Goodbye “Spray and Pray” and Hello 1-1 Experience

Nobody likes to receive marketing messages that are obvious “spray and pray” campaigns sent to a mass audience with non-personalized content that provides zero reason for you to engage with the sender.

Just as we all hate to receive these messages, good marketers hate sending “spray and pray” campaigns. Marketers would much rather create a 1-1 experience than send generic messages to broad audiences. 

At the center of delivering a 1-1 experience are data and personalization.

Consider a new study released by the research firm Ascend2 that surveyed 364 marketing professionals on personalization in digital marketing. Here are three key findings from that study that reveal the importance of personalization and delivering a 1-1 experience.  

Finding #1: The Positive Impact of Personalization on Campaign Performance

Do marketers see a notable improvement in overall campaign performance when personalization is used? 95% of those surveyed say yes, personalization significantly improves campaign performance. Marketers recognize the importance of delivering a personalized experience as a “must-have” to engage customers and improve performance.

Finding #2: Benefits of Personalization

Nearly half (49%) of marketing professionals surveyed report that increased customer retention is one of the top benefits realized from a successful personalization strategy. Other meaningful results from effective personalization include improved customer experience and increased engagement.

Finding #3: What is Critical to Achieving Success?

Personalization, when strategically implemented and executed, can build trust and loyalty with your audience. But what is crucial to effective execution? Marketers report that creating and delivering relevant content is the most critical element needed to execute an effective personalization strategy.

So, what is keeping marketers from delivering a 1-1 experience? 

The State of MarTech report asked 187 marketing professionals about marketing technology, data, and delivering 1-1 experiences. It turns out, marketers aren’t thrilled with the way their tools and technology are working to support their personalization strategy. 

When asked to rank how well current marketing tools enable them to do the following, the average score was a failing grade of six. 

Source: The State of Martech. Conducted by Ascend2.  Published August 2021. N = 187 U.S. marketing professionals

Use Technology to Deliver a 1-1 Experience

What is the secret to having technology help you deliver the 1-1 experience that your customers demand?  

One crucial factor is to have your data, marketing operations, and sales operations consolidated so that you can produce a single-source view of each customer. With a single-source view of each customer, you will be able to deliver a targeted and personalized message as compared to a general message.  

Smart email and CRM marketing automation tools allow you to put an end to boring, mass email blasts and save time on your personalization strategy. Use an all-in-one solution to unify data and create personalized experiences for:

• Email
• Ads
• Forms
• Landing pages
• Social media
• Automation workflows

Without unified data and process, you will always be swimming upstream when it comes to targeted campaigns and personalization. 

Ascend2 research found that 83% of marketing professionals agree that consolidating their marketing and sales tools would increase productivity and efficiency.  

Agree or Disagree: Consolidating tools in our marketing and sales tech stacks would increase productivity and efficiency.

Source: The State of Martech. Conducted by Ascend2.  Published August 2021. N = 187 U.S. marketing professionals. Download the report and clip this chart.

Running with a lean technology stack can reduce data silos and enable better end-to-end visibility of prospects and customers and as a result, you can deliver a 1-1 experience. Learn more.