Today’s digital-first retail market space is tough for brands to stand out from the competition using just the traditional marketing mix strategies. Adapting to the new advancements, some companies are offering personalized experiences to be able to successfully retain their customer’s loyalty.
However, recent regulatory obstacles make it difficult for an average retailer to adapt to such advancements because of privacy concerns in customer data collection methods used for personalization.
In this article, Jonathan Evans talks about the good news for brands regarding this ethical dilemma. That is, 47% of consumers are happy to exchange data with businesses if there is a clear benefit. So, what value can brands provide? Advertising works best when it speaks to people’s wants, needs and desires in a way that aligns with their mindset and motivations. New generations of consumers are at ease with sharing some of their data if it means a better user experience. Personalization can help improve the customer experience through digital channels and in person toward the products/services most relevant to them.
But, for personalization to work, it is also important that brands are collecting the right kind of data. With first-party data made up of millions of data points, it’s necessary to know how to successfully manage and activate it. Without the means to turn data into insight, brands severely limit their ability to understand their customers. Developing such internal capabilities is a huge investment that takes time and resources, which is often the biggest challenge. However, it is no surprise that personalization is fast emerging and earlier adoption can offer a competitive edge.