Content Personalisation in 2020 And Why It Really Matters
We haven’t yet released our official 2020 marketing predictions, but we can give you one now. Content Personalisation. Content personalisation will be a staple of every marketer’s wardrobe and it’s becoming increasingly essential. Up to 36% of shoppers say retailers need to offer a personalised experience with 71% of consumers feeling frustrated when their shopping experience is impersonal. Consumers have handed over their precious data and they not only want an improved connection with brands. They expect it. So, join the Moondust Team as we put the spotlight on content personalisation and peek at the big brands already owning it.
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
Impersonal V Personal
What does content personalisation look like? It looks like wishing your customers a happy birthday and offering them a celebratory discount code. It looks like remembering their shopping choice and recommending the right products or services. And all this in the form of smart email and social media marketing. Bulk “one size fits all” communication is rapidly being replaced by segmented, data driven content that’s tailored to the wants and needs of individual users.
Why Content Personalisation Matters?
If you’re still wondering what all the fuss is about, take a look at these content personalisation stats:
· 80% of customers are more likely to purchase a product or service from a brand who provides personalised experiences.
· 72% of consumers in 2019 only engage with marketing messages that are customised to their specific interests.
· Consumers are 40% more likely to view items that are recommended based on information they've shared with the brand.
· 70% of millennials are frustrated with brands sending them irrelevant marketing emails and prefer personalised emails over batch and blast communications.
Data and Personalisation Tools
Consumer sentiment demands a more sophisticated approach which relies heavily on accurate data. By gathering complex data and insights, you can define, segment and profile users. This ultimately allows you to get creative with a host of different marketing approaches that will get results.
There are numerous content personalisation tools you can use, but it’s important to factor in GDPR compliance. Up to 17% of consumers aren’t willing to share personal data so there needs to be a plan A and plan B to your personalisation.
Top tip: With an abundance of data available these days, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. To avoid this, know what you want to achieve. For example, why not use data to discover various buyer personas? You can then combine demographic, behavioural, attitudinal and needs-based insights to create a more personalised user experience.
Brands Nailing Content Personalisation
As brand personalisation becomes a focal point for over 50% of companies, we’re looking at brands who are already nailing it.
#1 Netflix – Movie Night, Just for You!
Whether you fancy a Netflix and Chills session this Halloween or you’re a comedy-buff, Netflix is guaranteed to serve up top picks based on your tastes. But how does it work? Everything Netflix does is data driven. Every time you press play, pause or stop watching something, the brand gathers data on your preferences and this feeds back into what you see the next time you want to watch something. Everything from your location to the time of day you usually log in, all affects your personalised content. Personalisation then appears on the site itself and filters through to other content marketing channels like email.
And what’s great is that Netflix never stops learning or growing. Not only do they personalise content for you, but they also use your preferences and clicks to design the look of their overall site, which will obviously satisfy user demands. Netflix and its algorithms customise what you watch through A/B tests, 250 of which are carried out every year. The most popular Netflix look or mechanism displayed to different groups gets rolled out across the whole service. Landing cards for each show also change regularly with data used from each of your clicks deciphering the look of the site.
Steal Their Style- Netflix understands its audience demographic and tailors content accordingly. Emails are kept short, sharp and relevant. They often feature rolling gifs or playable videos and always link back to the site itself. Netflix never tries to upsell or talk about its awards and services. Its focus is on keeping you tuned in and hooked to the shows.
#2 Monica Vinader - Personalised Emails for Maximum Relevance
British jewellery retailer Monica Vinader uses dynamic first-name data to tailor email content. So, instead of just showcasing a range of jewellery which might be liked by their target audience, they customise each email send to ensure the products offered are relevant to the person seeing the email. As you can see from the screenshot below, when messaging a consumer called Kim, they display keyrings and bracelets with a K. This is incredibly effective and immediately makes the user feel special. 78% of internet users report that personally relevant content increases their purchasing intent so this is also effective for improving click through rates and bringing in sales.
Steal Their Style -Emails with personalised subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened and addressing each consumer by name is always a good idea. Referencing past purchases or products already searched by the user can also help to pique interest. New Look, a clothing retailer which garners data to make accurate shopping recommendations is keen to get your info right at the start to personalise later. Whilst you don’t want to dissuade subscribers with a long form, a few easy clickable questions will help you personalise your content.
Even if you don’t have access to advanced customer data, you can still personalise emails like Etsy did below. It’s October and they have October birthstones to sell on their site. That combined with some great photos and a “shop now” and we’re there.
Asos takes content personalisation one step further with its online shopping assistant. By entering your height and weight, Asos will learn your body shape and start recommending styles, fits and sizes for items. This is data that most women would not publicly reveal but will trust the brand with, in order to personalise and assist their shopping experience. Impressive.
New Look and other clothing retailers also retarget users via social media. That means that if you’re browsing the store, add something to your basket and then abandon it, they can target you with that same item on sale later. Smart.
