Consumers love personalization. That is why personalized emails have an open rate six times higher than other emails. Consumers want to know that companies are paying attention to them. Small businesses may not be able to create a personalized marketing plan the size of Target or Amazon, but adding any type of personalized marketing to your plan will be beneficial.
Large retailers like Target and Wal-Mart have a way of predicting what buyers will purchase. By using data and paying attention to purchase patterns, retailers are able to track buying behavior. This is why you will receive emails or ads focusing on items that interest you or items that are similar to what you have purchased. It is difficult to change shopping habits, so by analyzing consumers and what they purchase, companies are able to use personalized marketing. This type of marketing often leads to unplanned purchases.
Amazon is well-known for targeting consumers with items that interest them with emails and ads galore. Recommendations on Amazon are not a coincidence. This is one of Amazon’s most effective personalized marketing tool. Consumers are likely to buy items that are targeted specifically to them. Notice that you will get emails on deals for items that are similar to what you have purchased or even viewed. This is Amazon’s way of using data on previous purchases to entice their consumer.
Coca Cola had a recent successful personalized marketing campaign. Just a few years ago, they started to introduce the Share a Coke campaign targeted to millennials. Coke started printing common names on bottles like Julia and Michael. Then Semi-personal bottles came out saying things like “better half” and just recently, common surnames like Garcia and Smith debuted on Coke bottles. This personalized marketing plan helped increase sales for the first time in years.
Since Coca Cola saw such great success with their personalized marketing campaign, they decided to expand even more by adding desirable locations like Miami and Hawaii to bottles. The campaign is still going strong and consumers are even able to personalize their own coke bottles at shareacoke.com.
Your small business may not be able to do personalized marketing on the level of Target or Coca Cola, but keep in mind that adding just even a little bit of personalized marketing to your plan will leave a lasting impression.
