Personalization in B2B Marketing

Douglas Warner III, former CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., was pretty serious when he was quoted to have said, “It’s important to remember your competitor is only one mouse click away.”

Digital marketing is a boon that never seems to fade. But it’s all fine, till just ONE thing is not done well, and then, there’s that one click!

How do marketers ensure that the customer never feel the need to go there, never want to do that one click that is the difference between a customer and a prospect?

One of the critical points that differentiates a good marketing from a bad one, is the level of personalization that offers.

Creating personalizing strategies gets even better with a larger data set. So, the bigger the datasets used, the more accurate the personalization can be delivered. The best example of this activity is OTT platforms. Streaming platforms like Spotify use huge amounts of data from millions of customers to craft the most personalized music experiences for each of their customers.

B2B Personalization at scale is all about analyzing large data sets about users to determine their preferences and demands. Catering to these demands accurately enables brands to create more effective marketing strategies. These could include personalizing digital marketing strategies or creating personalized digital experiences for specific clients.

Benefits of Personalization in B2B Marketing

McKinsey’s Next in Personalization 2021 Report revealed that brands that deliver greater intimacy with customers often show a much higher growth rate than their competitors. Some data it revealed is:

Personalization at Scale
Source: McKinsey Report

The report also stated that ‘by 2022, by generational cohort, personalized services were the third-most sought-after e-commerce feature among all cohorts.’

So, while data doesn’t lie, what are the main benefits that personalization at scale delivers to marketing plans?

Customers Expect It

As McKinsey’s data above clearly shows, customers expect a very high degree of personal touch and are actually offended if they don’t get it from marketers.

Disconnected, irrelevant messages that appear completely out of sync with the customers’ preferences are a source of negativity and irritation.

All it takes is a simple salute, a first name reference, and getting straight to the preferences and needs. Personalization can make a mark on your marketing outreach. A personalized experience makes a prospective customer feel valued. The natural outcome of this positivity is increased engagement and, thus, business growth.

Improved Customer Retention and Loyalty

Every marketer knows that it is much more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Data says the cost of acquiring a new customer is five times that of retaining an existing one.

Clearly, it is in the company’s best interests to ensure they deliver everything that keeps the customer happy.

The added advantage is the word of mouth that a satisfied customer does- which ensure extensive loyalty-by connections. The report referred above also highlights that 78% of the customers would do repurchases if they found adequately personalized connect with the brand.

Extensions of Personalization at Scale

As technology disrupts customer outreach and marketing, newer tools are coming in to leverage personalization at scale.

Hyper-personalization is now possible with AI and ML tools. The data collected is more accurate and validates customer preferences than ever before. These tools ensure that. This allows marketers to deliver personalization down to the last T. Customer interaction excellence is driven up by many notches here. The icing on the cake is the ability to deliver these extremely personalized experiences to different customers on the same channel.

If we take it a step further, holistic personalization enables marketers to deliver this extremely specific experience across various touch points- often 5. This completes the entire loop of keeping a customer happy, delivering their exact needs and preferences, from whoever touchpoint you connect with them.

Adds Value to the Bottom-line

Clearly, a happy customer is a loyal customer. Conversion rates go up with personalized marketing strategies, adding to revenue and growth.

When the market receives a product or service or even messaging that perfectly fits their specific needs, there is a much higher level of positivity about settling with the particular brand.

The feel-good factor drives the highest conversions, even more than the cost factor.

McKinsey research also studied the strategies of companies that grow faster than competition. Interestingly, they found that ‘they drive 40% more of their revenue from personalization than slower-growing counterparts’.

That is human nature! When companies nurture their prospects in their purchase journey, these leads become sales closures much faster.

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