Marketing News: Are you getting personalised marketing right?
Are you getting personalised marketing right?
Personalised messaging can be a hugely effective way of engaging with existing and prospective customers. It’s a subtle way for brands to show they value their customers and want to treat them as individuals. This, in turn, can help to forge a closer relationship between organisations and the people they want to reach, and pave the way for more relevant and targeted marketing over time.

According to research from Periscope By McKinsey, personalisation initiatives can deliver significant value for brands, boosting revenues by an average of between ten and 30%, as well as driving up customer acquisition rates and engagement.

53% of people in the UK reported frequently receiving personalised messages, while a similar proportion of people in other markets – such as the US, France and Germany, said the same.

Which nations feel most favourably about personalised marketing?
The survey also showed that attitudes towards personalised marketing vary around the world. For instance, while 50% of US consumers were found to like receiving personalised messages, just 37% of Britons said the same, while only 29% of German respondents favoured this approach. It’s a reminder to marketers that while personalised messaging is appreciated by a large proportion of people, it’s still some way off being universally welcomed.

Different nationalities have varying views on good personalisation
The differing appreciation of personalised messaging could be partly down to people’s varying views on what makes this marketing tactic work. For example, respondents in the US said the main attributes to influencing personalisation are when a business offers something that’s a good fit for their personal style, relates to items they buy frequently and when messaging is linked to a special occasion. By contrast, people in the UK were more interested in seeing their name rather than a message linked to past purchases.

Only 40% of people feel brands are getting personalised marketing right
4 in 10 respondents across all the markets surveyed said they believe brands are doing a good job of delivering truly personalised messages. That means the majority are falling short, with most failing to capture the characteristics that can make a message personal to the recipient.

As Periscope By McKinsey says: “This a red flag for businesses – and a huge opportunity for those that can get it right”. Only 17% of British consumers reported usually or always receiving messages that are relevant, compared with 31% in the US.

Does age and gender influence attitudes to personalised marketing?
The survey also identified a slight gender divide around the world when it comes to views on personalised messaging. For instance, 56% of men said they are happy to receive personalised messages, compared with just 44% of women. In the UK, the gender divide was much less pronounced (39% of women vs 35% of men).

Age, meanwhile, also plays a part, with 30 to 39-year-olds in many key markets being most keen on personalised messaging, followed by 18 to 29-year-olds, while older people tended to dislike this type of communication.

The findings are a reminder that businesses need to make full use of their data in order to better understand their target audience. By failing to send targeted and relevant messaging, customers might choose to opt out of marketing communications altogether.

 

Source / Further reading
Only 40% of Personalized Messages Feel Personal, Periscope By McKinsey’s Consumer Research Across US, UK, Germany and France Reveals Periscope By McKinsey