Now imagine a store that magically transforms every time a customer enters. The shelves only display what you specifically need. Customers would choose that store repeatedly, never opting for the department store again, because such hyper-personalization is a win-win for both the buyer and the seller.

It’s time to invest in the hyper-personalization of the customer experience.

Hyper-personalization in online retail delivers tailored shopping experiences, just like those magical shelves that display different products to each person entering the store. It transforms the online shopping experience, which is extremely important as 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. After a positive experience, these customers spend up to 140% more.

What is hyper-personalization in ecommerce?

While traditional personalization uses primary customer data like purchase history and browsing behavior, hyper-personalization goes beyond.

Hyper-personalization in ecommerce crafts a unique shopping experience for each customer. It uses a wide range of data sources and references customer demographics, past interactions, real-time behavior, and other factors to tailor the customer journey from start to end.

For example, with traditional personalization, a website might recommend shoes from a similar brand or price range as previous purchases. However, with hyper-personalization, the buyer might be linked with an upcoming race they’re training for or even the weather where they live.

Hyper-personalization is a more customized approach in which brands personalize every touchpoint for their customers by utilizing the power of AI/ML. Such an approach makes the customer feel the brand takes note of their choices and remembers them, leading to increased sales in the long run.

By employing hyper-personalization, retailers can move from the one-size-fits-all approach to a remarkable shopping experience where customers feel seen and unique and are recommended precisely the product they want.

Hyper-personalization in the real world

Hyper-personalization is utilized by several popular brands. Amazon, for example, leverages its vast datasets to understand its customers, send personalized product recommendations, predict their buying behavior, and offer a seamless purchase experience.

For example, we’re writing this from India. We just won the T20 World Cup, which was held in the USA and the West Indies. Check out our related items page on Amazon:

Sephora too does something similar. It uses its customers’ purchase history and preference sets. This is for makeup looks and skin concerns. It then sends them point rewards and promos that target their unique needs. They even have a login-only “Beauty Advisor” section.

The benefits of hyper-personalization

Here are some of the key advantages of utilizing hyper-personalization strategies:

Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty

Imagine a customer who frequently cooks very healthy meals. In a hyper-personalized environment, she would be recommended new organic products based on past purchases. Such methods of winning customers make them feel valued, fostering loyalty toward the brand.

Reduced cart abandonment rates

When a customer has added items to their cart but hesitates to checkout, hyper-personalization can help. It can offer suggestions for complementary or supplementary items or even personalized discounts to motivate them to proceed with their purchase.

Improved conversion rates and sales

Hyper-personalization is a way to better understand the customer, which means presenting the customer with products that resonate. It also offers targeted promotions, upselling products based on user preference and behavior. This all adds up to further conversions and higher sales.

Hyper-personalization: beyond product recommendations

Hyper-personalization extends far beyond just product recommendations. Retailers can create a sense of excitement for each customer, making them feel unique and valued. Here’s how retailers can use hyper-personalization to craft a truly unique customer experience:

Personalized content and communication

Imagine you own a sporting goods store. You may be able to recover data from your customers’ fitness trackers, enabling you to send emails about their exercise targets.

Curated product collections and gift recommendations

An online furniture store can look into their first-time buyers’ browsing history and offer a curated collection based on their behavior.

Predictive search and product suggestions

A travel website can use real-time browsing data to suggest flights and hotels based on visitors’ past preferences or search terms. Customers share required dates and times, based on which the website can make highly specific recommendations.

Tailored shipping and delivery options

An electronics retailer can offer faster shipping options or extended return windows based on customers’ usual requirements, the number of products ordered, and delivery location.

Challenges of implementing hyper-personalization

While hyper-personalization offers a plethora of benefits, here are some hurdles you may need to consider:

Data privacy concerns and customer consent

Hyper-personalization is only possible through data; the more data there is, the better the personalization. Brands rely heavily on data, making data collection, maintenance, and management essential. This also means that brands must comply with GDPR and other data privacy regulations. They must also ask for and receive customer consent before collecting the necessary data.

Data infrastructure and analytics capabilities

An organization needs a robust data infrastructure to acquire in-depth data. This includes investing in data storage solutions that can store vast information. The business needs the tools to extract meaningful insights and enable hyper-personalization.

Over-personalization and the creepy factor

There’s a fine line between hyper-personalized and creepy! Letting customers know you know everything about them, including overly personal information, can backfire. Customers could even block the brand on all channels rather than continue to engage.
Balancing personalization across channels.

As important as it is to provide a hyper-personalized experience, businesses have to implement it across channels. From mobile apps to email marketing and the online store, your ecommerce business must deliver the same seamless experience at all touchpoints.

Getting started with hyper-personalization

Providing your customers with hyper-personalized recommendations is a daunting task. However, you can create a thriving customer experience with the right approach and unlock your true business potential. Here’s how to get started:

1. Identify key customer data points

Collect primary customer data, such as your customers’ purchase history, browsing behavior, and website interactions. This would establish the foundation from which you can look deeper to derive advanced data.

To go beyond basic analytics, examine users’ social media engagement and customer service interactions. Figuring out their pain points opens up many opportunities to create remarkable customer experiences.

2. Invest in marketing automation and personalization

It’s worth investing in a centralized customer data platform, as these platforms collect analytics from multiple sources and present it in a unified form in a single location. This way, you gain a comprehensive view of each customer journey. The software also offers product recommendations across channels, providing targeted advertising.

3. Build a culture of customer-centricity

Break down silos and bring all the departments together, from marketing to customer service. You can collect as much data as possible by leveraging customer data and interactions. Train your employees to understand how collecting customer data from various sources works and why unifying it is essential.

You can also look at customer feedback surveys, reviews, and comments on social media platforms to understand your customers better.

