A great article from Ernan Roman highlighting how Big Data is just a more sophisticated form of —“spray and pray” marketing and how consumer preference data is the next big deal
We have been supporting this argument at nFluence for a while and it's pleasing to see research that supports that consumers are willing to share their preferences in exchange for a more personalized experience.
Some interesting findings from his research from over 10,000 hours of in depth interviews with consumers
The wisdom of the customer has provided us with a few critical truths: Customers, both B2B and B2C, are sophisticated enough to recognize that to receive increasingly relevant offers, they must share detailed preference information.
Customers want to share detailed information about themselves, but only if they trust the brand. This reframes data privacy concerns into the following: a beneficial exchange of information that improves the customer experience. This information will constantly change, grow, and be enriched through two-way interactions with consumers.
For consumers, personalization is the true value of providing personal preference data The payoff to the consumer for sharing their personal information is exponentially greater personalization; and the most effective way to demonstrate personalization is to provide consumers with increasingly relevant experiences, communications, and offers.
Per our VoC research findings, we've learned five important takeaways for marketers:
1. Consumers view personalization as the next step in a company's commitment to service excellence.
2. Personalization must be viewed as a service and a benefit, not just a sales tool.
3. Consumers look to personalized follow-up messages as value-added triggers to go online and evaluate relevant products.
4. Online shoppers view personalization as a necessary requirement for engagement.
5. Consumers are clear in defining personalization as being about more than simplistic transaction-based communications. In our research, people frequently state, “I want more than just buying history–based emails,” and, “With today's technology, I expect the experiences and emails to reflect my preferences.”