investing in a CRM platform.

For more advice on how to use personalization in marketing, you can check out our top ten ways to personalize your marketing efforts. Sales teams can use similar methods when seeking prospects. In fact, the best way to use personalization in your prospecting efforts is to utilize personalized email and messaging when reaching out to prospects. Personalized emails use the customer’s name and other identifying information when reaching out to talk about your product. The purpose of personalized email is to begin a personal relationship with your prospective customers by signalling that you care about their particular needs while also demonstrating that there is a person behind the email message, not just an automated program or machine.

Start using personalized video email

Even better than text-based personal messages is personalized video email. Video email automatically adds more personalization to your message as it lets your customer put a face to a name and feel like you’re having a personal conversation. With video email, you get to talk face-to-face with your customer through personalized video messages and explain fully why your product or service will help them.

The easiest way to start using personalized video email is by signing up for a video email platform. Here at Covideo, we offer the best video messaging platform for sales teams and marketers. With our platform, you can record video messages from your computer or mobile device and embed them directly into an email, SMS message, or CRM platform. We offer apps for mobile devices, Google Chrome, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook, so you can record videos whenever, wherever you need.

Moreover, Covideo includes options to personalize your video landing page. When your customer clicks on your video in the email, they are redirected to the website or custom landing page of your choice. You can even overlay videos on your own website, so prospects can check out the rest of your site after viewing the video. You can also direct customers with clickable CTA buttons at the bottom of your video. These buttons can be used to schedule a meeting or demo, ask for more information, or redirect to another page. Best of all, your recipients can respond with their own video email, even if they don’t subscribe to Covideo.

You can get started with Covideo with our 7 day free trial, no payment information necessary. You can also schedule a free demo if you’d like to check out how all of Covideo’s exciting features work, like our video analytics and integration with Salesforce. Let us show you how video email can support your business’ personalization efforts and drive more open rates, customer interactions, and sales.