Hyper-personalization is here to stay and revolutionize the retail landscape. By harnessing the power of data, retailers can craft their customer journey unique to each customer, leading to satisfaction and soaring sales. There are obstacles along the way, but the rewards are worth it.

Hyper-personalization is an ongoing journey. To implement it, look for marketing automation platforms like Dotdigital. To configure and leverage the platform to the fullest, partner with Dotdigital integration service providers and official partners. The platform and hands-on experience of partners together will provide the tools and expertise you need to collect data, analyze it, and build hyper-personalized customer experiences.

This blog dives deep into the power of website personalization and its impact on student recruitment, engagement, and retention. We’ll explore what it is, why it matters, and how to use it for your institution’s success.

Understanding website personalization

Imagine a website that can anticipate your every need. Website personalization tailors a user’s experience based on their unique characteristics. This can include demographics, academic interests, previous website behavior, and even geolocation. By dynamically adjusting content, calls to action, and graphics, institutions can create a more engaging and relevant experience for each visitor.

Why personalize your higher education website?

Personalizing your website can positively impact your educational institution:

• Boost enrollment rates: Studies show personalization can increase conversion rates by up to 63%. When prospective students visit your website and see content that resonates with their academic interests and career aspirations, they’re more likely to be drawn in and complete the enrollment process.
• Enhanced user experience: A website showcasing programs relevant to a student’s interests and highlighting campus life based on their location creates a welcoming and informative experience. This sets your institution apart from the competition.
• Improved student retention: Personalization isn’t just for prospective students. Tailoring content and resources to current students’ needs and progress fosters a stronger sense of belonging and supports their success. 
• Boosted alumni engagement: Personalized outreach through the website keeps alumni connected with their alma mater, encouraging donations and fostering lifelong relationships.
• Data-driven decisions: Website personalization allows you to gather valuable data on visitor behavior and preferences. This data empowers you to make informed decisions for strategic marketing initiatives specific to your higher education institution. 

How can I personalize my higher education website?

Here are some practical tips that can transform your website and make it more appealing to students.

1. Audience segmentation

Identify different audience segments such as prospective students, current students, alumni, and parents. Tailor content and messaging to address the specific needs and concerns of each group.

Prospective students 

Suppose a high school senior is passionate about environmental science. In that case, a personalized website experience might showcase your environmental science program’s unique research opportunities, such as studying coral reef restoration in the Caribbean or air quality monitoring in urban environments. 

Highlight testimonials from successful alumni in the field, like a graduate who now works for a national park service. Prominently display upcoming virtual information sessions specifically focused on environmental science careers. This targeted approach makes your institution stand out and increases the chances of converting a motivated student.

Current students

Utilize internal data to tailor content. For example, a struggling first-year engineering student might see recommendations for academic support resources specifically geared towards engineering challenges, like tutoring services or workshops on mastering complex software. 

Suggest workshops on time management skills to help them stay organized. Showcase stories of student success stories from similar academic backgrounds, like a senior who overcame challenges and landed a coveted internship at a top aerospace firm. This personalized support fosters a sense of belonging and empowers them to thrive.

Alumni

Personalize greetings based on graduation year or major. Highlight upcoming events relevant to their field, like industry lectures for business alumni or continuing education workshops for educators. Showcase career development resources offered to alumni, such as resume writing assistance or online networking platforms. 

Personalize content based on their interests gleaned from past interactions, like showcasing athletics updates for former athletes or departmental news for science alumni. This approach cultivates a sense of community and encourages continued engagement with the university.

Parents or guardians

Address their specific concerns with targeted content. This could include financial aid resources tailored to their income bracket, detailed on-campus safety information highlighting security measures and emergency protocols, and testimonials from satisfied parents whose children thrived at your institution.

2. Personalized content recommendations

Take website personalization to the next level by leveraging dynamic content. This allows you to recommend relevant content that piques a visitor’s interest and keeps them engaged.

Imagine a student browsing your computer science program page. By analyzing their browsing history and interests, the website might recommend:

• Related courses: Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, or data structures – courses that complement their chosen program and spark curiosity about specific areas within computer science.
• Skill-building workshops: Upcoming coding workshops targeted toward honing programming skills – a valuable resource to help them excel in their future studies.
• Student club information: This will help foster a sense of community and provide opportunities to connect with like-minded peers who share their passion for computer science.

By dynamically suggesting relevant courses, workshops, and clubs, you create a personalized learning journey for each visitor. This not only enhances their experience but also encourages deeper exploration of academic interests and extracurricular involvement.

3. Dynamic landing pages

Imagine a high school student from California clicks on a social media ad for your nursing program. A static landing page might leave them feeling like just another number. But with dynamic landing pages, their experience transforms into a personalized welcome wagon.

Here’s how dynamic landing pages create a connection:

Location-based content: The landing page automatically adjusts to display content tailored to the visitor’s location, showcasing accessible and relevant programs and opportunities. By filtering content based on location and interests, the page highlights your institution’s local clinical partnerships, emphasizing practical applications and nearby career potential.

Success stories they’ll recognize: The page features user-generated content (UGC) with testimonials from Californian alumni who are now successful registered nurses. Seeing graduates from their own state thrive fosters a sense of possibility and inspires them to envision their own future success.

Targeted virtual tours: Prominently displayed are upcoming virtual tours specifically designed for West Coast students. The tours are in their location and provides a convenient way for them to explore the program and campus virtually.

By dynamically adjusting content based on visitor details, you create a hyper-personalized experience that resonates with their specific interests and location. This significantly enhances the user experience and dramatically increases the chance of converting a curious visitor into a future student.

