8 Insightful Personalization Stats That Matter in 2021

There are more than 1.74 billion websites worldwide striving for users’ attention ­– and superior customer experience has become the ultimate differentiator in an overcrowded digital landscape.

So what should you do to stand out? Personalize, personalize, personalize.

Today’s consumer values a positive user experience as much as (if not more than) the cost of the products they’re purchasing. As a result, they’ve come to expect a customer-centric marketplace where personalized experiences can become a make or break factor.

Personalization not only benefits the consumer through a more unique and relevant customer experience, but it also benefits companies by getting in front of the right customers, in the right places, at the right times, with the right experiences.

But to truly get the most out of personalized experiences, you have to ensure you’re focused on the right aspects of this customer-centric strategy for a long-lasting and lucrative relationship.

8 personalization stats worth noting moving forward

As ecommerce becomes more popular, people lose the tangible and human connection of brick-and-mortar shopping experiences. By putting the needs of their customers first, companies can combat this issue with personalized messaging and experiences that take the customer journey to the next level.

To set your company apart from the competition, here are 8 insightful stats to consider when developing your personalization strategy.

1. Customers are hesitant to share data right away

36% of shoppers feel brands should provide more personalized marketing but are hesitant to share too much information.

Shoppers seem to be comfortable with businesses knowing what products they’ve searched and liked in the past. Beyond that, they’re leery about divulging information like hobbies, which social media networks they use, and spending limits.

This provides a challenge for marketers, who want to meet the expectation of providing a personalized experience while working with limited information. To build trust and gain access to helpful background knowledge, businesses need to gather useful information without being invasive.

Consider starting with basic information and sending custom offers based on purchase history. Through these communications, you’ll build a relationship of trust and develop further brand loyalty. As customers become more confident in your motives and approach, they may be willing to share more personal information that will help you tailor their experience even further. Personalization takes patience, care, and consistency.

2. Security is always a top-of-mind concern

In 2020, 22% of small businesses encountered a security breach, so it’s no wonder people are wary about sharing their private information.

When businesses suffer data breaches, customers’ personal information can be jeopardized, potentially leading to stolen accounts and identity theft. While there are regulations in place to protect data privacy, security infringement can still occur, which makes it important to balance personalization and privacy. Ans this one?

Five ways to secure customer data include:

• Audit collected data: Assess the information you’ve collected and formulate a plan on how it is to be used, stored, and destroyed.
• Set personalization goals: Only use customer data required to meet your objectives.
• Eliminate unnecessary data: When you delete information that isn’t relevant to your goals, you minimize risk and protect your customers.
• Maintain transparency: Prominently display your privacy policy and make opt-ins and opt-outs simple and intuitive.
• Plan for the worst: Assume that your business could experience a security mishap at any time. Prepare by minimizing data use, offering staff training, and purchasing security software.

3. Consumers are willing to exchange data for unique deals

57% of shoppers will share their information if they receive personalized offers.

Some people are more willing to overlook security concerns and share their data in exchange for custom deals. When shoppers know they’ll get discounts they can apply to products they genuinely need, they see the value in divulging their information. These customers view the benefit of sharing their data as outweighing the risk.

In fact, some buyers actively seek out companies that offer personalized experiences. 52% of people are likely to shop elsewhere if a company fails to personalize their messaging to them. To combat this, many companies anticipate customer needs and are the first to make contact with useful product offers. This proactive approach can entice users back to a company’s website, lead them to visit more pages, and result in higher conversion rates.

4. Well-thought experiences earn more business

80% of people are more inclined to purchase from a company that provides tailored experiences.

People who feel valued by brands are more inclined to pursue a product with a specific brand and invest their time or money.

Companies who provide custom messaging to their audience show they’ve taken the time to get to know their customers. They’re demonstrating the desire to make a connection and to reach people on an individual level by meeting their unique needs. All of this contributes to a positive user experience.

Not only are people more inclined to purchase from a company because they feel valued, but also because it’s more likely the company is sending them offers for products they actually need. By gleaning information from purchase histories, identifying clear interests, and following notable trends, companies can make informed suggestions with targeted messages that are likely uplift conversions and sales.

5. Too many businesses don’t know their audience

58% of customers say companies send them items they don’t want, and 24% say businesses send them products they already bought.

When a company either misidentifies their audience or don’t take the time to get to know them, consumers often take that as lazy marketing and not worth their time or money.

Through data gathering software, it’s easy to secure insight into your audience’s interests and behaviors. Sending them an offer that isn’t in line with their needs, or messaging that includes faulty basic customer information shows you don’t know your audience well typically makes them feel unappreciated, which can jeopardize your brand loyalty.

When people experience this disconnect, they may unsubscribe from your email list. Even worse, your communications may be marked as spam. Not only are they less likely to buy from you, but they’ll also be more inclined to share negative reviews with their contacts or on your website.

When you incorrectly identify your audience, the business losses can severely damage your reputation and ultimately your bottom line.

6. Custom messages generate better responses

In 2021, an expected 320 billion emails will be sent each day. 72% of consumers will only respond to personalized marketing messages.

Personalization is the key to standing out in a flooded inbox. From a name in a subject line to photos of previously viewed products, personalized messages will attract reader attention and pique their interest more than most other content.

People want to interact with companies they trust. Building consistency and a clear brand identity will make customers look forward to your emails, knowing they’ll contain useful information that resonates with their needs.

Personalization increases engagement and fosters customer loyalty. When customers like a brand, they’ll buy from them and share the information with their contacts. By providing meaningful information to your followers, you’ll increase conversions, broaden your reach, and expand opportunities for revenue growth.

7. Email segmentation still proves effective

50% of marketers claim email segmentation is the most effective personalization tactic.

It’s one thing to identify your audience and understand their needs, but being able to categorize them by their unique characteristics helps simplify the process of developing and distributing customized messaging.

At its core, email segmentation is a fundamental building block for personalized nurture streams as it allows you to target groups with similarities like demographics, geographic, and behavior. These help you craft targeted messages and deliver information that resonates.

For ultimate success, email segmentation should be:

• Classifiable: You must be able to pinpoint individuals in each category. Measure their location, shopping behavior, or product interest.
• Significant: Larger segment groups make the marketing cost worthwhile.
• Accessible: Ensure contact information is current and accurate.
• Stable: Developing a marketing strategy for groups that are constantly changing is difficult.
• Distinguishable: The characteristics you use to segment groups should differentiate them from each other.

Email segmentation will save you time and effort as you develop personalized marketing campaigns that meet the different needs of specific audience subsets.

8. Most marketers see results with personalization

Personalization has yielded significant improvements for 88% of American marketers.

It takes time and effort to gather data, assess results, and develop personalized communications for your audience. But studies show that it’s a worthwhile endeavor as more than half of businesses report over 10% increased revenue.

Now, with compilation software and digital agencies that can help gather, assess, and sort customer information for you, identifying your target audience has never been easier.

Every business wants to expand their reach, drive traffic to their site, and convert visitors to customers. By knowing who your audience is, what they want, and delivering meaningful information that caters to their needs, you can solidify your following and generate revenue.

Fine-tune your personalization approach with your industry’s experience benchmarks

Personalization not only makes your audience feel valued, it also enables you to develop efficient marketing campaigns that yield positive results.

To stand out from the competition, businesses must learn about their web and app users, understand their behaviors, and identify experienced-centric pain points and opportunities. This enables pinpoint digital experience optimizations that allow your brands to shine online drive sales growth and build customer loyalty.

Download The Essential Tools of Digital Experience Analytics to discover the place for each tool in your digital experience strategy, and how to get the most out of them to maximize actionable insights.