“Oi, buy these great pens from me, won’t you?
They’re the best you can get at these prices, and the quality is the best you will find. And hey, tell you what. I’ll give you a discount if you buy two from me.”
Would you buy the pens from this guy?
Probably not, right?
Try finding out what is wrong with that sales pitch. We can tell you that the problem is not as huge as the impact it has, and you can’t find out without putting in a lot of thought.
So?
The problem is not that the salesperson couldn’t capitalize on the benefits of the pen to the potential customer. The problem is the simple fact that the entire salutation and opening of that sales pitch are “oi.”
That is as good a salutation as not having one.
Personalization, Sales and the Internet
Rather than a salutation, a better strategy is always to ask someone their names. Personalizing your communication is a sure way of connecting with your customers. In face-to-face communication where you have not had a chance to research your potential customers.
In fact, in such a case, personalization is not just about doing your homework, but also about courtesy. Nobody wants to be referred with “oi” while they go about minding their own business.
And you could have as courteous as body language you can have but not take the other person’s name and still not make a sale. Imagine what would happen where you have no chance of displaying your body language. Say a place like… you know… the internet?
While most people would want to believe otherwise, the internet has always been a rather dubious place to exist. You do not know the other party in the dealing and, therefore, cannot gauge what should be the right and what shouldn’t.
What Does Personalization Get You?
That is the mindset of the general audience. Imagine what it would be like being a business and tapping into such an audience. Will personalization get you the success that you are looking for? Will it increase sales?
Businesses think that it is worth the effort. That is why almost 70% of businesses around the world consider personalized experiences as a priority. It is not just businesses that consider personalization a priority.
Online shoppers also prefer personalized products. Why? The same reason they prefer, clearer aisles on supermarkets, well-designed web pages and roads without traffic, because it makes it easier for them to find what they are looking for!
At this point, however, we feel the need to formally explain what personalization is in the context of modern-day marketing. Personalization is about creating a relevant experience for the recipient of the communication so as to establish a connection.
This relevance can only be established if the business puts to know its customers. The relevance can be established in several ways. For instance, using your customer’s name in a subscription model, designing campaigns for a certain profession, show related searches on site.
What must be understood clearly, though, is that personalization is not customization. We’ll let you explore the differences. Meanwhile, here is everything that personalization can get your business:
· Customer Retention
Now the most important asset in any business is its customers. You absolutely cannot risk losing your customers to a competing brand, especially if you are a startup. However, retaining customers is much more than just about reaching out with promotions and discounts. (which most of the brands don’t understand.)
In the absence of a clear personalization strategy, no business can hope to retain its customers. Statistics clearly show that both company personalization and vendor personalization are an essential feature of customer retention strategies.
Not just that, establishing a great personalized experience for your customers means that you will set a standard for your business that your customers will keep comparing to the competition. So, you will always have a competitive edge over your competition.
· More Conversions
Of course, retention is not the only thing that a business should be concerned with. Besides, to retaining its existing customers, a business must ensure that it keeps attracting more and more new customers.
This activity is always more successful with personalized communication rather than a generic one. Why would any customer come to your link if they do not see anything relevant in it?
Statistics clearly show better click-through rates for personalized ads as compared to normal ones. In fact, the margin is huge.
· Sales and Costs
But what good is any personalization if you cannot justify the consequent return on investment. Especially in the case of startups that barely have any cash, binding up resources in activities that do not pay can be fatal to that business.
As a result, if a business is to invest in personalization, it must cost less and pay off more. In case it fails to do that, it is not worth investing in.
But, as it turns out, Personalization does justify its costs. In addition to increasing sales by up to 19%, it increases your marketing Return on Investment too. Furthermore, when you consider the benefit of retaining your existing customers while continually attracting more, you understand that personalization is a choice that is worth making.
Final Word
However, for your personalization to be a success, it should be more detailed than simply replacing all the Oi’s with your customers’ names. It is definitely worth investing in market research and using that research to make a difference in whatever value you can add to your customers.
All in all, personalizing your website will reap benefits, both in the short-term and the long-run. But clearly, personalization is better when it comes to subscription-based business models. But that does not mean other businesses should not explore their operations in that domain.
Experimenting with personalization will get you results sooner or later. The ball is in your court; remember that implementation is the golden key, so use it wisely. Until then, happy learning to you!
