Personalization in Marketing Will Rule in 2022

Personalization in marketing isn’t something new. In fact, the shift towards delivering a more personalized customer experience is one of the biggest trends in marketing we've seen in recent years. And, we believe it’s going to become even bigger in 2022.  

According to Smarter HQ, 79% of retailers are investing in personalization tools, and 51% of marketers say that creating a more personalized customer experience is their top priority.  

But, why is it that many businesses still haven't perfected the art of putting their customers first, which is essentially what personalization is?

70% of consumers feel like brand communication from businesses is generic. This means that numerous companies still haven’t matched consumer expectations when it comes to personalization.  

As a Florida SEO company, we believe that the problem has something to do with the fact that many businesses still don’t know what “personalization” really means. Thus, they don’t know how to stay relevant and how to create the personalized experiences their customers are looking for.  

In this article, we are going to share with you the four things you need to focus on this 2022 so you’ll be able to successfully deliver a unified and more personalized customer experience across every touchpoint.  

But, before we dive into that, let’s first discuss what personalization in marketing really is.  

Personalization in 2022

Personalization in marketing this 2022 isn’t about addressing your customers by their first names in your emails, nor is it about sending a 20% off coupon on their birthdays. These aren’t the kind of customer experiences they expect from you.  

Rather, personalization is all about using customer data to deliver individualized offers, product suggestions, personalized pricing, and highly relevant content.

Technology has made it incredibly easy to make personalization feel more organic, subtle, and ingrained to the point that consumers aren't even aware of why certain items that they like are displayed in front of them. Users can spend less time browsing, which allows them to make purchases more spontaneously.  

Creating the Personalized Experiences Your Customers Are Looking For

Use Technology to Collect Customer Data

With customer data, you can have a better understanding of how your customers and prospects behave online. Collecting the right data can provide you insights on how you can improve the overall customer experience, refine your marketing strategy, tailor your products, and craft the right message for your audience.  

There are many ways you can collect customer data, including the following:

• Surveys
• Questionnaires
• Observations

• Focus groups
• Interviews
• Transactional data tracking
• Social media monitoring
• Website analytics

• Registration data

Unfortunately, people are becoming increasingly wary about how companies are using their data and are demanding control over them.

Earlier this year, Apple released a privacy update, preventing apps and advertisers from collecting data from iPhone users without their consent. Google also announced that it will soon eliminate third-party cookies, which leaves businesses to rely on their first-party data for their personalization needs.  

All these restrictions in consumer data collection will definitely make it harder to serve highly targeted content in front of the right people. But, with the help of technology, such as customer data platform or also known as CDP, to collect first-party data across multiple platforms, you can still serve personalized content.  

CDP is software that collects and organizes customer data across all touchpoints and then structures them together to create customer profiles. You can use these customer profiles to create successful marketing campaigns, improve customer experience, and develop relevant product offerings that match the needs and wants of your target customers. Some customer data platforms can be even integrated with different ecommerce platforms (like Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce) which in turn greatly simplifies the setup of personalized marketing campaigns.

Offer Your Customers What They Want, When They Want

This 2022, personalization is all about being able to keep pace with your customers.  

What do we mean by this?

You need to give your customers what they want when they want it, and where they prefer to communicate. In other words, your business should be able to respond effectively to the ever-changing consumer behavior in real-time while also leaving room for growth.  

To achieve this, you need to use data, predictive analytics, and AI. These tools can provide you with real-time insights into your customers' current needs and wants.  

They can also help you pick up patterns and trends, which you can use to get an overview of their preferences and interests.  

Remember, consumer needs and wants change fast. So, you need to move quickly, be flexible, and respond to these new demands accordingly.  

Another thing you want to do is to conduct research continually. Ask yourself what’s hot right now that could be potentially appealing to your ideal customers.

Right now, “buy now, pay later” shopping and TikTok are on the rise. Look into them and assess whether they can be a long-term revenue driver for your business.  

As a top digital marketing and SEO company in Florida, we can say that success lies in being able to deliver what your customers want at the moment.  

For example, users today prefer to contact a company about their customer service concerns through private messaging on social media rather than call. If you’re not active on social media or you don’t automate your replies, you’re missing an opportunity to provide good customer service to your customers and make a good impression.  

