Personalization has come a long way since first name tokens in an email – and more than ever, consumers want and expect brands to cater to their individual needs. In a report from Epsilon, 90% of respondents said personalization is desirable, and 80% said they were more inclined to do business with a company that delivered tailored experiences.
For in-app advertising, email campaigns, or any platform where your technology allows for customization, here are some personalization ideas and examples to spark inspiration for your next marketing campaign.
Your Year in Savings – Personalized Stats
A “year in review” strategy can be limited by the data you currently collect, but if you do have access to the right numbers, it’s a powerful way to reinforce just how much value the consumer gets out of their relationship with you.
Rather than offer a discount or reward, this email example from David’s Tea turns numbers into narratives. It prompts the reader to remember their first experience with the company, acknowledges their favorite blend, and provides personalized stats in a charming way.
This type of personalization is especially fantastic for loyalty programs. By calling special attention to their lifetime redemptions or savings, you can highlight the value of your loyalty program in a more relevant way.
From there, equate the numbers to tangible experiences like the “weight in chipmunks” example from David’s Tea. For instance, a fuel rewards program could showcase the amount a customer has saved on gas over the year by saying, “That’s enough savings for a road trip from LA to NYC!”
Personalized Tasks and Achievements
For loyalty programs with points-earning tasks, challenges, or achievements, send emails or app notifications that highlight tasks and badges still on their to-do list.
In this example from Trailhead, the company encourages participation while demonstrating their attentiveness to the customer’s journey within their app. It’s encouraging, upbeat, and highlights just how many points the customer stands to gain.
If your technology allows it, this may be an opportunity to sweeten the deal, too. As an extra incentive to entice participation from lapsed loyalty customers, try offering bonus points beyond the normal reward amounts.
Celebrate the Uncelebrated – Happy Half-Birthday!
Birthday and anniversary rewards are a well-known way to connect with customers and build some brand loyalty. And what’s not to love? Consumers love receiving freebies on their special day.
Unfortunately for your brand, that “happy birthday” promotion is competing with all the other birthday rewards that consumer received.
As a refreshing twist on the usual birthday perks, harness your collected birthday data to offer a “half-birthday” surprise. An unexpected reward can draw extra attention and goodwill to your brand – without the competition from other companies.
This example from Pie Five keeps it short and enticing, drawing the consumer in with the mention of a free pizza before explaining the reason for the surprise freebie.
Tailored Treats
What appeals to one consumer won’t appeal to someone else. While you can hedge your bets by highlighting top-selling products, it’s an educated guess. Personalizing your offered rewards based on past purchase data or consumer-set preferences is the next level.
For example, this email from Subway features a mouthwatering chocolate chip cookie, which will appeal to the vast majority of consumers. But what if the image was personalized based on each customer’s most-purchased cookie flavor?
Large brands like Starbucks and Chipotle are already leading the way with these personalized rewards and offerings. This level of customization requires access to the right information, but once you have the capability set up, there’s a world of potential. Especially as AI capabilities make it easier for brands to track and adapt to purchase decisions, your system could learn to avoid meat recommendations for vegetarians or dairy drinks for those who always order almond milk.
Weather-Based Offers
Sync your offers with the weather! This approach involves sending out promotions that align with the current weather conditions in a customer’s location, increasing the relevance and timeliness of your offers.
Ideally, these promotions truly are personalized to the consumer’s location. Dunkin Donuts’s email about the incoming snowstorm wouldn’t resonate with consumers in parts of the country that never see snow, but it would draw the attention of consumers on the East Coast expecting a storm to hit.
Geographic location available through most mobile devices can help some brands gather this information and send personalized offers to the brand’s loyalty app. Starbucks personalizes offers like this regularly using Microsoft Azure, which can give customers real-time suggestions based on weather and time.
Behavior-Based Rewards
Some consumers always order delivery while others always eat in. Some are part of a large family while others eat alone on their lunch break. These customer lifestyles and habits aren’t easily changed – so matching the offer you present to a customer’s existing behavior helps encourage them to do more of it…with you!
This email from Chipotle is a perfect behavior-based example that marketers can adapt to their own campaigns. After ordering delivery, the consumer is promised bonus points if they order delivery again.
To someone who prefers to order delivery anyway, it’s exciting. It caters to their lifestyle and an existing habit, so the consumer won’t feel as if they have to go out of their way to get the reward. The offer encourages a behavior they already have.
Starbucks takes this even further with more advanced behavior-based rewards, like offering bonus points to an infrequent customer just for stopping in more often. Power users, on the other hand, might receive different personalized offers based on the drinks or pastries they order most often.
Keep Your Marketing Strategy Ahead of the Curve
Instead of something that disrupts their day, personalization based on each consumer’s unique needs, habits, and preferences helps make every offer a high-value offer. And that high-value reward excites consumers and makes them eager to engage with your brand!
Personalization works so well because it’s all about understanding an audience’s existing habits and preferences, and then meeting them where they are.
With Mobivity's Connected Rewards, your brand can reach new audiences and engage your existing customer base using the same strategy – catering to the audience’s lifestyle.
We connect brands with the hundreds of millions of U.S. mobile gamers who download and play games monthly. After all, 56% of gamers are more likely to buy from a brand that features in their favorite game!
Want to see how easy it is to tap into this massive universe of gamers? Connect with a brand strategist to get started!