Customers Continue to Challenge Marketers to Deliver Personalized Experiences

As marketers look to enhance the customer experience, new research shows that personalization is becoming increasingly important.

Epsilon Marketing published “The Power of Me: The Impact of Personalization on Marketing Performance” and discovered that 90 percent of customers believe personalization is “very/somewhat appealing.” Approximately 80 percent claim that they are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences.

As customers lean toward personalization, data also shows that marketers are getting better at it. Over the past year, 66 percent claim to have gotten “much/somewhat better” at offering personalized experiences.

However, personalization still means different things to different customers. Thirty-two percent say it means customization, while 32 percent also believe it means good service. Sixteen percent of consumers state that it translates into adequate discounts/offers.

The Shift toward Marketing Content Personalization

More marketers are focusing on content personalization, but they are facing some bumps in the road in terms of delivering to customers.

The “2nd Annual Personalization Development Study” from Monetate found that 47 percent of marketers consider data quality to be a top three challenge in terms of personalization development. This was followed by understanding buyer behavior in context (42 percent) and building a sustainable data architecture (40 percent).

That being said, marketers still believe in the benefits of focusing on personalization, according to previous research. The “2017 Trends in Personalization” report from Evergage discovered that 96 percent of marketers agree that personalization can help advance customer relationships.