How Getting to Know Your Customer Can Boost Your Company’s Revenue
Whether you’re marketing B2B or B2C, recognising your customers’ preferences counts.
Research from management consulting firm McKinsey in 2021 showed 71 per cent of customers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions and 76 per cent get frustrated when their experience falls short.
Refining the customer journey is a neverending process for both marketers and technologists. McKinsey found that “companies that excel at personalisation generate 40 per cent more revenue from those activities than average players”.
Packaging supplier Signet, whose customers range from Woolworths to The Bearded Chap, is at the razor’s edge. But general manager, marketing and strategy, Matt Henry says, “It’s not about having the best technology. It starts with the customer… We focus on things that are going to make the customer’s life easier.”
Google “eco-friendly packaging” then click on Signet. Its Adobe-based platform recognises you’ve come from that search topic and serves you a homepage showing its recyclable products and a case study of how another customer has combined protective packaging and shipping cartons to sustainable effect. In contrast, Signet’s returning clients are given a homepage that allows them to repeat their last order and try similar products. Potential Signet clients in Victoria see a homepage that mentions its sponsorship of Moorabbin junior cricket team. “Pulling levers based on customers’ geolocation allows us to show we’re not only national but also local and provides more relevant experiences.”
Motto, a Melbourne-based women’s fashion brand, has been collecting customer comments and case studies for years. Head of digital and ecommerce Leah Tu’inukuafe says the brand is so loved by its clients that “it’s like a cult”. The feedback on every aspect of the business, from in-store experiences at Motto’s six retail outlets to its online Style Talk videos, “really helps us move forward in personalising”.
Tu’inukuafe uses digital customer experience platform Insider to coordinate data streams and personalise customer experiences. She says its free three-month, proof-of-concept period is invaluable. Ultimately, Motto will “plug everything into the Insider platform” – its Google Ads, Meta ads, email and SMS marketing – and introduce WhatsApp, Messenger and direct mail on Instagram. “The architect part of the platform will build out how a person wants to receive communications from us.”
But this won’t happen all at once. Tu’inukuafe’s team of four will upload data streams and AB test assumptions through different channels in “three-month sprints”, which allows them to dissect impacts and gauge responses.
Personalisation 101
Trent Olsen, digital growth manager at customer data platform Insider, says, “You should know who your customers are, where they are and what they want, based on experiences with your brand.” Then go on to:
1. Build trust: Give customers the ability to easily opt out of different communications from you by setting up a preference centre.
2. Learn by asking: Survey 20 lapsed customers with questions such as, “Why don’t you shop with us anymore? Let us know and we’ll give you a $100 voucher to come back.”
3. Throw in a wildcard: If you’re a sporting goods retailer, ask your customers, “What’s your favourite sports team?” If you gather data from enough people, you can personalise their experience in new ways.
