Many marketers (at least those who are well informed and follow trends) know about the importance of personalization. But while they know about it, the struggle to use it in an effective way can be very obvious.

In 2017, personalization in digital marketing has been seen as one of the most important trends to follow. Yet, many businesses have a really hard time of adapting to this kind of strategy. Why?

Talking one-to-one can be a very hard, time consuming work so many companies think it’s not worth the time, and money, to spend on this kind of communication. But looking it from a perspective of a customer, wouldn’t you like if someone talked to you on a personal, friendly level? I know I would!

Brands that interact with customers in this way build a much stronger relationship and it is very likely that customer will be back or engage your brand in some way in the future. Some way can be – digital way. By sharing a post, liking a picture etc, customers are willingly spreading word about your brand, and only because: you provided a good service and you talked with them personally.

This way, companies can gather a lot of valuable information about the customers and use them to further engage with them.

While it's proven that real-time marketing increases conversion rates by 26%, marketers still express challenges with personalization in the following areas:

• Messaging – Creating effective personalized content that strikes a chord with customers

• Retention – Using personalization attempts in a specific way to cultivate customer loyalty

• Efficiency – Improving customer response time and efficacy of digital marketing strategy

• Technology – Optimizing Big Data and managing it to positively impact customer behavior

• Results – Maximizing the ROI by effective interaction with customers that increases sales

Read about digital marketing personalization - here

While the advantages of personalization in digital marketing are very obvious there are many mistakes you can make along the way, so being careful is also very important.

• Taking a hasty approach: Businesses are often excited at the prospect of potential improvements which conversion rates can bring about. In this enthusiasm they try to tackle complex experiments which may lead to wastage of time and effort. It is advisable to master a simple A/B test and not lose focus from the testing plan. An example of this haste is the often-witnessed purchase of technology without planning. In most cases, businesses purchase optimization tools without adequate planning. Before purchase of a tool, an optimization plan should be in place. If you do not have adequate experience, you can seek the help of consultants. They will be able to help you on the testing plan and training which is needed to ensure success.

• Testing processes without iteration: Testing remains incomplete without iterative cycle of experiments. Each iteration can deliver improvements to an experience. By incorporating outcomes of the first test in the second and so on, you can expect continual improvement which will allow you to compound the ROI.

• Segmentation: Businesses often silo optimization to a single team without involving the organization in a broader sense. This results into segregation that increases the complexity of the tests. Internal roadblocks emerge which can impede progress. It is advisable to build cross-functional teams which spearhead optimization within the business, driving momentum.

• Inadequate understanding of data and analytics: Analytics and data may not play a role in simple testing but are crucial for personalization. Robust analytics and powerful tag management approach will provide you with the agility that you need for personalization. Data which is received from an agile analytics framework will lead to successful personalization.

Understanding the Importance of Personalization in Digital Marketing