Don’t Ask, Don’t Sell: When Personalization Goes Wrong

The other day, I was talking to a colleague about personalization and how important it is to get it right. He used the example of his wife who recently purchased some new baby items online for her daughter’s new baby boy. Since purchasing these items, the store has sent her numerous offers.

As far as the practice of relationship marketing goes, the store sort of got it right: they continually send his wife postcards and emails for new baby items such as diapers, blankets and strollers. But here’s where they got it wrong: they continue to send his wife/the baby’s grandmother, meaningless offers that don’t pertain to why she purchased those items in the first place. Why? Because they didn’t ask.

Unfortunately, lots of companies make this same mistake. They miss opportunities to provide relevant offers to their customers and prospects based on customer needs and behavior. Asking questions upfront and learning what your customers want and need are the keys to a profitable, long-lasting relationship. Studies show that, “tailored pieces increase response rates by more than 500 percent over a basic, non-personalized piece.” (source: Digital Printing Council Survey)

In this case, here’s how the store could have used personalization to get more sales:

1. Drive respondents to a web form. You can do this with postcards, email, business letters, text messages, etc. The goal is to get prospects to fill out a form and gather their information.
   
   
2. Ask them relevant questions about their needs, wants and reason to purchase. In this case, the web form questions would be: why are you here today?, with the following drop-down menu options: I’m shopping for my new baby; I’m a new grandmother; I’m attending a baby shower, etc. Ask what items are the most important, such as strollers, cribs, clothing, etc.
   
   
3. Use the information received from the web form to personalize future multi-media communications. Send out a postcard with the message, “Dear (first name), congratulations on your new (baby, baby girl, grandson)! Here are a few items for your during (her, his) first (few days, few weeks, few months, year) .” The following email could say, “Exclusive offer for new (moms, grandmas, grandparents): (10, 15, 25)% off .
   
   
4. Continue the dialogue with relevant offers. Now that you know why the purchase occurred and for whom, continue to send emails and postcards over time with additional relevant offers.
   
   
5. Don't forget to continue to ask questions. Buyer needs change over time - baby formula today may not equal baby formula tomorrow. Continue to ask what your buyers want and need so you can present relevant offers while continuing the conversation.