You've certainly heard of the customer journey and are at least somewhat familiar with journey , right? More than understanding the journey and offering great experiences with each interaction, it's increasingly important to invest in personalization.
People want to have their needs met, and making the consumer feel exclusive and remembered by the brand is a major differentiating factor in whether or not your business is chosen.
How has your brand been delivering a customer experience? Let's talk more about journeys and personalization to help your business stand out even more!
Why is personalization crucial in the customer journey?
Personalizing the customer journey is key to offering increasingly personalized and differentiated experiences, increasing brand value with their audience.
Investing in the customer experience and personalizing them isn't just about calling them by name or remembering their birthday, for example, but rather having comprehensive strategies at every stage of the journey so that each customer feels remembered and important to the company.
According to the Next in Personalization 2021 report 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences , and 76% feel frustrated when they don't.
According to CX Trends Latam 2022, 90% of customers are willing to spend more on personalized experiences , and companies that personalize experiences generate 40% more revenue.
In other words, investing in experience and personalization is about investing in financial returns and brand benefits for the business, and this topic can no longer be left for later.
When we talk about personalization, we talk about several advantages, such as:
- Generates more qualified leads: By getting to know your customers or potential buyers, understanding their needs, and personalizing their journey, your company generates more qualified leads. Personalization generates greater engagement; after all, it directly addresses the customer's desires/needs, and their interest increases, increasing conversion rates.
- Increases conversion rates: People are willing to invest in companies that value the experience. Therefore, by creating unique offers and demonstrating your customer's value to the business, the chances of a purchase increase, and consequently, conversion rates increase.
- Increases word-of-mouth: Consumers are more likely to recommend products, services, and companies they like and value. By having positive experiences with a brand, it's natural that, in addition to customers, the company also gains organic ambassadors. This way, the business begins to reach other people spontaneously.
- Increases customer satisfaction: By valuing customers and placing them at the center of the business, they tend to feel seen and special. This results in increased satisfaction and loyalty to the company.
The 5 stages of the customer journey
Before we give you practical tips on how to offer personalized experiences at different stages of your customer's journey, let's review the 5 stages of this important cycle:
Knowledge
At this stage, the consumer understands that there is a need or problem to be solved. As a result, they seek solutions, products, and services and become aware of different brands and options.
Consideration
Already aware of the problem they need to solve, potential buyers seek more detailed information about possible solutions . This is the time to research features, prices, benefits, and brand reputation to evaluate the best options for their needs.
Decision and purchase
After analysis and comparisons, the customer decides on your product/service and brand to purchase. This can be done in a physical store, online, or through many other sales channels.
Use
After purchasing, the customer uses the product or service and forms their own opinion about the brand.
After-sales
Even after the sale is made by the company, the experience continues, and after-sales service is essential for satisfaction and loyalty. This is the time when the customer may have questions and need support regarding the solution.
Good service, support, and follow-up are essential to strengthening customer relationships and satisfaction, leading to brand loyalty.
How to offer personalization at every stage of the customer journey?
Now that we've covered each step, let's talk about them in practical terms. It's important to emphasize, once again, that personalizing the journey involves much more than simply calling someone by name or suggesting products based on previous purchases.
Personalization is about truly understanding consumer needs and behaviors to offer differentiated and relevant experiences at every stage.
We've put together some tips to help your business invest in personalization at every point in its interactions with its audience.
Knowledge
As we mentioned, the customer is still discovering their problem and thinking about how to solve it. Content is crucial here, offering relevant, informative content that answers your audience's questions.
At this point, it's crucial to create personalized content for different types of personas, focusing on the pain points and needs your products/solutions can solve. The focus here isn't on branding and sales, but rather on being useful and relevant to the audience at the right time.
Additionally, it's important to invest in targeted social media ads, offering solutions to the target audiences your business is targeting. Use relevant keywords, deliver quick and targeted content, and always focus on solving a problem before talking about selling.
Another point is to offer landing pages or customized website pages for different types of campaigns. There's no point in creating multiple targeted ads on your networks if they all lead to the same generic page about your solution. Create different pages that speak to your diverse audiences and use them to present your problem-solving approach in different ways, speaking to different people.