#3 Boots – A Personalised Journey
As well as advertising a product, personalised emails can also take consumers on a journey providing content that’s interesting and highly relevant. Take the below campaign from Boots Parenting Club, for instance. The emails are tailored specifically to users tracking each week of pregnancy. There are marketing messages, but the content is not designed to be pushy. Instead, it is helpful, supportive, kind in tone and helps to form that all-important relationship between brand and consumer. As you can see from the screenshot below, Boots address the consumer by name and provide short, insightful information for an expectant mother at 23 weeks pregnant. This is a smart tactic. By forming a long bond with the customer, Boots will likely gain product sales throughout the child’s life. This is far more valuable than one quick sale.
Steal Their Style - Consumers are becoming less tolerant about pushy marketing. A whopping 67% of millennials have even installed ad blockers. So, providing useful, relevant content aimed at the right audience is a must. Try to provide solutions to problems rather than being overly promotional. If a consumer can see the need for a product, they’re more likely to buy.
#4 Clinique – Personalised Apps and Online Shopping Experiences
By promoting their customised hydration system Clinique iD in a fun, interactive and personalised way, Clinique manages to make every customer journey unique. The consumer no longer guesses what beauty products they need but can instead find the perfect match for their skin type thanks to AI capabilities. Clinique Reality asks users to submit a picture for analysis and answer a few questions before receiving customised recommendations in a matter of minutes. Consumers love personalised recommendations from brands they have trusted with their data. In fact, by the end of 2020, 51% of consumers will expect companies to anticipate their needs and offer relevant suggestions.
Steal Their Style - One in three women will shop personalised products by 2025, according to a market research report by Deloitte. So, it helps to invest in AI or partnering with tech companies to assist with innovation. If this is too expensive, don’t worry. There are still many things you can do to personalise an experience. It all comes down to being creative, using the right content and utilising all your marketing channels to speak to consumers.
#5 Lidl - Personalised Chatbots
Personalised chatbots allow your brand to answer consumers directly and quickly helping to make their experience more valuable. Lidl’s winebot ‘Margot’ provides users with all the information they need about wine including tips on food pairing and how it’s made.
While Lidl was successful with their wine selection, winning awards and increasing sales, they didn’t have anyone in their 800+ stores or their contact centre that knew anything about wines. Only Margot the sommelier knew the facts. So, by using technology, they managed to share knowledge while steering away from static FAQ content to create a much more engaging idea.
Steal Their Style - Fuel your chatbot up with great content and links to your blog and social media. You can provide short insightful information via chat which links to a blog or product purchase page. Remember, chatbots are one part of your marketing and should not replace excellent blog content, social media or human support for if things go wrong.
Content Personalisation Trends for 2020 and Beyond
As you’ve seen, content personalisation matters. But how should you respond to this in 2020 and beyond. Here are our top takeaways.
Address consumers by name
According to a 2019 survey by Evergage and Researchscape International, using a consumer’s first name in a message or email subject line is the most popular tactic used by brands. Therefore, if your emails are still generic, you run the risk of losing consumers in search of a more personalised experience.
Use data to shape your content strategy
Data and content personalisation go hand in hand. To deliver the best personalisation services, you must know your audience and segment campaigns effectively. You don’t need Netflix’ advance technology to achieve it. Simply ask a few questions when signing up or subscribing a new user and tap this into your database for future emailing or social media marketing.
Personalise every touch point
If someone interacts with you on one channel, they expect you to know about it when they re-engage with you on another channel. This is where omnichannel personalisation and clever content marketing comes in. Essentially you want to show people you’re aware of their journey and this requires careful wording and effective data collection.
EG- If you know someone has dry skin and is regularly looking at dry skin beauty products, you can direct them to the relevant products, write blogs tailored to their needs, send them emails related to past or predicted searches and retarget on social media.
Online marketplace Invaluable does this perfectly to help consumers find relevant products drawing on information from web, mobile and email channels. Content slogans such as ‘recommended for you’ help to showcase personalisation and set you apart from the competition.
Maintain transparency to win consumers’ trust
Consumers are still worried about sharing data and can be put off if you know too much about them. That’s why it’s a good idea to make recommendations based on past searches and information they’ve provided, to avoid them becoming overwhelmed by hyper-targeting. An effective way to gain trust through real-time personalisation is to give consumers the option to answer questions or make a few choices before making a product/service recommendation. This will help them to feel more in control while still allowing you to personalise what they see. Just like the Clinique example above.
Real time content
Get ready for RTC or real time content. Marketers are predicting that this will be the next buzzword for 2020 and beyond and it very much taps into personalisation. RTC is the method of providing content at the exact moment a customer needs it which of course will rely on great data analysis. EG- A customer is on a website looking to book a holiday. He chose a business class flight, then unselected it. He then chose an economy flight but changed his mind. Real time content marketing will send a popup or email to that user explaining the difference and helping him to decide. Scary or exciting? We’ll leave you to drop us a comment or let us know on Twitter!