Meet Bobby. He’s a 25-year-old shopper and you want him to become a brand advocate. In keeping with trends, Bobby is more likely to give customer loyalty to a brand that offers him personalized outreach. Personalization can sometimes be a banal buzzword, but let’s look at some specific do’s and don’ts in personalization, so that Bobby keeps coming back to your brand.
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Do gather data for your consumer.
Bobby regularly visits an online clothing retailer. What’s the average value of his orders? Are the things he’s buying unrelated, or is there a pattern there? More importantly, when Bobby clicks around the site but doesn’t buy anything, why is that? Was he just looking around, or is it possible that he didn’t find what he was looking for, and your brand could figure out what he wanted and offer it to him in a personalized communication?
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Don’t inconvenience your consumer in the pursuit of data.
Bobby just bought something online and sees a link to take a survey about his shopping experience. He clicks it, thinking “eh, why not.” He answers some questions and then notices that the survey goes on for pages and pages. Now, he’s annoyed. Now, he thinks a little less of your brand.
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Do interact on social.
Bobby posts a picture of his new shoes on Instagram, and tags the footwear brand. If you’re that footwear brand, now’s the time to offer him a gift-card for his next purchase, or some kind gesture like that. You’ll have a brand advocate for life.
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Don’t just go through the motions, though.
If Bobby posts on social about “the best curry in town, bro,” the appropriate response from the restaurant isn’t “thanks.” You’ve got to have your own brand voice. Reply with something like, “appreciate the praise, man! Can’t wait to serve you some more.” Personalization fails if your communications don’t treat consumers like . . . well, persons.
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Do use email communications.
It’s not a trendy form of outreach anymore, but you know what? Bobby checks his email everyday, at least twice. If you can send him an email that’s personalized, that calls him by his name and shows him offers relevant to his purchasing behaviors, he just might buy something he wasn’t previously planning on buying. BUT FOR DOG’S SAKE,
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Don’t blow up his inbox.
Bobby gets two emails a day from a certain chain of coffee shop. He’s fed up. He’s going to unsubscribe sooner or later, and there goes a touchpoint. Additionally, if you want to lose brand favorability, over-emailing is one of the surest ways to do it.