Remember that being found and being relevant is key here. It's about offering the right content at the right time. Therefore, content, optimization strategies, and relevance are key to the awareness phase.
Consideration
Customers are comparing different options, and you need to make it clear why your brand is the best choice. In this case, if it makes sense for your business model, it's a good idea to offer free demos or product trials. After all, there's nothing better for making a decision than actually knowing the solution before actually buying, right?
Content is also a great ally at this stage, and this is the time to talk about the product/solution. Invest in content that answers customers' questions and objections and positions your offering simply and directly.
At this point, it's also important to invest in data and behavior analysis to send personalized recommendations, targeted emails, social media messages, and other forms of communication that initiate relationships and guide the audience toward decision-making.
Additionally, use social proof as an ally, that is, provide success stories so that the customer can see how your company has already helped many other people and companies and also provide reviews and feedback from other customers .
More than simply posting this type of content on websites and social media, for example, it's important to invest in strategies like Google My Business . This way, when researching your company, customers can quickly learn what other customers are saying about their experience and gain insights into their decision-making.
Buy
During the purchase stage, it may be worthwhile to invest in personalized offers, exclusive discounts, and benefits so that the deal closes with your brand.
More than that, you need to make the process easier so the customer doesn't give up at that point. To do this, ensure information transparency, flexible payment options, and secure transactions. Make sure the customer purchases with just a few clicks and steps, and remember that the more difficult the process, the greater the chances of churn.
Another interesting strategy is retargeting, which involves investing in targeted and personalized ads aimed at audiences who have already interacted with the brand but have not completed their purchases.
Use
When the customer makes the purchase and moves on to the step of using your product/solution, it's important to position yourself as a support and ally so that the solution is a success in resolving their needs.
At this stage, it's a good idea to continue providing content with tips and tutorials for the best use of the product or service, in addition to always being available for personalized support that addresses the real needs of each client.
Depending on your niche, it may also make sense to create online communities so that customers can interact with each other and learn from each other about uses and ways to get the most out of the solution.
After-sales
Personalization at this stage plays a fundamental role in customer satisfaction and in determining whether or not they'll stick with the brand. At this stage, it's crucial to have teams prepared to maintain contact, understand the journey, and understand the timing so that solutions and new products can be offered that meet their needs, even before the customer searches for them from other companies.
It's also important to offer loyalty and rewards programs to ensure customers continue to value your company. Furthermore, invest in exclusive content and demonstrate that customers are important to your business.
Another crucial point at this stage of the journey is listening to the customer. That is, seek feedback to understand what was good or bad about the interaction and experience with the brand. Truly listen to the customer, make improvements when negative points are mentioned, and use this moment as a way to grow your business.
The role of technology in delivering a more personalized customer journey
As you've noticed, there are many actions and possibilities at each stage of the journey, and technology is a great ally for personalization at each stage:
- Data analysis: Technology enables the collection and analysis of customer data, which is crucial for better understanding behavior, preferences, brand history, and much more relevant information for personalization.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Increasingly present in business strategies, AI and machine learning can be used to create predictive models that predict what a customer is looking for or might like. This can include predicting future purchases, product recommendations, and personalizing offers and promotions.
- Chatbots and virtual assistants: Chatbots can be used to provide personalized, real-time customer support. Because they're a 24/7 solution, they're always available and can answer questions, make recommendations, complete transactions, and act as an important point of contact before human support.
- Marketing and process automation: With automation, you can use user information to create rules for sending personalized content. This makes communication faster, more engaging, and tailored to each audience.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management) : CRM platforms are essential for personalizing the customer experience, as they maintain a detailed record of all interactions with the public. This allows companies to provide more personalized and efficient service throughout the entire journey.
Conclusion
Investing in experience and personalization is key to reaching new audiences, building loyalty among those already familiar with your brand, and maintaining lasting customer relationships. Putting the customer at the center is essential to the company's results and goals, and this is a strategy that cannot be postponed.
Knowing your audience, mapping their journey, and understanding how your strategies can be adapted and personalized should be part of your business's agenda! Now that you know more about the topic, reflect on your scenario, use our tips, and strengthen your interactions with your customers.
How is personalization playing out in your brand's journey to your audience? Now that you know more about this topic, learn how we can help you further along this personalization journey !
