Why Personalization Matters: Lessons from Missed Opportunities and Success Stories"
Discover how poor personalization drives customers away and how effective data use, as seen with Spotify, fosters deeper engagement.
My Interesting Conversations
5 Things To Share
Insights Videos: Implementing Personalization: Insights and Frameworks from The Personalize Academy
Join The Personalize Academy For Free!
1. My Interesting Conversations
Is your lack of personalization eroding your brand equity?
Over the last few months, my wife and I have been moving into a new home. As empty nesters, we downsized into a more urban location from the suburbs. In doing so, we naturally made a range of purchases that got us onto the customer lists of a number of companies.
I've been shocked at how most of them are now just spamming me endlessly and not taking advantage of the information they have to be much smarter and personalized about their interactions.
They could do so much, but are they even thinking about it? My bet is that this is a common story for most marketers.
As big coffee drinkers, we treated ourselves to a Nespresso machine that does make extremely good espressos. Along with the machine, we bought a block of ten "sleeves", each containing ten pods for making drinks, for a total of 100 pods. We also were very careful in the flavors of pods we chose. Within two days of taking delivery, we were already getting bombarded, almost daily, by Nespresso, with various price promotions to buy blocks of at least 8 more sleeves. How much coffee do they think I drink? Do they think I am a small business with employees? The avalanche never ends.
After about six weeks, we were ready for our next batch of pods, and again were very selective about the flavors we bought. So now, Nespresso should have a sense for how fast we consume the pods and the flavors that interest us. But that does not seem to be informing the constant barrage of emails and texts I get from them.
I have now unsubscribed to everything, and will just go and buy when I need a refill. Do they feel that I have no alternative because I bought their machine? They are even pitching more of the same machine to me! They could have been much smarter, asked me about how I'll be using the machine, targeted me with the right rhythm of refill suggestions, and sought to get me to taste some new flavors. But now, I have simply turned their outreach off.
Another good example: I am a music fanatic, and bought some Sonos components to be able to stream music around our new home. Within three weeks after getting the components, Sonos launched a new app, and it is a disaster. I cannot even begin to lay out all of its issues.
I wrote to the CEO, listing my grievances, and apparently others must have as well, because he published a letter to all Somos customers apologizing for the app and laying out a rather long timetable for fixing all of the issues. In the meanwhile, there are some hacks that have been in social media to get around Sonos' issues, published by other users.
But, even though I vociferously complained about the app, and they know it is a major problem, I am bombarded with pitches to buy more Sonos components. Endlessly. Instead of first helping me get around the app problems by directly letting me know about the hacks I could use, and giving me regular updates as the app is improved, all I get are pitches for more components. Again, I have turned it off, and they have lost what should have been a great promoter.
Two badly missed opportunities by companies who are not thinking about how they could use information to deepen my relationship. I guess they assume they have me trapped, since I bought their product, and now they can just keep hitting me with irrelevant promotions.
In contrast, I am an avid user of Spotify. The service lets me know of new mixes they've created based on my listening and my music searches. They let me know about upcoming concerts by artists I like in my area. They even seem to realize that I use their service in NYC a lot when visiting my kids, so they let me know about concerts there, as well as in Boston. I am hooked. I smile when I get a message from them. I check out new things they recommend. I could not envision moving to another music service. They use the information they have on me to offer clear value.
This is what my upcoming book, Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, is all about. Using personal information to compete differently. To build more engagement that creates richer data feedback that enables delivering even more value.
Are you on a pathway to building that kind of connection with your customer base? Are the messages your brand sends seen as worth engaging with?
I think many companies have significant, missed opportunities. In a world where GenAI will make it too easy to create endless streams of messages, let's think about the customer and how to actually build brand equity. The data is often there for personalization. It just takes a deliberate strategy.
2. 5 Things To Share
Want to be a personalization leader? Bring organizational teams together and redesign processes to learn from every interaction. Learn more in my upcoming book with Boston Consulting Group (BCG)’s Mark Abraham, “Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI.”
Personalization is achieved in a healthcare organization when people know they matter. See and treat people as individuals, whether they are patients or staff. More from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2024/08/07/healthcare-leaders-personalization-is-when-people-know-they-matter/
Integration is often essential for customer experiences. A truly cohesive view and management of a customer requires data and different groups to work together. Watch my video for more insights on integrating the customer experience.
Check out my last newsletter to explore how the rise of GenAI tools is transforming search behavior and what marketers need to do to adapt their SEO and SEM strategies to stay ahead:
In case you missed it: Join The Personalized Academy Free Tier! Stay updated daily on personalization trends, engage weekly with interactive quizzes and polls, join a vibrant community forum, receive monthly newsletters with personalized marketing tips, and participate in live monthly webinars with experts.
3. Insights Videos: Implementing Personalization: Insights and Frameworks from The Personalize Academy
4. Join The Personalize Academy For Free!
Come join ‘The Personalize Academy’ here:
On the free tier you will get access to:
Daily Content Posts on Personalization: Stay updated with daily insights into the world of personalization, keeping you informed on the latest trends and developments.
Weekly Quiz and Polls: Engage actively with technology adoption and application through interactive quizzes and polls, offering real-time feedback and insights.
Community Access: Join a vibrant discussion forum or community board to interact with peers, share ideas, and get answers to your questions about personalized marketing.
Monthly Newsletters: Receive regular updates packed with tips, trends, and news in personalized marketing, keeping you ahead in your field.
Monthly Live Webinar and Q&A Sessions: Participate in free live webinars and Q&A sessions with marketing experts, gaining valuable knowledge and insights.
You can reach out to me directly on the detail below, and I look forward to how we can learn together!
Thanks,
Dave
Contact Me:
I work with a range of companies, from large $5+bn enterprises who are trying to grasp the opportunities that AI offers, to marketing businesses who are bringing exciting innovative solutions to market.
You can reach me here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveedelman
Website: https://www.edelmanadvisoryservices.com/
Or just reply to this newsletter.
