In a competitive market just providing a great product may not be enough to get your business noticed. Increasingly small business owners are turning to the power of personalisation to attract and keep customers.
We live in an increasingly personalised world. From our Facebook feed to our Netflix homepage to the emails that land in our inbox; personalisation has become intrinsic in the way we interact with businesses. Whether it’s the message we get from our accountant reminding us to file our tax return or the retailer sending us a suggestion of a product we might like based upon our past purchase, personalisation is allowing businesses to deliver a dynamic customer experience.
Using personalisation in your communications with your customers allows them to be recognised as an individual. It acknowledges their value, helps them to feel understood and gives them the right offer or service at the right time. It increases a customer’s appreciation for your brand and if you do it right, it adds a level of engagement that will assist you in driving future sales. In fact, 90 per cent of companies say they experience uplift in conversions when they personalise emails.
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If your small business hasn’t adopted personalisation yet, you’re in danger of being left behind.
Here’s why:
Personalisation is the modern-day equivalent of top-notch customer service during a face-to-face encounter. We’ve all experienced the feeling of warmth when we enter our favourite bar or restaurant and the staff greet us by name, prepare our favourite drink without being asked and treat us with respect. In this omnichannel world, the challenge for small businesses is to carry this bricks and mortar experience into the digital realm to ensure every time they connect with their customer – whether by email, SMS or online – the service is personal and exemplary.
In the right hands, personalisation makes customers feel unique and understood rather than creepy and whilst it can be a challenge, there is little doubt that with the right Customer Relationship Management tools (CRM) and the help of AI personalisation can be easy to achieve.
Drawing data from CRM or customer service tools becomes a powerful way to strengthen what marketing automation can do for your business. It allows you to create seamless and relevant marketing experiences for your customers.
Creating a connection with your business and brand is imperative. Utilising marketing automation tools and CRM can allow you to connect with your customers in powerful ways.
Sending the right email at the right time can also help deliver sales. Did a client purchase something for a special occasion? Do a deep dive into your data and you’ll be surprised what you can uncover to assist you in personalising your customers’ experience. Predictive intelligence is a particularly powerful tool to help you drive sales based on past behaviour and SMS and push notifications can also work to great effect to help you boost your sales. Successful apps like Hey You and Foodora often send daily push notifications of lunch specials from your favourite haunts. While Uber is fantastic at reminding you to share your code for added discounts. Or offering free trips to lure you back to the service if you haven’t been active in some time.
Retail giant Myers recently trialled the use of beacons and location services to offer discounts, rewards and personalised deals to customers via their smartphones. McDonald’s now has a similar offering for its loyal customers.
If you get personalisation right, you can achieve the twin goals of developing a loyal and engaged customer base and a positive bottom line. Imagine the power of being able to send a promo code or an SMS to a customer as they pass your store or an email that is tailored with content to suit their preferences and needs. Thanks To AI and CRM this is all possible. Just imagine the impact the right technology can have on your business growth!
Sending out a ‘blast’ promotional email simply won’t cut it for today’s customers. It’s now possible to take customer engagement next level and businesses that do so, are already reaping the results. Are you ready to join the revolution?
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