Segmentation + Personalisation = Success

We have all experienced the irritation and distraction caused by advert pop-ups on various websites. Whenever I come across these pesky flashing boxes I wonder just how effective they really are. Help is at hand however, as it seems that a growing number of businesses are taking a far more intimate approach to online advertising, and moving away from a generic bombardment of users.

A study carried out by Alterion, a global marketing company, asked a group of marketing professionals about their advertising strategies. Almost three quarters of respondents revealed their enthusiasm for personalised campaigns, with 72.2% having created a more individually focused customer e-mail.

In addition to the e-mail campaigns, other methods included direct mail, social media and website based advertising, with between 53-59% of those surveyed claiming to have engaged in one or more of these strategies. Only 9% did not implement any form of personalised ad campaign, a figure indicative of the increasingly dominating trend towards custom made advertising.

When quizzed on their e-mail programmes, respondents of the survey admitted the use of various techniques in their attempts to reach and engage with customers on a personal level. Whilst over 40% had segmented their demographic and targeted different categories with the most relevant calls to action, only 13% had gone that step further and created e-mails based on individual customer preferences, less than the 18.4% who continue to send out a generic template en masse.

The concern of customer alienation through impersonal targeting is becoming a growing aspect of online advertising, from display ads to paid search advertisements. In order to attract that all-important customer engagement, a more friendly approach must be embraced. The sphere of e-commerce has bred a culture of generality, in which the individual shopper is lost amongst the masses. In order to retain that customers attention, it is necessary to address them on personal terms.