4. Triggered calls-to-action

When personalizing your higher education website, it’s essential to use actionable language that moves the visitor through their unique journey. Triggered calls-to-action (CTAs) can have a direct impact on visitor engagement and user experience. 

By implementing relevant and timely CTAs based on individual behaviors and preferences, you can create more compelling incentives for visitors to act.

Here are some examples of triggered calls-to-action in different stages of the user journey:

Early researcher: A prospective student starts reading about a particular program on your website. After they spend a certain amount of time on the page or scroll down to a specific point, a CTA could appear, offering them a downloadable program brochure with more information.

Campus tour stage: As a student gets closer to visiting the campus, the call-to-action can shift to something like “schedule a campus tour” or “register for a virtual open house,” allowing them to experience your institution firsthand before making a decision.

Application phase: For students nearing the application deadline, use a clear and concise “apply now” button, which can be triggered based on their browsing history and the deadline’s proximity. This CTA prompts them to take the next step in the enrollment process.

Tailored content engagement: Use triggered CTAs to offer value-added content or resources when a visitor shows high interest in a particular topic, like subscribing to a department-specific newsletter or registering for a relevant workshop.

By strategically using triggered calls-to-action based on visitor behavior and preferences, your higher education website can provide a more personalized experience, encouraging visitors to take the desired actions that align with their interests and the stage of their enrollment journey.

5. Personalized onsite popovers

Envision a parent researching scholarship opportunities for their child on your website. With personalized onsite popovers, their experience becomes more tailored, engaging, and valuable.

Here’s how personalized onsite popovers enhance the experience:

Behavior-based triggers: Popovers can be triggered by various visitor behaviors, such as time spent on a specific page or scrolling to a particular part of the website. For example, if a parent spends a significant amount of time researching scholarship opportunities, offering a downloadable scholarship guide would be an appropriate popover to enhance their experience.

Deep-dive into interests: Popovers consider a visitor’s interests based on their browsing patterns. If a visitor has shown interest in multiple articles on financial aid or work-study programs, an onsite popover may prompt them to subscribe to a financial aid tips newsletter tailored to their needs.

Tailored reminders: Personalized popovers take note of returning visitors and their previous browsing behaviors. A popover can remind a returning visitor of an upcoming scholarship application deadline and offer to connect them with a financial aid counselor if they require assistance.

Applying personalized onsite popovers allows you to engage visitors based on their unique needs and interests actively. This personalized approach increases overall engagement and conversion rates, contributing to your institution’s success in attracting and nurturing prospective students and their families.

The future of personalized learning

When it comes to effective website personalization, simply addressing a visitor by their name just doesn’t cut it. The real game-changer is ethically and responsibly gathering data, and then using this information to create a uniquely relevant and valuable experience tailored to each visitor’s needs.

The Dotdigital platform provides powerful tools for educational institutions seeking to build and enhance cross-channel personalization.

With the Dotdigital platform, you can:

• Consolidate data from various sources to gain an in-depth understanding of the student journey.
• Segment your audience based on interests, demographics, and engagement levels.
• Seamlessly deliver personalized content across multiple channels, including email, SMS, and push notifications.

Using Dotdigital, you can create a truly personalized experience on your website, build stronger connections with potential students, and effectively showcase the unique value your institution has to offer.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the relationship between moments-based marketing and the customer journey and share tips for pinpointing and leveraging key touchpoints to drive engagement and conversions. 

Decoding the customer journey

The customer journey is the sequence of interactions and experiences a customer has with your brand, from initial awareness to post-purchase engagement. It typically comprises several stages, including awareness, consideration, decision, and retention. By comprehending the customer journey, you can pinpoint the moments when your audience is most receptive to your marketing messages and tailor your campaigns accordingly. 

Pinpointing key touchpoints

Key touchpoints are the points of interaction between your brand and your customers that have the most significant impact on their journey. These touchpoints can vary depending on your industry, target audience, and marketing goals. Some common key touchpoints for ecommerce brands include: 

• First-time website visits 
• Email sign-ups 
• Social media interactions 
• Abandoned cart reminders 
• Post-purchase follow-ups 

To identify the key touchpoints for your brand, analyze your customer data, and look for patterns in behavior and engagement. Consider conducting customer surveys or interviews to gain additional insights into their experiences and preferences. For instance, the click-through rate (CTR) for welcome campaigns triggered by newsletter sign-ups is 3.5% higher than that of single-send campaigns.

Harnessing key touchpoints in moments-based marketing

Once you’ve identified the key touchpoints in your customer journey, you can harness them to create impactful moments-based marketing campaigns. Here are some tips for doing so: 

• Customize your content: Adapt your marketing messages to the specific needs, preferences, and behaviors of your customers at each touchpoint. 
• Be timely: Deliver your content at the right moment when your customers are most likely to be receptive and engaged. 
• Create a seamless experience: Ensure that your marketing messages are consistent and cohesive across all touchpoints, creating a seamless customer experience. 
• Measure and optimize: Continuously track the performance of your moments-based marketing campaigns at each touchpoint and make data-driven adjustments to optimize their impact. 

Examples of moments-based marketing at key touchpoints

Here are some examples of how brands have successfully harnessed key touchpoints in their moments-based marketing campaigns: 

• A fashion retailer sending personalized product recommendations to customers who have recently browsed their website, based on their browsing history and preferences.
• A software company delivering a series of educational emails to new subscribers, guiding them through the process of using their product and highlighting its key features. 
• A travel agency uses social media to share personalized travel itineraries and special offers with customers who have recently engaged with their content. 

Understanding the customer journey and identifying key touchpoints is crucial for maximizing the impact of your moments-based marketing campaigns. By harnessing these touchpoints and delivering personalized, timely content, you can create memorable experiences that drive engagement and conversions. 

