Core Principles of Personalization

Nobody likes one-size-fits-all anymore. Customers expect personalized experiences, and companies are trying to create exactly these, online and offline. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, the possibilities are virtually unlimited. The art is to use these possibilities intelligently to achieve the desired impact. As is so often the case, this is a question of the right strategy – and must be assessed individually for each company.

Over the past ten years, Acceleraid has developed and successfully implemented many different strategies and approaches with its customers. In doing so, there are six core principles that apply to all customer experience projects:

• Personalization works best when it is holistic

Many personalization projects start with the overhaul of a website, but they should not end there. Websites that serve every visitor exactly the content they are looking for at that moment are just as critical to success as personalized email campaigns, application journeys, individually tailored offers or even dynamic pricing. The entire online presence and all customer-facing processes offer personalization potential, both for existing customers and for acquiring new ones. It is advantageous to keep the entire customer journey in view. After all, even customers who no longer wish to be customers can be reactivated with well-tailored offers.

• Personalization is not a one-off project

Of course, personalization solutions can be implemented on a project basis. However, they work best when they are planned for the long term and considered in every process and project. This is because machine learning algorithms and neural networks learn every day, adapt better to their area of application with every click, and thus deliver better and better results over time. Personalization is therefore more than a doping agent for short-term sales increases. It is a new team member that makes all the other players better.

• Personalization is not advertising

The days when personalization was used only to efficiently place advertising banners are over. Personalization helps with selling, but it is far more than a pure sales tool. Used intelligently, it drives a change of perspective in marketing and sales. For the first time, the technology makes it possible to plan and design entire business processes consistently and end to end from the customer's perspective. The customer is literally placed at the center, and there they receive the offers that benefit them and are perfectly matched to their needs – when they need them and on the channel they are on. Personalization ensures an optimal fit of products and services.

• Only those who understand their customers can personalize

To offer products and services tailored to individual customer needs, a comprehensive understanding of those needs is required beforehand. This in turn presupposes that companies know their customers. The good news is: most know their customers better than they think. After all, countless internal and external data points about them are available. For example, a comprehensive analysis of payment flows (current account and credit card transactions) can be used to derive reliable knowledge about customers' current life situation.

• Personalization needs data

A good data foundation is the be-all and end-all of every personalization project. Yet in many companies, data sets are scattered across different departments and in various programs. It is important to break down these silos and bring the data together. Only then does a holistic view of the customer emerge. And that is what is needed to truly understand them and draw the right conclusions for tailored offers and products.

• Personalization through AI also helps with personal contact

Individual digital engagement and automated campaigns do not replace personal contact with the customer. AI-supported personalization and genuine, personal customer contact are not mutually exclusive and do not get in each other's way. On the contrary: the analysis of customer data can be prepared in a comprehensible way and thus made usable for the customer advisor. In this way, the use of AI also improves customer engagement beyond digital channels. For all-round personal service that pays off.

Applied according to these principles, personalization can significantly improve customer satisfaction. Through individual engagement on websites or in customer portals, visitors receive the information relevant to them faster and feel personally advised. This binds customers more strongly to companies and increases the likelihood of further visits and conversions – which has a direct impact on revenue and enables significant growth rates in online business.

The only prerequisite is that personalization is deployed as comprehensively as possible across all relevant products and services, so that as many customers as possible experience the positive effects of a tailored approach. The experienced experts at Acceleraid support and advise you in developing the perfect personalization strategy and in coordinating individual project components.

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