Increase engagement by personalizing the customer experience

Faced with changing consumer expectations and the multiplication of channels, retailers have no choice but to move towards personalizing the customer experience in order to emerge and remain competitive.

Personalizing the customer experience has become the key factor for companies to succeed and stand out from the crowd. As technology advances, consumers expect a personal relationship with their favorite brands. In fact, according to a Fevad study, 85% of consumers expect a personalized experience, while only 10% of companies believe they offer this kind of experience.

To satisfy this growing customer demand, companies need to embrace new trends in personalized customer experiences. They also need to understand how to use them to develop stronger relationships with their audiences.

Changing consumer expectations

Over the years, with the arrival of new technologies, the advent of digital and the rise of e-commerce, consumer expectations have changed. Mass marketing is now a thing of the past, to be replaced by the personalization of the customer experience. These new uses are changing paradigms, changing needs, desires and expectations.

In parallel with these changes, the multiplication of channels available to customers has taken hold, with, in particular, the promise of omnichannelity. The challenge is not to multiply contact points, but to engage the customer in a single, seamless conversation, whatever the channels used.

While many e-commerce companies compete on price and product range, customers are increasingly demanding when it comes to digital experiences. They expect a perfect, frictionless experience. When we bear in mind that 80% of consumers are more inclined to finalize an online purchase with brands and/or chains offering a personalized experience, according to a McKinsey study, we can conclude that it is indeed the consumer experience that will make the difference. So, to offer a truly tailor-made experience, it’s essential to personalize the customer experience, through the personalization of products and content.

To meet these strong desires, advertisers can use solutions such as real-time personalization via predictive personalization using collected first-party data, or personalization based on behavioral data. A wide range, diverse proposals with a single goal: individualizing and personalizing the customer experience to maximize conversion.

Personalizing the customer experience, a real business lever

Retailers are becoming increasingly aware of the power of personalizing the customer experience. Indeed, the intelligent personalization of a website, adapted to the needs of each shopper and each purchasing habit, will become essential to improving conversion rates and building customer loyalty. This is all the more true when you consider that 95% of purchases will be made online by 2040.

Personalizing the customer experience is therefore at the heart of all marketing strategies for French retailers, but also for players such as Amazon, Netflix and even Starbucks. It’s a major challenge to emerge tomorrow, a current trend that will be the gauge of successful conversion to purchase? The next few months will tell, but there’s no doubt that if all the giants and not-so-giants are getting involved, it’s because the trend is becoming a major news story.

The competition is fierce, the players are numerous, and everyone’s value proposition needs to be adapted and personalized to attract digital shoppers today and even more so tomorrow. So, is increasing engagement through the personalization of the customer experience a trend or an absolute necessity? It’s the second option that wins out if you want to emerge and remain competitive in your business.

The personalization of the customer experience is indeed a business performance issue, and it’s now up to the brand to demonstrate its loyalty to its customers. How can they do this? By constantly and rapidly adapting to users’ demands, and offering them experiences that will appeal to them.