Businesses are constantly finding ways to connect with customers on a more personal level, which has given rise to the art and science of "Personalisation" aimed at forging stronger relationships with customers and ultimately higher engagement and increased conversion.

We chatted with Darshana Patel, Lead Client Partner at The Lumery, to gain her expert perspective on the role of Personalisation in marketing strategy.

Let’s start with definitions. How would you describe “Personalisation”. Is it a tactic, a marketing strategy, company-wide philosophy?

Personalisation is the art and science of harnessing a company’s internal capabilities to tailor experiences and create customer intimacy.

The challenge with Personalisation is that its used in varying contexts –
On one hand, personalisation is a tactical lever. It looks like an ‘abandon cart’ email, a high velocity marketing program, driving conversion or hitting 20x ROI for each change.

On the other hand, personalisation is a company’s pathway to customer centricity. It looks like a change to your operating model, new skills in your team, every part of the business thinking customer first.

Neither use of personalisation is incorrect, but we often see a lot of investment can go into tactics while an organisation falls short of customer centricity; equally, effort can be squandered on transformation because it’s an industry buzzword.

Personalisation seems to the “holy grail” in marketing these days with entire teams being created around the personalisation function. Why has it become so important?

There are specialist skills required across a range of disciplines to deliver Personalisation; Data, Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Automation, UX/UI to name a few - Personalisation requires cross functional collaboration which is why entire teams are being created around Personalisation.

Additionally, I think the outcomes of Personalisation speak to why it’s so important. There are a tonne of stat’s out there, the two that that stick with me are:

• Personalisation drives growth and better customer outcomes – high growth companies drive 40% more growth than those that don’t leverage Personalisation.
• And most importantly; over 80% of customers expect Personalisation and being served a personalised experience is seen as a key differentiator of brand.

Do you think a successful personalisation strategy is the domain of big tech and corporate companies (ie Nab, Netflix) who can invest in tech, or does every company have the potential and resources to implement this.

No, I don’t believe Personalisation is only reserved for big tech or corporate companies. Personalisation is accessible to every organisation – however organisations who aren’t actively looking to invest in capability across People, Process, Tech and Data can’t expect the Netflix approach to Personalisation. Whilst customers expect Personalisation, I implore organisations to understand what Personalisation looks like for their customers and start with working to meet those expectations – Personalisation doesn’t need to be synonymous with complexity.

With growing privacy concerns, how can companies ethically collect and use customer data for personalisation? Where would you suggest they seek advice?

I think privacy and consent is a whole other topic to deep dive into but there is strong need for organisations to balance the collection, storage and usage of data in return for a favourable brand experience.

To ethically collect and use customer data for personalisation amidst privacy concerns, organisations should prioritize transparency by clearly communicating data collection purposes and obtaining informed consent. They should minimize data collection to what's necessary, anonymise where possible, and prioritise security to safeguard against breaches. Implementing robust data governance practices ensures compliance with regulations and ethical standards. I personally love when brands offer customers control over their data, including the ability to access, edit, and delete it, I believe this alone, fosters trust. Additionally, regularly auditing data practices, seeking ethical guidance, and staying abreast of evolving privacy regulations are crucial.

In my opinion, if organisations integrate these practices, companies can balance personalization goals with respect for user privacy, fostering trust and loyalty.

At The Lumery we consult and provide direction for organisations to proactively take steps to ensure they’re compliant and future proofing their privacy and consent practices.

What are some common mistakes companies make when implementing a personalisation strategy?

When companies dive into personalisation, they often hit some familiar roadblocks. First off, there's the risk of overlooking user privacy, which can lead to trust issues and legal headaches. Then, there's the temptation to lean too heavily on algorithms or data models, forgetting the importance of human input and feedback. Related to this; if customer context & data quality isn’t taken into consideration; suggestions and recommendations could miss the mark entirely.

Things like, not adopting a test and learn culture, ignoring customer feedback, prioritising a personalised experience over an enhanced user experience are other roadblocks that often appear but I’d say one of the most common mistakes is not aligning Personalisation to broader business objectives – making it hard to demonstrate value and justify investment.

What exciting trends do you see emerging in the world of customer personalisation?

I don’t think it would be any surprise that I respond with leveraging AI to drive personalisation. AI is everywhere and not only is it being used to analyse data or build out a 5 day holiday itinerary; it’s also being used in hyper-personalisation efforts to really tailor experiences and content to individual preferences and behaviours, alongside advanced data analytics and machine learning.

What brands do you have your eyes on in terms of “best in class” personalisation?

I think brands like Netflix, Spotify, Amazon are always top of mind but I don’t always think their examples of personalisation are relevant to every business nor does every business operate at

a maturity to deliver personalisation like Netflix etc do. Some local examples that leverage impactful personalisation are:

Adore beauty: advice to customers who experience skin and hair concerns by leveraging a customers recent onsite behaviour browsing data.
NRMA: deliver Hyper-personalised content to customers informing them of common claims in their area as part of their onboarding experience.
AusPost will automatically add your deliveries to their app and send push notifications to inform you of the delivery status.

Do you have any final advice for businesses looking to leverage customer personalisation in their marketing efforts?

Start with being clear on whether you are employing your personalisation strategy as a tactical lever or a pathway to customer centricity and ensure there is strategic alignment top down and bottom up.

Then I would consider your customers requirement for Personalisation as well as the capability you currently have across People, Process, Tech and Data & perhaps what gap you need to fill, to fulfil those requirements.

Last but not least, i’d remind organisations out there that Personalisation is a journey, not a destination and with the growing demands of Personalisation from data savvy customers, there’s never going to be a time when you’re done, so test, learn and enjoy the process.