If you’re looking for insights on your CX journey map then request our personalized marketing audit to get expert advice.

In this blog post, we will explore the top personalization trends that will define the future of digital marketing in 2024. From artificial intelligence (AI) advancements to hyper-personalization and dynamic content, we’ll delve into the strategies that will help brands engage, attract, and keep customers loyal.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Personalization has become more advanced thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). With its ability to go through huge amounts of data and find meaningful patterns, AI helps deliver content that’s tailored just for your customers. By using machine learning, these algorithms can continuously improve and adapt to your user’s preferences. This results in highly relevant product recommendations, custom content, and promotions that are designed to captivate customers.

Dotdigital’s AI-driven product recommendations, for example, help pinpoint the products customers are most likely to be interested in. Our seven pre-built product recommendation categories — best sellers, trending, most viewed, lookalikes, best next, also bought, and custom category — cater to different stages of the customer journey.

Each category is designed to strategically target customers with personalized product options that match their preferences. When you offer customers products that genuinely pique their interest, you’re not only increasing the likelihood of a sale but also making their shopping experience a breeze. It’s a win-win situation for both you and the customer – they find what they’re looking for, and you achieve a successful sale.

Predictive analytics

By 2024, predictive analytics is expected to become essential for businesses seeking a competitive edge in understanding customer behavior. Digital marketers can utilize AI-driven predictive analytics to identify what customers are likely to do next.

At Dotdigital, we are dedicated to utilizing the potential of AI-driven predictive analytics to help digital marketers achieve their objectives. Our predictive analytics capabilities focus on four key areas: churn probability, predicted next purchase date, predicted customer lifetime value, and predicted total future orders. With Dotdigital’s predictive analytics capabilities, you can build customer segments based on these predictive metrics. What’s more, you can leverage the anticipated next purchase date to fine-tune your campaigns, ensuring they are tailored to your customers’ unique spending habits.

Hyper-personalization

Another trend for 2024 is hyper-personalization, which takes personalization to the next level by combining data from various sources such as behavioral, demographic, and transactional information. This comprehensive approach to personalization helps you gain a complete understanding of your customers, delve deeper into their preferences, and create messaging and offers that cater to their individual needs and desires.

Dotdigital has dynamic partner-built app blocks that allow you to personalize content and create engaging campaigns in just a few minutes. With no coding required, you can easily drag and drop third-party partner content into your emails and landing pages using EasyEditor. This helps you make the most of your existing martech stack while also reducing the number of customers who unsubscribe.

Today’s customers expect better experiences from the brands they choose to spend their money with. They prioritize quality over quantity and won’t hesitate to take their business elsewhere if they feel they’re not getting value from a brand. With our App Blocks, you can provide each customer with a better experience in every interaction.

Dynamic content

Looking ahead to 2024, dynamic content will play a significant role in personalizing email marketing. By utilizing customer data, such as their location, you can easily tailor your content and provide localized offers that engage your audience.

Imagine being able to address each recipient by their first name, showcase products they’re interested in, and highlight nearby in-store events. With the advancements in technology, personalizing your marketing communication has become a seamless process. You no longer need to create multiple campaigns for each version or individual recipient.

To achieve this, you can use data fields in your campaign creation to ensure each email feels unique to each customer. This method fills the content with information that is specific to each recipient, adding a personal touch to your email copy. As your audience interacts with your digital content, it adapts and becomes more tailored to their preferences, creating an effortless, personalized experience.

Personalizing your content with dynamic blocks allows you to reach your audience on a deeper level without spending countless hours manually crafting individual emails. Ultimately, you can elevate your email marketing by sending multiple variations of a single email, each rendered uniquely through the power of dynamic content.

Summary

The future of digital marketing lies in personalization. Customers crave tailored experiences, and marketers must embrace trends such as AI personalization, predictive analytics, hyper-personalization, and dynamic content to meet these expectations. Staying updated with these trends and leveraging advanced marketing solutions like Dotdigital will enable you to create effective and impactful campaigns that truly connect with your audience.

Personalization and the human touch

Even in our technology-driven age, people appreciate a personal touch in interactions – that’s why personalization remains a vital marketing tool. Human-to-human (H2H) marketing strategies focus on creating individual experiences, like personalized videos or understanding prospects’ interests through social media. These tailored approaches attract quality leads and boost conversion rates.

Why not level up your workflow by blending personalization with marketing automation? Trust us, it’s a game changer, making your marketing feel even more genuine and engaging to your audience.

How to personalize with marketing automation

When done right, marketing automation adds a human touch by catering to each contact’s unique needs and preferences. It teams up with personalization effortlessly, helping you deliver tailor-made experiences at scale. Here are four ways to achieve that:

1. Segment your audience

When it comes to reaching your audience effectively, segmentation is key. Dotdigital offers powerful tools that allow you to create segments based on various criteria, such as age, location, and RFM score. This means you can tailor your marketing efforts to specific groups within your audience.

By utilizing automation programs, Dotdigital makes it easy for you to create segments and deliver targeted messages. This not only saves you time but also ensures that your audience receives personalized content that resonates with them.

2. Use dynamic content

Dynamic content is a game-changer when it comes to email marketing. It enables you to provide personalized and targeted content to your recipients in one email. Achieving this is possible by tapping into your customer analytics and creating engaging content, which can be delivered at scale using dynamic content blocks and smart program logic.

Imagine being able to display images of local stores to recipients based on their location, making them feel like you’re right there with them. Or recommending products based on their recently viewed or purchased items, giving them that extra nudge toward making a purchase.

With dynamic content, you can create highly relevant and engaging emails that cater to each recipient’s unique preferences and behaviors. It’s like having a personal assistant who knows exactly what your customers want, delivering the right message at the right time.

