Background: Personalization is tailoring content, a product, or a service to match the needs of a client. Take this example, for instance: Your dog has a birthday, and the barbershop sends you an SMS like:
“Hey Joey! Rin Tin Tin is 1 year old, and we wanted to spoil him with a bubble bath (with anti-flea shampoo) + 40% off his haircut! Happy birthday 😊“
Sounds simple? It’s not… Personalization is a very complex solution. It's a combination of an organization's technological, strategic, and creative capabilities—the holy triangle that we, at Hippo, really like.
So why is it complex?
To get your personalization at its best form, everything needs to work right. Every screw in the system, every piece of information that you have will be shown in the right way and will eventually influence your client. What happens behind the scenes?
Stage one: Strategy
We need to know our client’s needs and cravings. In my opinion, it’s one of the most complex things to know. It’s a move that requires KYC (Know your clients) processes which harness the right data (The needs). At Hippo, we invest a lot of time at the beginning of each project because we think it’s the most important brick.
Managed to do that? You know what your client’s needs are? Great, now on to the next stage!
Stage two: Technology
Now we need synchronized tools & systems (CRM, CDP, ERP, Marketing Automation, etc.) that can carry out personalization at every interface point we have with the customer. We call it Data Architecture.
Do we have data architecture that is synchronized and connected to interface points? Nice! Next!
Final stage: Creative
Everything works: We know our client’s needs, the systems and tools are synchronized, and we're just waiting for a customer to bump into our assets. Now, we only have to meet the client's needs. “Only.”
This is the hardest & trickiest piece in this process (Sorry tech nerds). To answer your client’s needs is a tough mission, especially when it involves timing (Timing is everything in life, like you are reading this right NOW). We need to prepare the right message, in the right place at the right time to make our customers do what we want them to do. In most cases, it’s purchasing something, in other situations, it’s something out of your sales funnel, or customer experience. The message, the content, and the image must be very precise.
So I ask you this: Are we doing this whole thing just to call clients by their names?
Personalization is not just a first name, but if you want to argue, it is. A basic one that doesn't answer your client’s needs. Personalization is the greatest value we can give to the customer. Even if you have now realized that it’s not as simple as you thought – it is a MUST in any organization that can afford it.
Final thoughts
Personalization is a double-edged sword. If you won’t use it right, it’ll kill everything. Think about what it’s like to send your girlfriend or boyfriend a text with the wrong name. Good example, eh?
So next time you’re working on personalization, remember how much this process is complex, how much you need to invest, and be careful.
So, Connor, we’ll be happy to help you with personalization in your business 😊
