Human beings have always shared a penchant for the idiosyncratic. The appeal of the exclusive and tailor-made is one that has always captivated our minds. The 21st century can be aptly dubbed as the era of customisation; wherein countless companies are busy trying to supersede one another in terms of capturing the attention of customers.
This is being done through their gamut of customised products and services that seek to satiate the customer’s appetite for enhanced satisfaction tailored to his every need at the moment.
One size doesn’t fit all
The old adage, ‘one size fits all’ no longer seems to fit the bill as the advancements in both production technologies along with the evolving individual perception has given way to the rise of the custom-made. Companies across Asia that were primarily a transaction-driven hub, are now redefining the way business is conducted and dealt with.
There is no longer a lineage to a transaction alone. It’s personalised scalable options that are the new norm and is being largely driven by the customer’s need for instant gratification. Such specialised and custom-defined solutions for their clients to target their niche audience is scaling up exponentially than ever before.
These companies are re-engineering their operations and technology that drives these operations so as to achieve the following business objectives for their clientele who are not limited to the same span of geography that they operate from:
- Cost savings – operations
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Increased productivity – basis the technology support rendered
- Shortened time gap – between need and fulfilment
Also Read: 4 stage personalisation at scale and how to leverage technology for a harmonious sales cycle
Need for optimised solutions
It is becoming increasingly essential for companies, irrespective of their segment to provide personalised content, experiences, and recommendations to be successful in the contemporary business world. For that, brands must optimise data-centric stratagems and know-how to get inside the minds of their customer prospects and deliver services that are relevant to what they yearn most.
Personalised services based on the in-depth scrutiny of customer needs and preferences remain key for companies to excel in their fields. Such services permit companies to plunge deep into the various predilections harboured by the customer segments so as to offer them precisely targeted messages, services, or products.
Effects on businesses
As per the research conducted by Ascend USA, of all the companies that insist on delivering data-driven personalised services to their customers, 64 per cent complied with enhancing customer experience as the principal objective of their strategy.
Moreover, as 44 per cent concentrated on amplifying customer engagement, 43 per cent were dedicated to increasing one’s conversion rates, while 26 per cent sought to improve product offerings and prices.
Also Read: Personalisation is the key to connect with customers
The aforementioned objectives fixed by these personalised customer-centric companies are party to their own set of hurdles as over 44 per cent of them faced significant obstacles in their bid to enhance the customer experience. Almost 42 per cent confessed that increasing customer engagement was a major challenge, whereas 41 per cent swore that improving the quality of the utilised data seemed a major test.
The rise of digital pathways has ensured that vast surfeits of novel data-types are being used to create profound experiences for the customers.
Website activity, as revealed by over 55 per cent marketing influencers happens to be the most vital form of marketing data that is employed for rendering personalised services followed by a transactional activity which was regarded by 47 per cent marketers as the second-most essential data-type, according to Ascend.
Another research by Epilson confirmed the various customer sentiments across different industries regarding personalized consumer experience. For example, over 90 per cent of the respondents stated they prefer buying things from grocery/drug store websites/apps that offered personalized experiences in contrast to the fact that only 715 of these online facilities provided personalized buyer services.
Offering personalised and tailor-made services and products goes a long way in cementing a solid brand loyalty with customers. There are numerous studies that are indicative of the fact that more than 44 per cent customers would transition to a company’s product/service if it held the promise of extending personalised services.
This is highly instrumental towards increasing consumer-appreciation, customer-repetition, the overall sales, and the resultant market goodwill which directly leads to a greater service or product valuation of the brand.
Benefits that are harvested
Companies that are devoted to extending immersive and personalised customer experiences manage to simultaneously gather the advantages of personalised consumer communication as well as witnessing improved customer engagement. This is akin to shooting two birds with a single arrow and something towards which contemporary businesses greatly aspire.
Also Read: Customer is not always the king, says Tokopedia’s customer engagement expert
The emergence of new advanced cutting-edge technologies in AI and Machine Language has made the task of gauging customer preference somewhat simpler. Through the combination of state of the art analytics and data sciences, companies are able to comprehend the various fluctuations and shifts in customer-consciousness.
The rise of an informed and well-acquainted customer who is aware of his various wants and requirements has catalysed the dawn of various tech-driven companies that exclusively dabble in extending only those sets of services that are in perfect confluence with the dynamic and tailored needs of the consumer.
As companies seek to offer the chosen portfolio of prescribed and personalised service experiences to their clientele, they need to be careful and steer clear of advancing consumer tedium through product monotony and service redundancy. By utilising the latest advancements in technology and innovation, the companies should focus all their operational might in presenting only that which the customer craves.
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