3. Customer-driven journeys

Gone are the days of a one-size-fits-all approach to automation programs. In today’s customer-centric world, it’s all about giving your contacts control over their journey. Instead of bombarding your customers with generic content, why not offer multiple paths based on their actions and preferences?

But it doesn’t stop there. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches like remails to find what truly resonates with your audience. Keep testing and refining your strategies until you discover what works best for each segment of your contacts.

4. Leverage behavior data

Tapping into behavioral data is the key to understanding your audience by tracking their actions and responding in a way that resonates with them. With Dotdigital, crafting automation programs that respond to your contacts’ behavior as it happens becomes a piece of cake, paving the way for timely and relevant communication.

Imagine noticing a shopper leaving items in their cart, and effortlessly sending them a gentle trigger to encourage the completion of their purchase. Or, picture welcoming a new subscriber to your newsletter by guiding them through your brand’s journey, all the while showcasing meaningful offers, using marketing automation.

By harnessing the potential of behavioral data, you’ll never miss an opportunity to connect with your audience when it matters most, leading to stronger relationships and increased satisfaction.

Combine marketing automation and personalization for maximized results

Both personalization and marketing automation have their merits, but combining the two can help you unlock your full marketing potential. With tools like Dotdigital, you can provide personalized experiences at scale, catering to each contact’s unique interests and preferences, without sacrificing the efficiency and reach of automation.

1. Make your content mobile and desktop friendly

In today’s digital age, it’s important to ensure that your content is not only visually appealing but also optimized for both mobile and desktop devices. With more and more people shopping and browsing through their phones and laptops, it’s important to review how your website performs across different devices and make any necessary optimizations.

By making your content mobile and desktop friendly, you can provide a pleasant browsing experience for your users. Nobody wants to zoom in or scroll endlessly just to read the content or view product details. So make sure that your website and email design is responsive, with easy navigation, readable text, and properly sized images.

Optimizing your website for mobile devices can also help reduce abandoned carts and increase conversions. If users find it difficult to navigate or complete a purchase on their phones or tablets, they are more likely to abandon their carts. On the other hand, if the checkout process is smooth and user-friendly on all devices, it can lead to higher conversion rates.

2. Turn abandoned carts into revenue with crafty email follow-ups

The holiday season is here, and with more shoppers turning to online shopping, it’s the perfect time to focus on fine-tuning your abandoned cart recovery strategy. Don’t let those potential customers slip away – give them a chance to save their carts for later.

One effective way to reconnect with shoppers who’ve shown interest in your products is through personalized emails or messages. By sending follow-up messages tailored specifically to their abandoned carts, you can remind them of the items they left behind and entice them to complete their purchase.

Whether it’s a friendly email highlighting the benefits of the products or a text message offering a limited-time discount, these personalized approaches can make a significant difference in recovering lost sales during this busy holiday season.

3. Add a personal touch to your messaging

When it comes to holiday messaging, personalization is key. Gone are the days of generic mass emails and cookie-cutter marketing campaigns. Today, it’s all about creating a personal connection with your audience.

By utilizing the data you’ve gathered from preference centers and first-party data sources, you can tailor your messages to cater to each individual’s preferences and behaviors. This level of personalization not only shows that you value their unique needs but also increases the chances of engagement and conversion.

Imagine receiving an email that speaks directly to your interests or a targeted holiday ad that showcases products you’ve been eyeing. It instantly creates a sense of connection and makes you feel understood as a consumer.

4. Sprinkle some holiday magic into your SEO

The holiday season is the perfect time to sprinkle some festive magic into your website’s SEO. By incorporating festive keywords throughout your SEO copywriting and product descriptions, you can capture the attention of shoppers who are in the holiday spirit.

One way to add a touch of holiday flair to your SEO is by updating your meta tags and headings to showcase that seasonal spirit. By including keywords like “holiday deals,” “gift ideas,” or those related to your product, you can align your website to what customers are searching for at this time of year. By with your customers’ seasonal searches, you can increase the chances of attracting more traffic to your website. 

You can make the most out of your website traffic by incorporating a clear call-to-action (CTA) section. Not only does it help enhance your click-through rate, but it also allows you to drive revenue. By organizing your CTAs with various links, you can cater to the different interests and preferences of your visitors.

To make your CTAs engaging, use simple language that is easy for users to understand. A user-friendly layout will also encourage them to take action. Remember, the goal is to create a seamless experience that entices users to click and explore further.

5. Be social media savvy

The holiday season is the perfect time to have some extra fun on social media. With so many people spending time online during this festive period, using paid and organic social methods is an effective way to reach both new and loyal customers.

On Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, you can use targeted ads to connect with your desired audience uniquely. These platforms offer a range of gamification options to incorporate into your ad campaigns. You can create engaging content that resonates with your demographic using interactive quizzes, polls, and immersive storytelling experiences.

By adding gamification elements to your social media ads, you can transform the user experience from passive viewing to active participation. This approach not only increases brand awareness but also encourages interaction and engagement with your target audience.

But why stop there? For an added layer of flair and authenticity, team up with influencers who resonate with your target audience. Collaborating with influencers can help you tap into their engaged followers and create a buzz around your brand during the holiday season.

Time to wrap up

These five simple and engaging tips will help make your holiday marketing campaign a smashing success. By keeping your messaging personalized, your SEO festive, and your content as device-friendly and heartwarming as possible, you’re setting yourself up for a profitable holiday season. So why wait? Jump into the holiday marketing fun and spread good cheer all around.

What is personalization?

Personalization goes beyond simply addressing your customers by their names. It’s about crafting tailored experiences and delivering content that resonates with your audience based on their individual preferences, actions, and unique characteristics. To excel in personalization, it’s essential to make well-informed decisions at each step of the customer journey. This means delivering the right content at the right time to the right audience. 

