By now we have all heard the importance of personalization and how companies can cater their marketing efforts to the individual requirements of their customers. The latest trend however, seems to be focused around hyper-personalization.

But what is the difference between hyper-personalization and just plain ol’ regular personalization?

What is Hyper-Personalization?

Well for starters hyper-personalization is defined as:

The use of data to provide more personalized and targeted products, services, and content.

Before the rise of technology and social media, companies used tailored messages based on customer profile data and other traits gathered from third-party list providers. However, the fast expansion of social and new digital channels has opened up chances to gather even more relevant customer data, allowing companies to offer a more personalized approach.

Companies are paying more attention to customer profiles and interactions as they begin to chart out ideal buyer personas for future engagement. This allows marketing teams to send out the right message at the right time to the right person, which leads to better and higher conversions.

So how can companies utilize the power of hyper-personalization?

How to leverage Hyper-Personalization?

There are three broad areas that companies need to focus on to leverage hyper-personalization:

1. Social Listening

You can begin your path to hyper personalization by actively listening to and understanding your audience.

Focus on defining your customers, their likes / dislikes, and most importantly their issues and challenges. By understanding these intricate details about your audience, you can get an in-depth look at the pain points in a customer’s purchasing cycle, and also the factors that affect their buying decisions.

Start paying attention to discussions happening in your industry, among competitors, and about your products. Understand the context of each conversation and join in when appropriate. Avoid promoting your products; instead, focus on earning your customers’ trust. Brands can also connect with key influencers and thought leaders to boost engagement.

2. Data Analysis

A natural progression from listening to your audience is capturing the data around it. From profile information to social interactions, companies can collect vast amounts of data to create and enhance the quality of information on their customers and leads.

While there is some debate as to which is better: collecting data on an individual-level vs. collecting data by segment, capturing insights from data is an integral step in the hyper-personalization process. For example, if a customer searches for flights to a particular location, then travel agencies could use this info to target that customer with relevant travel packages.

3. Content and Context

Once you have listened to your audience and grouped them into the right customer segments, you can begin to create personalized content, deliver it in a targeted way, and help drive engagement. This allows you to nurture high quality leads.

Sharing personalized content in the context of a customer’s needs and location increases the relevancy of the message. Companies should focus on driving socially engaging content and deliver it across different devices so that it can translate into positive experiences for the customer.

Hyper-personalization is all about maximizing opportunities to customize content that fits your customers’ needs. Companies should use these opportunities to consistently target the right audience throughout the customer lifecycle. Creating meaningful connections and driving engagement among your audience allows for more leads and better conversions.

This was cross-posted on IntegrateBusiness.

Read more: Personalized Content For More Effective Content Marketing