In today’s fast moving digital environment and with ecommerce becoming more popular, shoppers now expect a faster, easier and more intuitive online experience. A recent report by Klarna (https://apo-opa.co/3QMpXmK) found that 57% of Gen Z and Millennials reported that they want an even more personalised shopping experience.

In a crowded digital economy with busy online markets, customer personalisation can help to make a big difference and help businesses stay more connected with their customers and help to stand out amongst their competitors.

Personalisation can be used to the advantage of small business owners as they have greater flexibility to understand their customers’ needs and provide a more personalised approach to their digital experiences. By listening to customers and learning from them, small business owners can position their business in a way that exceeds customer expectations while reflecting positively on the business and help drive future growth.

Learning how to use personalization is key because it can prevent audiences from seeing and receiving content that is irrelevant to them. It makes it so customers only see messages they can find useful, interesting or engaging, which is helpful for both shoppers and businesses. Personalization isn’t just a sales driver; it’s a customer experience enhancer.

While personalization can be as simple as using a reader's first name in an email, there are a variety of ways to personalize content for your audience. Here are some tips to help stay engaged with your customers through increased personalization.

1. Ask your customers directly

Engage with customers directly through feedback mechanisms, to help foster a sense of involvement and engagement with the business, as well as helping to ensure that their voices are heard. This could include, engaging with customers on social media channels, sharing feedback based on their comments and by including issues they said they care about in a blog article on how your business can provide solutions to issues they are raising.

2. Listen to your customers

The growth of your business is directly related to customer satisfaction. Listen to your customers and pay attention to the needs of your target market. Identify their problems and pain points. How can your offerings act as a solution? Is it possible to develop new products to help solve these problems? Engage by listening to customer feedback and keep an eye on customer behaviour changes and audience interests. Small businesses can use empathy to build relationships with their customers which can lead to heightened loyalty.

3. Personalize your content

Some ways to consider to personalize your content could include: greet the customer `by name in an email or on the home page of the website; show a list of suggested items that a customer might want to consider based on items they have purchased before; send email to customers sharing new updates to your business and your online presence; use email marketing to alert a customer when there is a special promotion or discount offer; use a personalized subject line in email communications; or remind a customer about an item they might have looked at but decided not to buy at that time. By using personalization, a business can effectively break through the noise in the inbox and connect directly with a reader, whether they are just getting to know your brand or is already a loyal customer. Personalized email marketing consists of a targeted, subject-specific message sent to a relevant segment of your audience list.

4. Thank your customers

It is important to thank your customers for their feedback and consequently show them how it is making an impact. One way to do so is to fold the sentiment into your marketing messages. For instance, saying “back by popular demand” can be a simple and effective way to communicate to customers that a business is listening and taking action. Small business owners can include gestures of thanks such as individual thank you notes which can help small business owners connect with their customers on a deeper level. Another way to say thank you is to share special offers and discounts for customers during holiday shopping periods, and other opportunities that seem natural for your business.

5. Look for inspiration

And finally, if you see a business that is great at connecting with its customers online, learn from them, draw inspiration and then find ways to incorporate these learnings into your own, authentic strategies. Identify where your target audience is spending their time, including on social media channels. You can get inspiration from seeing what your audience is doing online and what your competitors are doing well.

Our message to entrepreneurs is that a little bit of customer personalisation can take you far. By using personalization, you are effectively breaking through the noise in the inbox and connecting directly with your reader, whether they are just getting to know your brand or already a loyal customer. Think about what would help the customer and improve their experience. Then, design personalization strategies around those goals. Small businesses have the human touch that helps to connect us all.

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