Personalization is achieved by leveraging customer data and insights to provide an experience that is both relevant and engaging. This approach makes your marketing messages not only authentic but also meaningful to each individual customer.

In marketing today, personalization goes far beyond just using the customer’s name in an email or celebrating their birthday. According to Salesforce, 62% of customers expect companies to deliver personalized offers and discounts based on their previous purchases. While incorporating basic information such as a customer’s name, birthday, or gender is important, modern consumers expect more.

Top personalization tips

We’ve curated a selection of top personalization tips to help you make stronger connections with your audience. From leveraging dynamic content to tapping into customer insights, these effective strategies will ensure your marketing messages are tailored, relevant, and engaging for each individual.

1. Elevate your campaigns with dynamic content

Dynamic content is a powerful tool to supercharge your marketing campaigns by delivering laser-targeted messaging in a single send. Thanks to dynamic content blocks, you can easily display a variety of content, including text, images, and CTAs. These content blocks cater to each recipient’s data, preferences, and previous interactions.

By tailoring your content to specific factors like a customer’s location, subscription level, or any custom data field of your choice, you ensure that your messaging remains highly relevant and engaging for each individual. At Dotdigital, we love seeing how brands can capitalize on customer location data to craft unique offers that resonate with recipients and forge stronger connections.

Incorporate dynamic content into your campaigns to unlock higher engagement rates and deliver remarkable end-user experiences that set your brand apart and keep customers coming back for more.

2. Tap into targeted product recommendations

For ecommerce businesses and brick-and-mortar retailers with delivery or click-and-collect options, targeted product recommendations are an invaluable tool to add a personal touch to your email campaigns. To capture customers’ interest and encourage them to explore further, you can create product recommendation blocks that cater to their previous buying and browsing patterns or preferences. This can be based on a specific stage in the customer journey.

For example, if you’re a shoe retailer, you could showcase running shoes tailored to a customer’s specific needs. This could include their preferred terrain, distance, gender, or even color preferences. You could also feature items they’ve previously expressed interest in by browsing online or adding them to their shopping cart. These curated recommendations create a sense of familiarity and personalization that resonates with your customers.

Dotdigital takes it a step further by enabling you to harness machine learning to suggest the next-best products and more. By utilizing these advanced techniques, you can create unforgettable customer interactions that drive engagement, loyalty, and ultimately, increase conversions for your business.

3. Harness segmentation for ultimate personalization

There are times when dynamic content blocks are not enough, and you want to make the whole message personal. That’s when segmentation comes in handy. It helps you split your audience into groups based on things like age, customer type, or even personal tastes like favorite colors.

But that’s not all – with eRFM segmentation, you can group your audience based on their engagement and purchasing behaviors. eRFM stands for “engagement, recency, frequency, and monetary,” which means you’re looking at how engaged your customers are when they last made a purchase, how often they buy, and how much they spend. With Dotdigital, creating groups for different customers, like loyal fans or people who need some extra nurturing, is simple. Plus, you can make new groups when customers change how they act, so your messaging is always spot-on.

By rewarding your brand champions with special offers and winning back inactive customers, you’ll create a better experience for everyone. Personalization is all about choosing to do or not do something based on the customer. If this group isn’t engaging with your campaigns, it’s a good idea to exclude them from your newsletters and instead reserve sends for them for big events (like Black Friday). This way, your campaigns will be more engaging, and your customers will be happier.

4. Create personalized journeys with custom automation paths

Designing and building customized customer journeys is a breeze with Dotdigital. By using automation programs, you can create personalized journeys that cater to each customer’s unique engagement with your brand. With the drag and drop functionality of our automation builder, you can easily design tailored paths, utilizing actions, decisions, and delays to create the ideal experience for every individual customer.

These customized journeys empower your customers to choose their own path through the automation program, with each action they take (or don’t take) determining the subsequent messages they receive. This way, you can ensure that every journey is one-of-a-kind, offering highly engaging and relevant content that speaks directly to your audience on a personal level. By tapping into our platform, you’ll bring these personalized journeys to life, improve customer experience, and boost conversion rates. 

Summary

In today’s digital world, personalization is no longer optional – it’s essential. So, why not revamp your personalization approach? By implementing these strategies, you’ll give your audience the personalized experiences they want and set your marketing campaigns up for incredible success.

Sending irrelevant emails can readers into unengaged contacts. Sending them repeatedly, all but guarantees their unsubscribe.

To keep subscribers engaged you need to consider email segmentation as a core element of your email marketing strategy. Segmenting your audience base allows you to send personalized emails that reflect the customers’ needs and wants. The more you’re able to do this, the easier it’ll be to convert and retain customers.

Below are some key segments you should be building to optimize your email marketing performance.

Why email segmentation is important?

Every time you send a targeted email to your segments, you’re one step closer to sending personalized content. The more you refine your audience segments, the more relevant and personalized your marketing will feel when it lands in a subscriber’s inbox.

There is a number of ways you can use email segmentation in your emails to personalize them.  In the following sections, we’ll explore tactics for different industries to master the art of email segmentation.

General email segmentation

Every email marketer, from beginner to well-seasoned professionals, should have a collection of general segments built and ready to use when the campaign demands it.

These usually use the explicit data customers hand over in exchange for a more personalized experience. Demographic data such as gender, age, and location are all examples of explicit data and should form the basis of your email segmentation strategy.

Marketing preferences collected through your preference center should also be a priority for serious email marketers. You should be collecting preferences such as favorite products, interests, and newsletters they’d like to receive. This will give you unprecedented insight into your customers and empower them to personalize their own experiences.

