As usual, we’re coming at you with yet another buzzword for 2019 and this time it’s ‘personalization.’
Personalization is nothing new to digital marketing in the automotive space. In fact, it was noted by technology market researcher Gartner in 2015 that companies that have “fully invested in all types of personalization” by 2018 will outsell companies that haven’t by 20%.
For most companies, 20% is the difference between make or break.
So, What is Personalization Anyway?
According to an article in Emarsys, “personalized marketing is the implementation of a strategy by which companies deliver individualized content to recipients through data collection, analysis, and the use of automation technology.”
Put simply, marketers leverage data and ever-advancing digital technologies to target potential customers with tailored advertising content specific to their individual needs or interests.
The article goes on to state that,
“personalized campaigns turn browsing customers into buying customers.”
Sounds great, right?
Personalizing your dealership’s marketing content by tailoring it to car buyers’ individual interests is an effective way to capture attention and keep your dealership top-of-mind. Not only does personalized marketing content keep potential buyers engaged with your site, it’s also proven to be far more powerful than generic content. Check out Contently’s data showing the effectiveness of personalized versus unpersonalized content here.
Personalized content improves the customer’s experience, increases brand loyalty, creates consistency, and ultimately plays a contributing role in increased vehicle sales.
Gather Data, Show Relevant Information….Get Called a Stalker?
We’ve all had an experience when talking to a friend over text or social media about a specific product or place only to find the next set of ads displaying similar services, products, or places. It’s eerie and, in an age of information leaks and privacy breaches, it’s understandable that people are hesitant to provide personal information. It’s also easy to have personalization cross the line into creepy territory.
In fact, customer experience intelligence firm, InMoment, did a study of more than 2,000 consumers and found that “75 percent…find most forms of personalization at least somewhat creepy”.
When it comes to personalization, there’s a fine line between just the right amount of creepy and too creepy.
But It’s Not All Bad News
Despite a large percentage of people finding targeted ads and personalization creepy, it’s not all bad news. According to Brennan Wilkie at InMoment. “Consumers…want to be included in decisions, they want transparency, and they want real value in exchange for sharing personal information or spending their money.”
Simply put, if your dealership is asking customers to provide you with personal information, you need to be providing them with something useful in return, such as tailored communication and the information customers want, in the right place at the right time.
How to Take Advantage of Personalization Without Being Creepy
As with many things in life, there’s always a sweet spot and personalization is no exception. You don’t want to alienate your customers with generic ads about your dealership, but you also don’t want to have pop ups showing them the vehicle they once searched for long after they’ve already purchased it.
So, What Can be Done?
Our development team is currently experimenting with website personalization to better track the specific vehicles customers are viewing, and pages they’ve visited, in order to display more relevant, personalized content.
For example, if a customer clicks on your service page, they’ll then be shown follow-up service content and a call-to-action button to book an appointment when they return to the website within a specific time period. If a car shopper is browsing through vehicles, the previous vehicle they looked at will be displayed to make it easier when researching multiple vehicles, as well as the inventory carousel with suggestions similar to the vehicles they’ve looked at. This helps potential buyers from having to open up multiple tabs on their desktop and navigate back and forth too much when comparing vehicles.
Stay Tuned for More
As the results of our ongoing tests unfold and new features are added, we’ll be sure to keep everyone updated. There is one thing we know for sure: personalized shopping experiences are what consumers want and Convertus is driven to help our dealers deliver.
If you’re curious about how to incorporate personalization in your dealership’s marketing strategy, reach out to our team of customer success wizards and let’s start the conversation.