There is a lot of data out there telling us that consumers expect personalized experiences. For example, Infosys found that 74% of customers feel frustrated when website content is not personalized. According to Forrester, 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provides a personalized service or experience. With all this information about how consumers feel about personalization, how do marketers feel about it?
That’s what we set out to uncover in our annual personalization survey. This week we launched our findings in our report, “2017 Trends in Personalization,” produced in conjunction with Researchscape International, which examines marketers’ attitudes, usage, results and future plans relating to personalization. The report is and based on a survey of 206 B2B and B2C marketers from organizations of different sizes and industries. Check out some of the key findings in the infographic below.
The survey uncovered that personalization is viewed very favorably among marketers, with 96% agreeing that personalization advances customer relationships and 88% believing that their prospects or customers expect a personalized experience.
However, only 30% are very or extremely satisfied with the level of personalization in their marketing efforts. While this percentage is low, it represents a significant improvement from last year’s 18%. Interestingly, B2C respondents were more likely to be satisfied with their efforts than B2B marketers – 53% of B2C marketers were very or extremely satisfied compared with only 21% of B2B marketers. Despite their low satisfaction, 88% of marketers report a measurable lift in results from personalization for their businesses, with 10% reporting a lift of over 30%. And 46% of marketers state that they will increase their budget for personalization next year, showing their confidence that it will be even more beneficial for their businesses.
The findings from this year’s survey indicate that marketers believe that personalization is a valuable strategy, and although they continue to struggle with execution, their level of confidence in implementing personalization campaigns is on the rise. There is room for improvement in implementing cross-channel personalization strategies, leveraging machine-learning algorithms, and relying on deeper data for targeting.
To learn more, download the report.
