Make Marketing Personal

Consider the following statistics from the classic marketing book Differentiate or Die, written by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin. In a very short span of time not long ago, there was an astonishing explosion of choice in consumer products. Examples included;

· A 700% increase in Frito-Lay chip varieties
· An 800% increase in Colgate toothpastes
· A 900% increase in Pop-tart flavors
· An increase from 5 to 285 running shoe options

With all the choices present to consumers and businesses for products and services, why do so many marketers still rely on out-dated one-size-fits-all strategies and tactics?

Companies of all sizes struggle more than ever today to create new customers or retain the ones they have. Sales people frequently “take the heat” for not achieving sales and revenue goals but in many cases it is misguided marketing programs and campaigns that are to blame.

All too often, stagnant organizations are using the “build it and they will come” philosophy. Enamored with product design, technology or their own perceived benefits, they don’t put the proper effort into building awareness, cultivating acceptance and creating demand in their intended target markets. Just like the decrease of effectiveness of antibiotics due to overexposure, so to potential buyers of all kinds are immune to traditional, over-used mass-marketing approaches.

The service we hope to receive when we are the customer is the same your customer wants to receive when buying from you – personal. From the deli guy behind the counter at the local market to the real estate agent helping you buy a new house, we want the people who serve us to know our preferences intimately. The recent “who knows you better than Dunkin Donuts” campaign is an excellent example of marketing trying to help increase sales by suggesting “getting personal.”

Though not limited to print, the current explosion of variable demand print (VDP) technologies shows how the power of personalization can positively impact marketing and sales success. Described in the book The One to One Future by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, the ability to identify and interact with potential customers by understanding their unique desires and customizing your marketing message to them individually is now not only a reality but a necessity.

Personalization implies being able to build a relationship with your customers – one at a time. Consider these three factors as benchmarks in successful personalized marketing programs.

1. Nurture. One of the more common mistakes organizations make is to act as if there is a silver bullet in the marketing effort. One ad, direct mail piece or billboard is all that is needed to get the results. In our personal relationships, one event does not define them. Rather, it is an on-going series of interactions and remembrances that keep us connected to other individuals. Greeting cards, flowers, presents, phone calls and many other expressions of endearment help our personal relationships survive and grow.

In the same way, (to those who are receptive to it) you must commit to a never-ending series of communication tactics like newsletters, emails, white papers, direct mail campaigns etc. to interest, excite and acquire new customers, and, keep them for the long haul. Relationships in business are built just like in our private lives, through constant attention and contact.

2. Relevancy. Many of us like to think we can hold a conversation with just about anyone about just about anything. And while mixing well at cocktail parties and networking events is a critical business skill, the individuals we strike up business (and personal) relationships with that pass the test of time are going to be those that we have the most in common with. I can talk about cars, television shows and science but you’ll have me much more engaged if we’re talking about kids, golf or business (not necessarily in that order depending on how my youngsters are behaving that day).

In marketing your product and service to your intended audiences, without a deep and compelling need for it and an effective message your offer will get no traction. Personalized marketing has the advantage of speaking to the specific needs of each individual potential customer. It generates the feeling from the buyer that “they are speaking to me”. Market and product segmentation backed up with targeted, relevant communications is the answer to generating higher response rates in your marketing efforts.

3. Two-way relationships. Popularized by marketing guru Seth Godin, the concept of permission marketing is a critical part of personalized relationship marketing program. Relationships, either personal or business, don’t work when they can be best characterized as a one-way street. It is the give-and-take, seeing each party as a partner in the other’s success over a period a time that makes them meaningful and profitable.

Too many organizations that do not embrace this way of thinking send out lots of “stuff” in hopes of getting any kind of business. Sophisticated companies know that the process of building customers requires constant feedback. The lifetime value of the relationship only grows for both parties when it is more personal, more intimate. Rather than a one-way street with a dead end, smart marketers build highways of communication that go in multiple directions. Conduct focus groups, do research, and send surveys. Ask, listen and address customer concerns and suggestions to ensure long-term growth.

In the hit movie You’ve Got Mail, the business tycoon Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) responds to Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) regarding her frustration about him putting her small bookshop out of business, “it wasn’t personal – it was business”. To which she replied, “but it was personal to me”. The importance of personalization in the attracting, acquiring and retaining of customers will only increase as time goes on. Relationships are built on personal contact. Good marketing today must be personal to be successful. Anything else just may leave you looking like too many of the non-descript products or services that no one notices – and no one buys.