By Jeremy Mako

In today’s digital age, consumers expect more and more from marketers. It’s not good enough to simply insert the correct customer name into an email or promote related product recommendations. Consumers expect brands to have a deeper understanding of their needs, preferences and behaviors.

Vying for consumer attention is becoming increasingly competitive as consumers become even more selective. Due to this trend, hyper-personalized marketing is becoming less of a competitive advantage and more of a necessity to businesses. Hyper-personalization extends beyond the traditional methods of marketing. Typically, hyper-personalization utilizes data, AI, and predictive analytics to create an exceptionally tailored consumer journey. This new form of marketing takes the focus away from broad marketing to targeting individuals.

What Is Hyper-Personalized Marketing?

Hyper-personalization takes a deeper dive into customer data points by leveraging new technologies like AI, machine learning, and big data. The data which is often used includes browsing behavior, location, purchase history, engagement patterns, social media activity, and other contextual factors. The additional factors could be the time of day or even weather which customers become active shoppers. This information is then used to present customers with product recommendations and offers at a point in time which maximizes their profit potential.

One example of how hyper-personalization might be used is when revamping a company website homepage. The webpage can be setup based on a customer’s past behavior on the website, preferred price range, and browsing history. The first products presented to them on the page could be those in which they are statistically most interested in.

Why Does It Work So Well?

What sets hyper-personalization apart from other marketing strategies is that it makes consumers feel seen and understood. Consumers will interact with brands that demonstrate an understanding of their needs and preferences. There are a variety of reasons that make hyper-personalization effective which include:

1. Higher Engagement Rates: Customers want to engage with content that looks and feels relevant to their wants and needs. Personalizing outreach strategies can lead to increased open rates for emails, more clicks on ads, and increased engagement on websites. Those who have started implementing hyper-personalization into their marketing strategy have consistently seen engagement which surpasses industry averages.

2. Strong Customer Loyalty: By consistently delivering personalized and relevant experiences to customers, they can also build trust. The resulting view from customers is that your brand is attentive and responsive, building a more meaningful connection. Loyal customers are often the ones who make repeat purchases and advocate for the business to other potential customers.

3. Increased Conversions and Revenue: One of the most attractive aspects of hyper-personalization to businesses is that it impacts their bottom line directly. Personalized marketing puts the right product and offer in front of customers sooner, cutting down on the sales cycle. Additionally, this personalization often encourages customers to spend more over their lifetime, further increasing revenue.

Real World Examples

There are a number of large brands that have already implemented hyper-personalization into their marketing strategy, including:

• Netflix: Whenever a subscriber watches a show or movie, this data is tracked and utilized by Netflix. This data is used to evaluate consumer viewing habits and allows Netflix to suggest other movies and shows to subscribers that they might enjoy the most.
• Amazon: Whenever you’ve been shopping on the Amazon website, you’ve probably noticed a compilation of suggested products at the checkout and various other locations on the website. These recommendations are made based on customer browsing and purchasing history.
• Spotify: All subscribers to Spotify enjoy a range of different personalized playlists curated by Spotify. These playlists are created using subscriber listening history and current trends in the music industry. This is also how Spotify recommends new music to its listeners.

What This Means for the Future

Hyper-realization presents businesses with unique opportunities that were previously unimaginable. However, it does come with a number of challenges. One of the largest concerns related to hyper-personalization is privacy. Consumers are no longer oblivious to how their data is being obtained and used. This concern is reflected through the influx of regulations regarding privacy in the marketing industry. To avoid pitfalls in regards to privacy, businesses will need to work to follow regulations and be open with consumers and their data.

Only a short time ago hyper-personalization might have sounded like a far-off concept in a sci-fi movie. However, it’s here and reshaping the way businesses approach marketing. The influence of hyper-personalization will only grow stronger as technological trends continue to advance. To stay ahead of these changes, brands will need to continuously reinvest in understanding their customers on a deeper level. Businesses who don’t adapt will be left behind and overlooked by consumers. Attention is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. Businesses can’t afford to fall behind on new strategies if they want to keep up with their competitors. In conclusion, brands that can look past the numbers and continue to implement a human element to their marketing approach will be the most successful.