As data collection has become more sophisticated, content personalization has gotten easier in some ways and more complicated in others. Starting out as a buzzword, this marketing approach now determines the way companies communicate with its customers.
People actually demand personalized content
Attention has become a precious commodity in the digital age. Web users in the US spend about the same amount of time sleeping (an average of 7.8 hours per day) as they engage with digital content.
That’s one of many eye-opening findings in a new research report from Adobe, which surveyed over 1,000 consumers. The number of digital consumption hours is even higher for Millennials, who on average spend 9.6 hours per day consuming digital content.
“The challenge today for brands is that there’s so much more content being created, and so it has become very competitive in terms of getting people’s attention,” said Loni Stark, senior director of strategy and product marketing at Adobe. “It’s becoming harder and harder to stand out. That’s why many brands are setting the bar higher by engaging with customers on a personal level with content and messaging that is personalized, relevant, and more likely to garner engagement.”
Personalization strategies are becoming a necessity for companies that want to effectively compete in the online landscape.
Non-personalized content as a sales killer
Indeed, 67% of respondents to the Adobe study said it’s important for brands to automatically adjust content based on their current context. And if they don’t? A huge 42% of respondents said they get annoyed when the content is not personalized. Another 33% get annoyed when the content is poorly designed, and 29% hate it when content isn’t optimized for the devices they use. What’s more, a whopping 66% of consumers said facing any of these situations could stop them from making a purchase.
Personalized content – how to do it?
Speaking to every member of your audience as an individual hasn’t been possible up to this stage of the marketing technology game. However, new technology can do just that. As AI gets better at understanding individuals and predicting their preferences and actions, personalized marketing is becoming a reality. Find out how B2C businesses can use the new BehaviourExchange platform to personalize their communication with their customers!.
