The Killer App for Personalization
You finally did it. You actually made good on your New Year’s Resolution.
You got off the couch. You turned off the TV. You bought broccoli. You cooked broccoli. You ate broccoli.
You had your mail forwarded to the gym and listened to countless hours of shrill invective from a personal trainer named Serge while sandwiched between a barbell and a bench. In less than a year, you’ve gone from looking like a character in a Botero painting to the guy on the front of the underwear box.
You used to be the before picture. You’re the after picture now.
So as you sit here at this restaurant catching up with the friends you haven’t seen since your fitness hibernation began, why isn’t anyone noticing the new you? You expected, “Dude, you’re shredded. What have you been doing for the last six months?” You would have settled for, “did you lose a couple pounds?” But no one says anything. You finish your lettuce wraps and head for the door.
As you hop into the cab at the end of a disheartening night, it finally dawns on you why your buddies didn’t notice the transformation. It’s because all of that newly visible muscle you tortured yourself to build is hidden under the same billowy, Big and Tall comfort-fit pajama-wear you were hiding under this time last year. The body says boot camp. The clothes say military surplus.
As the cab passes by the last Taco Bell on your way home, you decide you’ll be at Banana Republic when they unlock the doors in the morning.
Is the story above playing out with your company’s Personalization strategy?
For years, your company has kicked around the idea of providing a more personalized experience to your customers, but the idea of finally getting your data in shape was daunting enough to keep you languishing on the couch for another year.
This year is different: you’ve got funding, a team, C-suite commitment, and a mention at the last investor presentation. This is the year.
For the last nine months, you’ve had your mail forwarded to the office. You’ve subsisted on a fiber-rich diet of affinity models, key fobs, schemas and portals. You’ve lifted big data and logged countless miles with vendors, partners, consultants and customers. You’ve renamed your segments seven times. Seven times.
Yesterday, you took a breath and paused to evaluate your progress against the goal. You took your first look in the mirror. Not. Too. Shabby.
You’re not finished (are you ever?), but you’re getting tantalizingly close. You know your customers’ likes and dislikes. You’ve zeroed in on their wants and needs. You know why they’re likely to call you and what to tell them when they do. You know which products go best with their previous purchases with a mathematical certainty that would make the MIT Blackjack Team blush. You understand trigger events. You’re close on segment mobility. You’re getting there on dynamic UX.
In short, you’re almost ready. A couple of trouble spots could still use some toning, but it’s time to take your personalization strategy to the world. Will they notice?
Will you send them an email? Will you ask them to log on to something? You’ve done all that stuff countless times before. “But this time is different,” you say. “Sure it is,” they reply.
If your hyper-tuned recommendations and segmented offers fall in the forest and nobody hears them, do they make a sound?
You used emails, portals and interstitials back when your data was a hot mess. Now that your models are model-quality, are your customers too accustomed to your messaging tactics that they walk on by without a second glance?
So, do your company and your customers a favor. Toss off the threadbare XXL college sweatshirt and dress to be noticed in the slim-fitting killer app for personalization: SmartVideo. Why?
- Because regardless of what time of night your customers run into you, you'll always be freshly starched and wrinkle-free with razor sharp creases and polished shoes (real-time video means consumers always see the most up-to-date, relevant info)
- Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression (personalized video greets consumers by name in the very first frame)
- Because regardless of how many admirers you have, you'll have a pearly white smile for every one of them (generated at mass scale - to the tens of millions)
- Because you don't actually have to do your own laundry...just like college (generated automatically)
The time has come to unveil your lithe, sculpted, deeply-personalized engagement strategy to the world. Dress accordingly.