Personalisation still proving a headache for marketers

Consumers are increasingly frustrated with the lack of personalised messaging they are receiving, with half irked by irrelevant content or messages that do not reflect their needs and almost a third miffed that brands do not recognise their shopping history.

That is one of the key findings of a new Cheetah Digital study, in association with Econsultancy, designed to reveal what consumers expect from the brands they do business with, the channels they want to connect on and the data they are prepared to share at every stage of the customer lifecycle, from acquisition through to loyalty.

Based on insight gathered from 5,404 consumers across seven countries – the UK, the US, France, Japan, Spain, Ireland and Australia – the research exposes just how far personalisation efforts are falling short, especially through email marketing.

It states: “Most marketers kind of suck at personalisation. That might sound like clickbait, but in the data economy, where brands and retailers have huge portfolios of data on their customers, personalisation is more often a marketing department buzzword than a genuine tactic.”

The study reveals that over two-fifths (41%) – up 52% – of consumers are frustrated by messaging that does not reflect their wants and needs, while more than a third (35%) – up 17% – get annoyed when they receive messaging based on what seems to be information about them that had not been shared directly with the brand.

The good news is that email has always been one of the most effective channels in driving sales, beating banner ads, social media ads, organic posts, with half of consumers reporting they have purchased a product directly as a result of an email they received in the last 12 months. The flipside is that there is still work to be done in getting it right.

Even so, the study maintains that consumers are loyal by nature, but what they expect from the loyalty programmes that turn them from one-off customers into loyal brand advocates is maturing.

Cheetah Digital says it has seen a stark rise in consumers expecting competitions and prize draws (+ 73% ), exclusive access and content (+58%), personalised product recommendations (+56% increase), brand recognition (+45% increase) and community (+33%).

In fact, brand loyalty is on the rise, with nearly two-thirds (57%) of consumers prepared to pay more to purchase from a preferred brand.

This is backed up by huge increases in the number of consumers who are loyal to a brand because they understand them as an individual (+110%), treat their data with respect (+71%), align with their personal values (+58%) and admire their loyalty programme (+55%).

However, almost a third of consumers have switched away from a brand they previously liked to buy from, with many citing a competitor having better promotions (31%), or buying options (26%), because they did not feel valued as a customer (21%), or because of its stance on social, political, or environmental issues (19%).

When it comes to sharing data, the majority of consumers are comfortable giving up information about themselves like clothing size, age and family make-up for a better service (55%), but most are unwilling to share a photograph (78%), their location (59%), or identity details (58%).

The report claims the key is only asking for information that truly empowers brands to build more meaningful relationships with customers and deliver on the promise of a more-personalised service.

Brands can deliver this through interactive experiences that conduct research, accrue opt-ins, and deliver an altogether better experience with a value exchange for the consumer.

Questionnaires, polls, quizzes, contests or social stories can incorporate reward mechanics that give consumers a genuine reason to engage and submit their first- and zero-party data.

Capturing consumer motivations, intentions, interests, and preferences at scale allows for a personalised customer experience. And, by leveraging the right mechanics, and offering a value exchange, customers will tell brands what products consumers desire, what they look for in a service, and what motivates them to purchase, Cheetah Digital insists.

The report concludes: “Personalisation is the core of relationship marketing. That means it’s about delivering value, relevancy and creating meaningful experiences to individuals based on their own preferences and data, not third-party or inferred data that may have possibly been bought or collected by tracking and snooping.

“Your personalisation and messaging strategy needs to be rooted in both first- and zero-party data. Creating messaging opportunities based on transactional data is great, but using zero-party and psychographic data to personalise those messages will differentiate your brand from your competitors.”