Improve Customer Experience Through Commerce Everywhere

Commerce everywhere enables consumers to make purchases whenever and wherever they’re ready to make them.

We don’t mean simply enabling them to make purchases in terms of your customers’ preferred devices; we’re talking about allowing them to buy a car or make reservations for dinner while they’re on the go, on the toilet, or anywhere in between.  

Essentially, commerce everywhere is a marketing strategy that permits sales transactions across all customer touchpoints, from physical locations to digital channels.  

To do this, map the customer journey across marketing channels. Then, identify ways you can create a sense of continuity as they’re moving back and forth on different platforms and while traveling down the sales funnel.  

The key here is to make it extremely quick and easy for your customers to buy while they’re on different platforms.  

Instagram, for example, offers Instagram Shopping, which consists of features that allow users to check out any item they like and buy it in one click. By using Instagram’s shoppable post or story, you’re making it really convenient for them to shop while browsing.  

Another way for your customers to buy on the go painlessly is to offer different payment and delivery options, such as Apple Pay and even BNPL. Doing so gives people more confidence to buy expensive items on impulse.  

4. Optimize Path to Purchase Through Cross-Channel Orchestration

Personalization in 2022 is also about providing a sense of continuity to your customers no matter which channel they chose to engage with your business.

You have to communicate with your customers across dozens of channels and provide them the same experience across all touchpoints. This is where cross-channel orchestration comes in.

Cross-channel orchestration gives you the reassurance that your company's core message is aligned and consistent with user expectations. It involves reaching and assisting your customers throughout their journey wherever they are, regardless of channel.  

And, since cross-channel orchestration is mainly driven by consumer needs and behaviors, you need to have data. Fortunately, customer data is everywhere. Plus, advancements in technology have made it easier to collect and draw real-time insights you can use to enhance a customer’s experience, craft deeply personalized messaging, and optimize their path to purchase.  

Like any other digital marketing strategy, orchestrating cross-channel alignment requires a plan. To make sure you’re on the right path, here are some tips:

• Use the right technology to help you cleanse, augment, share, and connect the customer data you collect. Data cohesion is vital in orchestrating cross-channel alignment. Being able to stitch together various types of data points from various touchpoints enables you to create messages and content that resonate with your customers through their journey. Data siloes could be preventing your company from harnessing the power of customer data to create cohesive cross-channel experiences.  

• Use identity resolution to provide you with a comprehensive, omnichannel view of a customer in a single profile. That way, you won’t be having any difficulties pulling the information you need for hyper-targeting and personalization across all touchpoints.  
• Create automated communications that are triggered based on their buying intent. A customer just abandoned their cart? Remind them about it through email! A prospect is consuming your content at an increasing rate? Ask them to subscribe to your newsletter! Is someone checking a product on your app that they viewed the last time they were on your site? Send them a notification that the item they want is on sale!
• Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. To create immersive customer experiences, you need to walk a mile in your customers’ shoes. You need to fully understand their experiences, pain points, and thought processes. This is a great time to reference back to your buyer personas and journey maps.  
• Monitor and analyze customer interactions and behaviors. Having the right technology lets you see how your ideal and existing customers are interacting with your content. As a Florida SEO services provider, we believe that this is crucial because it gives you the opportunity to adjust and optimize the customer experience in real-time. You want to keep track of customer interactions to evaluate which of your marketing efforts are making an impact and what’s their influence to your audience.  

Designing Better Ways to Improve the Customer Experience Through Personalization

Take your business to the next level this 2022 with personalization!

By having the right data, creating a seamless experience, supporting anywhere commerce, and keeping pace with your customers, you will surely ace personalization in 2022! And, finally, you can provide the kind of experience your customers expect from you.  

Digital Resource not only offers Florida SEO services, but also a wide range of other digital marketing services - including social media marketing, web design, Google Ads, and many more.  

If you need professional assistance with creating a highly-targeted and personalized content marketing strategy for your business, we can help! Our team of content marketing specialists can craft expertly written content that will engage and inform your audience while creating the kind of experience they want.  

Contact us today to get started!

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