The holidays may be in the rearview mirror, but how many of you are still seeing ads for things you barely remember shopping for?
A recent Marigold guide, “Striking a Balance Between Hi {First_Name} and Creeping Customers Out,” touched upon this and other dark sides of the personalization game. In its surveys, it found 57% of consumers thought that ads following them across devices was creepy, and 61% thought ads related to something they talked about in front of a smart device was “terribly creepy.”
As for reminders or recommendations based on other shopping “actions,” only 31% thought an email about a product that had been left abandoned in a digital cart was creepy (69% “appreciated the reminder”) while 81% were happy to hear from brands based on past purchases.
“Consumers seem to be okay with personalization up to a point,” the study says. “When it helps them, it’s very welcome. When it crosses the line into online stalking, that’s when consumers start seeing it as creepy. Don’t be the creepy marketer.”
Marigold recommends striving for zero-party data — the data points collected directly from consumers, as opposed to inaccurate third-party data — because it “empowers marketers to build direct relationships with consumers and better personalize their marketing efforts, services, offers and product recommendations.” Additionally, Marigold recommends gathering context from website visits, activity history, and point of sale data.
“Use technology that enables you to insert dynamic, personalized content within your emails,” the study says, pointing to the 5.7-times higher revenue that personalized emails bring compared to non-personalized emails. “Email is one of the best channels to reach consumers today and that’s exactly where your personalized campaigns will play out the best.”
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