Personalization is like the art of giving gifts. Your recipient will truly appreciate your present if you give him or her something that is based on his or her interests or needs. Picking up a random item in a store just for the sake of giving without thinking what your receiver really wants means a waste of your resources. In worst case scenarios, it might even annoy them.
In this data-driven age, using a one-size-fits-all kind of marketing tactic hardly works. People crave customized experiences. Rather than being seen as a part of a whole, they would appreciate it more if you could see them as a distinct person with unique wants and needs. Personalization gives them a sense of identity. It lets them know that they are valued — that they truly matter to your organization.
Personalization is not only about your customers; it is also about your business. By personalizing your products and services based on what your customers want, your business can witness an improved customer experience, and increased revenue, customer retention, and customer loyalty.
Personalization is undoubtedly a trend these days. In a recent survey conducted by Econsultancy and Adobe, it revealed that 52 percent of digital marketers said that personalizing web content is fundamental to their online strategy.
However, we can’t deny the fact that customizing content delivery, product offerings, and customer service is a challenging endeavor.
But with an access to relevant and timely data, everything is possible. It all depends on how businesses curate and analyze their existing data.
Data collection through social media customer care
Gathering and using data strategically means that you do not only capture data. It means that you have to extract relevant and essential information for your target audience using appropriate tools.
Utilizing social media customer care is an effective and timely method of gathering useful data.
Why?
According to a Statista report, the projected number of social media users around the globe in 2019 will reach around 2.77 billion. That is a 12.6 percent increase from the 2.46 billion of social media users last year.
These figures show that marketing through social media works — only if you know how to reach the audience at the right time using the right approach.
Online social networks are rich sources of relevant information. It is the most efficient way of communication between you and your customers and vice versa. Each engagement that you have with them leaves a digital footprint which you can use to your advantage.
You can process and analyze the personal messages and feedback a prospect leaves on your account to determine what interests them. Similarly, you can also gather data based on the mentions you have garnered.
Another way to collect insightful data is by tracking the keywords your customers and prospects use on social media. Afterwards, you can use the same or similar keywords in your posts or status updates to reach a wider audience. Creating content that is both relevant and compelling to your audience is a good way to drive him or her into action.
Data has become an inseparable part of content strategies and overall digital strategies. The strategic use of data means that you need to not only simply capture data but to extract what is relevant and essential for your target audience. Meaning, you should find ways to trigger the emotion your audience needs to feel satisfied.
Personalizing marketing strategies through smart market segmentation
After generating data using social media customer care, the next thing that you should do is to analyze it. The method that you can use when analyzing data depends on your business goals or what you want to achieve using it.
If personalization is part of your goals, knowing your audience is critical. Along with this, you must also keep in mind that customers are not equal.
Incorporating market segmentation when analyzing data, for one, is an effective approach to know your audience better. Market segmentation is the practice of aggregating your company’s target market into groups that have common needs and reaction to a particular marketing action.. Customer demographics — which include gender, age, geographic area, income, household size, among others — are essential information that you also need to consider.
By analyzing each segment, you can determine who among your customers or prospects will get and create the highest value for your products and services. Thus, allowing you to determine where to divert your focus more.
When you segment your market using your accumulated data, it will also be easier for you to personalize your marketing strategies. As compared to the time-consuming way of targeting each potential customer individually, smart segmentation allows you to spend your time, money, and other resources more efficiently. What you need is to determine the message, products and services, and kind of service that appeal to each segment.
When you already know who belongs to a certain segment, your customer service team can also personalize their interaction with your customers — giving them a highly personalized experience.
Providing seamless personalized experience across different social media channels
After determining market segments, you have to make sure that you deliver a seamless personalized experience among your customers on different social media platforms. Your customers and prospects should have a memorable experience with your content and your brand at all points of interaction.
Social media customer care and management should become a part of your personalization strategy. Maintaining a consistent tone and engagement experience across all platforms your business use is significant to the success of this strategy.
It is important, therefore, to assign a knowledgeable person that would handle your interaction with your customers. This person should have an adept knowledge of market segments and customer service. You can either employ an employee who will be in-charge of your company’s social media customer care and social media management or outsource it to a service provider. It all depends on the capacity and needs of your business.
Personalization is a key element to achieve higher revenue and customer base. Giving your audience value increases their satisfaction and creates positive experience when interacting with your brand. And the best way to give your audience a personalized experience is by using market segmentation using the data you have collected in your social media customer care and marketing efforts.
