We’ve all seen it in our emails: our own names smiling back at us in a subject line or letter. It’s that little touch to make something feel like it was made just for you. It’s personalized marketing, a targeting strategy of messages created for individual consumers.
Thanks to software and tricks of the trade along the way, personalization has become pretty automated. But slapping a customer’s name on something doesn’t cut it anymore. To make an impact with an individualized piece, some more thought has to go into a unique content experience.
Products and Possibilities
Internet marketing, social media posts, IP ads, and mobile apps are becoming more specific in content. Personalized URLs (PURLs) are now essential to tracking responses. Often created for campaign tracking, PURLs can be used for micro-pages built for an individual. This creates for a more custom experience for the customer.
“Dear Neighbor” and “Valued Member” are too generic to make an impact. Utilizing branded marketing materials like print and email is now standard. The personalized subject line, copy, and content bring emails to the front of someone’s attention over bulk messages.
There are thousands of options out there for custom messaging. Finding the perfect fit to wow your audience might take some thought, but is worth it in the long run.
Customer Segmentation and Variable Data
In contrast to mass marketing methods, data-driven marketing that uses personalized messages delivers to an audience of one. In theory, it should be effective with every customer. In practice, though, the ability to individualize your marketing depends on the information that’s available. That’s where everyone’s favorite buzzword comes into play: Data.
Your campaign’s success depends on the knowledge and targeting of your market and customer segments. To really feel authentic, you’ll need to segment your customer data depending on what you are looking to market. A long-term donor profile and a new customer solicitation are going to be different people, and different products.
Learning about a customer’s information and habits can be done with a little media buying and a lot of testing. For emails especially, variables could involve deployment times, subject lines, imagery, and message type.
And remember, re-testing never hurt anyone. What worked six months ago may need tweaking today. If you have specific questions on how you can understand your customer data or personalizing your marketing, AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District is your partner for your next campaign.