Consumer marketers continue to struggle with personalisation, with only just over two-fifths (44%) believing their campaigns and content are effectively tailored to individuals, despite the strategy being seen as an essential differentiator in consumer engagement.
That is according to the new Consumer Products Engagement report from SAP Emarsys, which reveals that UK consumers feel the same way: only 44% feel they receive personalised experiences when browsing or buying consumer products, despite 61% saying they highly value this content when choosing what to buy.
The report introduces the Customer Engagement Maturity (CEM) score: an indicative rating of how ready a brand is to maximise the potential of its customer engagement strategy and empower marketers to meet their business goals.
It provides advice on everything from channel composition to personalisation techniques, highlighting what SAP Emarsys calls the ‘Engagement Era’ between consumers and marketers.
The research also highlights the urgent need for this personalisation to happen across multiple channels as part of an omnichannel strategy to effectively reach consumers.
Email remains the dominant channel (44%) for consumer product engagement. But live chat (16%), social media (13%) and SMS (13%) are also growing in importance – especially for younger audiences. For brands to succeed, personalisation powered by AI must happen across channels, in real-time, the report claims.
Yet many marketers are still struggling with the basics. While 86% agree that personalisation will be a key differentiator in 2025, only 28% of those from brands with low CEM scores say they can effectively use customer data – compared to 56% in high-maturity brands.
SAP Emarsys chief marketing officer Sara Richter said: “There’s a clear gap between what consumers expect and what marketers feel able to deliver. Brands that close this gap by embracing the ‘Engagement Era’ and scaling personalisation effectively will be the ones that earn true customer loyalty.”
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