How to truly understand your
customers' needs

21 December 2017

In today's modern age, digital contact is likely one of the first contact your customers have with your brand. Personalisation is no longer a bonus, but an expectation.

75% of consumers like it when brands personalise messages, and personalised shopping can lift sales by 7.8%, according to a study by Janrain.

Set yourself apart from the competition with these digital personalisation tips for your brand:

Holistic profiling with customer data

 

95% of website visitors are often anonymous. However, information is collected from each user from the first visit, until the user signs up for an account or registers for an email, merging their anonymous profile with the known one to form a cohesive identity.

 

When your customers create accounts on your website, they are essentially enrolling themselves into a membership and profile with your brand.

 

Data and information such as your customers’ age, email, birthday and address allow you to send relevant and exclusive promotions based on their interests and behaviour. Think birthday promotions, and ladies’ night specials.

Profiling doesn’t have to be restricted to individual data. Virgin Hotels Chicago found that 40% of their customers remain connected via their smartphones while on holiday, and 24% using it to find information on the local area. With this data, they launched a mobile app called ‘Lucy’ to give their guests control over their hotel experience from streaming TV shows to adjusting room temperature and making dining reservations, all from their smartphonei.

 

Recognising specific audience insights and taking them into account when creating online content would certainly make your content more personal.

Leverage on remarketing to close the deal

 

Ever looked at products on a webstore and subsequently see online advertisements featuring the exact products you just viewed? This isn’t coincidental, but the art of remarketing. By 'following' your audience's journey on the e-shop, the cookie is able to then flash out highly relevant ads based on their web footsteps.

 

Most sites only achieve 2% conversion. With retargeting, you can keep the interest of the other 98%ii, who may have been undecided on their purchase. It is highly effective because it enables you to narrow down and focus your advertising spend on customers who have already shown interest in your products.

 

Consider having functions such as wish lists where customers can save their interested items – which serve as a great avenue for you to notify them when these items are running low in stock, or remind them of it after a month. KLM, a travel brand, uses personalised emails to retarget customers that abandoned their carts online, giving them the opportunity to pick up from where they left offiii.

 

It is also imperative to have technology in place that can recognise returning customers and greeting them with a 'welcome back' response. This adds a personal touch and shows your brand's appreciation for guest loyalty.

Hyper personalisation with Social Listening

 

Today, just being represented on social media isn’t enough. Listening to your consumers on social platforms lets you identify and share positive reviews with others, and also rectify any negative feedback from your customers.

 

Marriott created a team called M Live, who sat around monitoring the social media accounts of their guests using geofencing technology, to hunt for perfect opportunities to surprise a customer with free food and beverages. When photographer Ashlee Duncan posted a photo of Marriott and said that she was eight nights short of platinum status for the year, Marriott responded by upgrading her for free.

 

What they got in return were positive press, and repeat loyal customers.

 

It's not just about hyper personalisation on an individual level. Social listening also helps with identifying market opportunities for new emerging products or services. It also reveals weak areas of the business which could be improved to increase customer satisfaction. Social listening is also a great way to collect genuine reviews and perceptions of your brand and its competitors.

 

Follow StarHub Business on Linkedin for the latest business updates.

In this day and age, mass targeting no longer works as customers want to feel special and ‘seen’ by the brand. Incorporate these digital personalisation tips into your marketing, and you will begin to see your sales and customer satisfaction increase.

 

Follow StarHub Business on Linkedin for the latest business updates.

3D printing for your startup business

Uncover amazing opportunities to boost your operations.

Read more
Mobile developments that are shaping the future.

Top mobile trends in 2018.

Read more
Key business trends in 2018

Accelerate your business by riding on these emerging tides.

Read more