In our last article, we discussed why personalization has become such a huge driver of success for businesses. Despite media claims around privacy concerns, most consumers are willing to provide non-identifying personal information in exchange for a more tailored, personalized experience.
In 2012, there was widespread coverage around the story of a teenage girl who received advertisements from Target for pregnancy-related products before she knew she was pregnant. This story brought many of Target’s personalization strategies to light—how the company creates customer profiles and utilizes consumer data around what time of day you shop, the location of your nearest store, what products you buy regularly vs. which ones you tried and don’t buy again. They then use this data to predict purchasing habits before they happen and provide personalized coupons based on products Target predicts you will need.
Target has been incredibly successful with their personalization strategies because they understand that customers want a shopping experience that feels relevant to them—one that fits seamlessly into their busy lives.
Not only is personalization helpful to bring in new customers, but it becomes incredibly beneficial in turning one-time buyers into loyal customers who come back again and again.
Here are 5 things you try to build brand loyalty via personalization:
- Provide educational materials around your products via QR Code integration
- Integrating a QR code with your physical product empowers you with a direct communication channel to consumers. Providing helpful product information, instructional videos, and similar content will further empower your consumer to understand what benefits they’re receiving from your product, and how they can best utilize it. We know the old adage, knowledge is power; putting relevant knowledge in your consumer’s hands will help establish trust between your business and your customers.
- Prompt customers who have purchased an item to create a customer profile
- Once a customer scans your product, prompt them to create a customer profile. Doing so will help you organize consumer data and better understand nuances in individual consumer data, and provide you a direct line of connection to better communicate product information, relevant recall notices, if need be, and other marketing benefits like tailored advertisements for other products they haven’t purchased. Providing an incentive, such as 10% off when creating a profile, will bolster the number of customers who engage.
- Send personalized discounts
- Ever had something sitting in your online cart and you received an email with a discount code for the exact thing you were thinking about buying? This sort of targeted marketing incentive can help push cautious buyers to convert.
- Utilize data around location and weather to target consumer advertisements based on environmental factors
- We reported how weather has the second biggest effect on buyer behavior last week, so it might be helpful to think about how using the weather to your advantage could look. Sending a notification for weather-relevant products when a customer is near a store is one way you could utilize this tactic. Sending discount codes via app notifications is a way to reach young consumers quickly and effectively.
- Cross-promote related products to customer shortly after they leave a positive review
- When a customer shows your brand some love—whether that be on social media or in the “Customer Reviews” section of your website, it’s a good idea to engage. Providing a tailored product recommendation or sending a discount for a product that works well in tandem with the one they bought and reviewed is one way to do this.
There are a variety of ways brands can engage and retain customers through personalization. As personalized marketing continues to grow in importance, it’s smart to start thinking about ways to manage, organize, and analyze consumer marketing data. Vi3’s Consumer Engagement module offers personalized communication and marketing tools while integrating powerful serialization components into your supply chain.
Interested in learning more about the module? Reach out to one of our trusted advisors today.