B2B segmentation

As well as segmenting based on demographic data B2B marketers can use lead scoring to segment and target specific audience groups.

Segments based on whether a prospect is “cold”, “warm”, “hot”, or “red hot” enables you to send targeted messages designed to tip them into the next category. For example, you can target your “red hot” segment with invitations to book calls with your sales team. Or, you can target your “warm” contacts with educational download content to drive them into the “hot” prospect category.

Ecommerce segmentation

Ecommerce brands have a wealth of customer data at their fingertips. From past purchases to total money spent, every insight adds value to your relationship with customers.

You can take these insights further by segmenting based on customers’ RFM scores. RFM – recency, frequency, and monetary – models help ecommerce brands group customers based on their shopping habits.

Dotdigital’s RFM modeling tool groups shoppers into eight personas which you can use to create audience segments. These personas are:

• Lost
• At-risk
• Can’t lose
• Need nurturing
• High potential
• Recent customers
• Loyalists
• Champions

Segmenting your audience based on these personas helps you identify what each group needs. For example, during the sales period, you can offer “Loyalist” and “Champion” segments exclusive pre-sale access. Or you can target your “Need nurturing” segment with engaging newsletter content that helps them develop stronger connections with your brand.

Internal communication segmentation

A lot of internal communication and HR teams tend to rely on their internal email providers to connect with staff, but the benefit of using an automation platform is unprecedented.

One of the biggest perks is the ability to segment your workforce. Whether you’re sending important updates to managers, onboarding new staff, or targeting specific office locations, segmentation will enable you to get messages out quickly and efficiently.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) segmentation

A lot of emerging D2C brands offer products and services to consumers on a subscription basis. These membership-based businesses need to connect with customers to keep the contract rolling.

Targeting audience segments based on how long they’ve been subscribed to your services, and the type or level of subscription they have is a great place to start. You can ensure your loyal customers are rewarded and kept up-to-date with your latest releases. You can also nurture subscribers paying for basic packages by regularly delivering outlining the benefits of upgrading.

Non-profit segmentation

The audience base of a non-profit organization is as diverse as they come, which means segmentation is a vital tactic. Charities, non-profits, and membership organizations regularly have to deliver important communications to stakeholders, but each stakeholder may require a different level of business insight.

Building segments for your volunteers, fundraisers, board members, ambassadors, and more will make getting emails out easier and more efficient.

Summary

By incorporating personalized strategies your email marketing, you can establish a deeper connection with subscribers and deliver content that genuinely resonates with them. This approach allows you to customize your email content to align with individual needs and preferences. This will enhance the likelihood of your subscribers opening and engaging with the message, ultimately driving desired actions.

Email segments divide audiences into groups depending on age, gender, location, interests, and more. If you don’t segment your marketing list, you’ll be sending generic content to your whole database. When customers decide they’re not receiving valuable content they become unengaged.

That’s why segmentation is such an important tactic for all email marketing professionals.

Why is email segmentation important?

We’ve already mentioned how segmentation can improve your email engagement levels, but let’s dive a bit deeper. Why should you use segmentation and what are the benefits?

Not all subscribers are the same

Each of your subscribers will have very different expectations for your brand. One-size-fits-all approaches don’t work. In the same way, you target different personas, different audience groups have specific goals when they subscribe to your marketing.

Email segmentation helps you identify common characteristics among them. As you learn more about your customers, your segments can get more granular. The deeper you go, the more likely you are to convert readers. You’re personalizing emails based on their shared interests and helping them achieve their goals.

Different stages of the sales cycle

Readers will be at different stages of the sales cycle when your email lands in their inbox. To maximize your impact and their experience, it’s important you target customers with the content they need, every step of the way.

You can use segmentation to group your audience according to their stage in the journey. If they have just joined your marketing list, you should be sending them welcome emails and content to introduce your brand. When they’ve made a purchase recently, they’ll need follow-up content to keep them engaged.

Failing to connect with customers at the key stages of your sales cycle, risks losing them altogether. Segmentation makes the likelihood of missing these opportunities significantly smaller.

Better results

Because of the benefits outlined above, you’ll see better results when you send segmented email marketing. You’ll be targeting the right customer, with the right message, at the right stage of the journey. This will lead to more conversions, sales, and ultimately revenue for your brand. If you’re looking to improve your email marketing metrics, segmentation is a must.

Improved deliverability

The more relevant the content your send, the more opens you will get. The more your open rates improve the better your email reputation will be. Everything’s connected.

When you send targeted emails to a segmented database, you’re engaging with your customers more. This will encourage your customers to interact with you on a deeper level.

As customers begin to expect relevant and engaging emails, they’ll open and interact with your emails more often. The more readers engage with your email marketing email providers will recognize you as a reputable and trustworthy brand. Accidentally landing in the spam folder will be a thing of the past.

Enhanced customer experience

When you leverage email segmentation you can improve your customer experience. By delivering tailored, relevant emails to your subscribers, you address their unique needs and interests, making them feel valued and seen. This personalized approach fosters a stronger connection between your brand and your customers, ultimately leading to improved satisfaction and customer loyalty.

How to segment your email list

There are five key ways brands should be segmenting email marketing lists.

1. Demographics

Demographic segments use customer information such as age, gender, marital status, and job title. You should collect this data when new subscribers sign up to receive your email marketing. The more information you gather during the early stage of your relationship, the more advanced you can make your segments.

2. Geographical

Targeting customers based on their location has a massive influence on purchase decisions. Especially if you’re driving shoppers to brick-and-mortar stores or providing delivery updates, customer location is essential data to have. Modern shoppers love convenience. By targeting geographical segments you can drive customers into making spontaneous decisions.

