Five Ways to Personalize Your Marketing Efforts

Imagine you’re trying to buy a high-end gadget, but every time you ask the salesperson about the specs, he responds with the price. You’d soon walk away. Certain frustrating marketing messages can have a similar effect if executed and planned poorly. Instead of making your customer feel appreciated and understood, you run the risk of making it look like you are talking to “any old customer” instead of addressing their needs personally. The result? They’ll walk away from your messages, and the sale is lost. Follow these five tips to avoid alienating your customer by keeping your marketing messages personal.

1. Personalize as much as you can. The more you can personalize your automated messages, the better. From name to location-specific information, right down to how long they’ve been your customer, the more you can personalize, the more individual the message feels.
2. Use their preferred channels. Not all customers have the same preferences. Some prefer to get messages through email, others prefer social media and others still like direct mail. Ask and listen to feedback. Communicate with them at the time and channel that they prefer.
3. Get your timing right. Sending an existing customer the same message you’d send a new prospect is a definite marketing faux pas. Tailor your message to suit where they are in the buying process, from initial interest to post-sale follow-ups.
4. Pay attention to metrics. Your metrics can tell you a lot about your customers. Whether you’re looking at which messages eventually led to a sale or the information collected from a personalized landing page, reporting can tell you a lot about each of your customers and which campaigns were and were not effective.
5. Ask for feedback. Remember our fictional salesperson whom you just wanted to communicate with you about what you needed? Do that for your customers. Take time to ask questions and find out what they need, and use that information to build your next campaign.

Marketing correctly has the opportunity to bring you back some vital information about your customers and their behavior. Take time to give it the personal touch — talk directly to your audience, and they’ll be more likely to spend their money with you.