Why your business needs to embrace personalisation now

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Ben Fitzpatrick, I lead the Operations team at Webprofits, and today I want to talk about something that’s way too common – has your business ever been in the situation where you weren’t prepared for a major change in consumer behaviour? And did you feel like you missed out on a big opportunity as a result?

Today I’m going to talk one of those situations that’s happening right now.

We’re going to talk about how you can be prepared for a major realignment in how consumers interact with businesses online.

Whether it’s new data privacy legislation or scandals surrounding some of the largest sources of consumer information, issues of personal data and privacy are growing rapidly in the public consciousness. And consumers are waking up to the value and the power of their personal data.

If you’re looking for an example, think the uproar around Facebook targeting during the 2016 US election.

History will show that we’re looking at the end of the days when businesses can leverage consumer data without using it to provide direct value to their customers.

Already research shows that 58% of consumers say they expect a personalised experience when they’re making a purchase. And that same data tells us that they’re more than willing to trade their personal information for that great experience.

The exciting thing is this is a huge opportunity for businesses if they can be agile and forward-looking.

And there are some great examples already in the market.

You’ve got Amazon providing awesome recommended products based on past purchases, consumer insights and predictive analytics.

Look at how Spotify and Netflix use your past engagement to create custom experiences tailored to your specific tastes.

And of course look at the entire business model of social media giants like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

They provide a completely personalised experience based on thousands of data points.

Now these are the big tech companies and we expect them to be ahead in this area. But there are possibilities for all businesses.

We’re going to see small retailers create new custom product bundles based on remarketing and demographic data.

We’ll see grocery and food stores provide pre-created shopping lists, nutrition guides and recipes based on previous purchases, interest targeting and search history.

And there are massive opportunities for financial institutions to provide customised savings plans, investment opportunities and payment options based on financial information, behaviour, location and demographics.

These are just a few examples, but there’s an opportunity for every business.

And even if a business can’t find a way to customise their product offering, consumers will still expect them to personalise their communication.

So to prepare for this major realignment in how consumers interact with businesses online, my recommendation is to start by asking these four questions:

• What aspect of my products or services is customisable?
• How can I segment my target market to match the possible customised solutions?
• What areas of my marketing or customer service can be further personalised?
• What technology do I need to create these solutions?

With the answers to these, you can build your plan to meet this opportunity.

Thanks so much for joining us.

If you need any clarity around answering these questions for your business, just ask in the comments and I’ll get in touch.

Ben Fitzpatrick

Head of Operations at Webprofits

With over five years tenure and extensive experience across all areas of digital marketing, Ben Fitzpatrick is Webprofits’ Head of Operations and a consultant for some of our largest Growth Marketing clients.

Across the business, he is constantly working with the team to innovate and improve in order to keep Webprofits at the forefront of digital marketing.