The Future of Personalisation in Marketing

Not so long ago, it was acceptable to blast subscribers with an all-purpose email that opened with a generic “Hi there.” Fast forward several years and it’s now the gold industry standard to personalise each step of the customer journey, from emails to advertising, customer service to web pages – all without ever making your audience feel like you gleaned insights about them through nefarious means.  

Personalisation in marketing is the key to building valuable customer interactions and, far from being another high-profile trend, it is here to stay. In fact, a study by Accenture found an overwhelming 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who remember them and provide relevant offers.  

Now that your customers expect more than one-size-fits-all messaging, it’s time for an in depth look at personalisation in marketing, including several trends we expect to see soon.  

What is Personalised Marketing?  

Personalised marketing involves shaping customer experiences and content for individuals or persona groups in real-time. Relying heavily on data, personalisation can help marketers to cut through the noise while improving customer satisfaction and profitability. Given consumers now expect brands to meet their evolving needs and preferences, personalisation is becoming an increasingly important strategy. (Research conducted by Adobe found 67% of respondents believe it’s important for brands to automatically adjust content based on their current context). 

There are several technologies in market that allow you to develop multi-channel personalised marketing campaigns. For example, in leading Digital Experience Platform (DXP) Kentico Xperience you can develop personas through rule-based user segmentation, which then provides the basis for serving personalised content to different audiences.  

In online retail, for example, this might involve creating a web page for site visitors who previously abandoned items in their cart. By utilising dynamic content blocks with strong calls to action and incentivisation, this group can be further enticed to complete their purchase. Combined with an automated, personalised email prompting individuals to reconsider the abandoned items, the likelihood of a sale is increased. 

3 Key Trends for The Future 

1. Digitalisation of Traditional Services

The global pandemic moved commercial, social and professional interactions online in a way that could never have been predicted. For savvy marketers, this created opportunities to reach new audiences. One company who has successfully digitalised a service offering is exercise outfit Peloton, who have built a cult following for their indoor exercise bikes that link to livestream and on-demand classes. 

2. Higher Customer Expectations

The prevalence of convenient technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) devices and voice-based assistants has increased expectations when it comes to simplifying and automating tasks. Combined with voice-activated tools and AI-driven online support, customers now expect easy, personalised interactions with your brand across every channel. On the plus side, these tools provide new and insightful streams of data that, when surfaced through the right marketing technology, can give marketers the evidence they need to build a comprehensive personalised marketing strategy.  

3. Changes to Privacy Regulations & Cookie Tracking

Changing privacy regulations and the impending removal of third-party tracking in Google are also playing a role in shifting customer expectations. A survey conducted by SmarterHQ found 79% of consumers believe companies know too much about them, yet 90% are willing to share behavioural data for a cheaper and easier brand experience.  

What Role Does CaaS Play in Content Personalisation?  

Content-as-a-Service platforms make it easy to manage and repurpose content creation and can play a key role in your personalised digital marketing strategy. Tools like Kentico Xperience allow you to build content that can be readily formatted for different channels, helping you provide a high quality, omnichannel experience.  

Kentico Xperience At the Centre of Your Digital Core 

Kentico Xperience combines personalisation, campaign management, email marketing and automation, segmentation, testing and analytics under one roof. A powerful, integrated platform that goes beyond capabilities of a traditional CMS, Kentico Xperience provides content management flexibility, control and reporting. As a Gold Partner, we have successfully implemented Kentico Xperience for a range of clients and industries. 

Talk to one of our experts about how Kentico Xperience can improve your digital marketing.