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As the pandemic winds down in many parts of the world, brands are taking stock of which pandemic-related changes will stay and which will fade.

Digital commerce might be slowing down as a consequence of recession fears, but customers aren't going back to their pre-2020 shopping habits. As of May 2022, more than half of US adults say they shop online at least once a week. Clearly, there's still no better growth investment than digital channels.

Customers also expect a great deal more from brands than before the pandemic. Now, 73% of customers—consumer and business—say they expect companies to understand their "unique needs and expectations," and 56% expect all offers to be personalized (linked report is gated content).

Personalization is now a marketing buzzword because it allows brands and organizations to deliver highly relevant and engaging experiences to their customers, creating a best-in-class user experience. But how can companies get started with personalization, and what are the key ingredients needed to create a successful personalization strategy?

Defining Personalization Beyond the Basics

Nearly everyone understands the idea driving personalization: Take what you know about a customer or segment, and deliver the right content (such as an ad, offer, or experience) that encourages that customer or segment to take action (such as clicking a link or making a purchase).

However, many factors complicate personalization efforts.

In marketing, personalization can be as simple as "Hi [insert customer name]" or as complex as a fully customized, individually curated experience that adapts as customers' needs change, including moving to new channels. Because personalization can manifest in so many ways, and because it can serve near-term conversion goals and longer-term relationship building alike, it can be difficult for marketers and CX teams to decide where to start.

As a result, many brands personalize one-off interactions, such as using the customer's first name in a marketing email or showing them a targeted ad. For more complex use cases, the kind that build brand loyalty over time, you have to analyze customer behavior across multiple touchpoints to predict their next steps and then take complex, real-time actions based on that predictive analysis. Often, that is where brands stumble.

Understanding Complex Personalization Requirements

Personalization requires marketers with a vision who can design the strategy and processes to their personalization program.

What does a personalization vision look like? It includes both short-term and long-term pathways to goals, starting from the way customers naturally interact with your brand. Once you understand that, you can begin to design personalized experiences based on what you want the personalized customer experience to look like.

To start, companies must figure out how their customers want to interact with their brand through every channel at every interaction. That requires a deep understanding of customer preferences, behaviors, and needs, as well as the ability to deliver relevant, meaningful experiences across multiple channels.

For example, a customer may interact with a brand through social media, email, and in-store. Each channel provides an opportunity to create a personalized experience but requires a different approach. Social media may be better suited for engaging customers in a two-way conversation, whereas email may be more effective for delivering personalized offers and promotions.

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Beyond Buzzwords: How to Build a Personalization Strategy for Optimal CX and Growth

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Izzy Del Valle

Izzy Del Valle is the center of excellence lead of digital marketing at Capgemini Americas, an IT consulting company.

LinkedIn: Izzy Del Valle