3. Marketing preferences

You should always be collecting marketing preferences, especially during the welcome series in preference centers and re-engagement programs. This is data such as the departments, newsletters, or topics they’re interested in and the frequency with which they would like to hear from you. Driving customers to update their preferences will help you ensure engagement levels are high for each segment.

4. Email engagement

Email engagement metrics such as open rate and click-through rate are automatically tracked. That means it’s easy and straightforward to segment users based on how they interact with your email marketing. Whether it’s non-openers or readers who’ve clicked specific links, targeting these segments will have a huge impact on your results.

5. Behavioral

Behavioral segmentation is the most advanced email segmentation tactic. It’s based on customer behavior on your other channels such as your website. Specific page hits, frequency of visits, and recent activity are just a couple of the segments possible that help gives your email marketing a hyper-personalized feel.  You can also use data like purchase history and average order value to create behavioral audience segments.

eRFM segmentation

eRFM is a model that helps businesses profile customers’ shopping habits. Depending on the RFM score a customer gets, you can identify segments from ‘champions’ and ‘recent customers’ to ‘high potential’ and ‘at risk’.

Three factors are considered when categorizing audiences:

1. Recency: how recently did the customer purchase?
2. Frequency: how often do the purchase?
3. Monetary value: how much do they spend?

Dotdigital’s eRFM modeling tool provides eight separate personas you can use to segment and target customers with relevant content.

SMS segmentation

SMS marketing is being adopted by brands around the world. Compared to email marketing’s average open rate of around 89.42% (due to Apple MPP making open rates unreliable), SMS has a read rate of 98% within the first five minutes. It’s a quick and effective way to reach audiences with important information.

But it’s also becoming the new channel for batch-and-blast customers.

Like email marketing, you should segment SMS audiences. This will ensure engagement and start two-way conversations.

Because of the immediacy of SMS, you should base your audience segments on data such as location and recent activity. Segmentation will help you to connect with engaged audiences and deliver relevant promotions and offers that will land with an impact.

Summary

Email segmentation is a powerful tool to improve your marketing strategy. By understanding the different ways to segment your audience and the benefits it brings, you can create tailored and relevant messaging that resonates with your subscribers. This personalized approach not only drives engagement but also fosters customer loyalty, leading to increased conversions, sales, and overall success of your marketing campaigns.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through some these best practices to improve your personalized email marketing game.

What is email personalization?

Email personalization is a powerful marketing strategy that revolves around creating and delivering content tailored to the interests, preferences, and unique characteristics of each subscriber. It involves using customer data to create personalized messages that speak directly to their needs and desires. This leads to improved open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately higher conversion rates.

Email personalization best practices

To make the most out of email personalization and drive successful results, it’s important to implement proven best practices. Here are some key personalization strategies that can help elevate your email marketing strategy:

1. Collect and use the right data

The foundation of email personalization is collecting relevant customer data. You can collect first-party data via the channels your customers interact with you on. This data may include basic information like their name, location, and job title.

Additionally, you can collect zero-party data from surveys, sign-up forms, or customer account profiles. Remember, it’s important to be ethical and transparent when collecting data so you respect your subscribers’ privacy and international regulations. 

2. Understand your audience

To craft an email that resonates with your intended audience, it’s important to have a clear understanding of who they are, their preferences, and what type of content they find valuable. To gather this information, it’s essential you implement a preference center at the start of your customer journey. As time goes on, you can collect additional data on demographics, browsing habits, purchase history, and email click data. This will allow you to create individualized user personas for each segment of your audience.

3. Segment your contact and email lists

Segmenting your email and contact list is an important personalized email marketing tactic. Breaking down your email list into smaller groups based on user attributes or behavior can help you create targeted and relevant emails. For example, you could segment your list based on geographical location, past purchase behavior, or the recipient’s age group. Tailoring your emails based on these segments ensures that your audience receives content that aligns with their interests.

4. Use dynamic content

Including dynamic content in your emails is another way to enhance the personalization of your email campaigns. Dynamic content refers to elements within the email that change based on the recipient’s data, such as their name, location, or browsing history. Incorporating dynamic content within the email can help you create a highly personalized experience for each recipient without having to craft individual emails manually.

5. Craft persuasive subject lines and preview text

The subject line and preview text are the first things recipients notice, so it’s crucial to make them eye-catching and captivating. Including personal touches in your subject lines, such as the recipient’s first name, can improve open rates. Also, use your preview text to suggest exclusive content within the email, enticing users to open it and interact with your content.

6. Personalize your calls-to-action (CTAs)

Tailoring your calls-to-action to match the interests and preferences of your email recipients can increase your click-through rates and conversions. Use the data you’ve collected on the user’s preferences or past behavior to personalize the CTA, offering them a unique and relevant experience. This can be achieved using dynamic content, as well as tailoring the CTA copy to reflect the user persona you’re targeting.

7. Test and optimize

As with any marketing strategy, it’s essential to continuously test and optimize your email personalization tactics to ensure maximum efficacy. Use A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines, content, CTAs, and design to find out what resonates with your audience. Use analytics to understand the impact of each email on open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, enabling you to make data-driven adjustments as required.

8. Communicate regularly but don’t overdo it

Personalized emails are more likely to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more. However, be mindful not to overdo it – emailing your recipients too frequently may result in a decrease in engagement. Striking the right balance between regular communication and giving your subscribers space is important. Use your data to understand when and how often your audience likes to engage with your content to ensure you deliver a positive experience.

Summary

Email personalization is an important part of creating a successful email marketing campaign. By implementing these best practices, you’ll be able to create targeted, personalized emails that engage your audience and drive meaningful connections. Don’t miss the opportunity to stand out in your subscribers’ inboxes and take your marketing efforts to new heights – start personalizing your emails today.