Research
The push and pull of personalization
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Brands have been working to incorporate better personalization in their owned-channel communications (email, text/SMS, etc.) for decades now. The problem is, the ways they're doing it within existing platforms just isn't doing enough to meet consumer expectations.
New research report "Message Received: What consumers have to say about their owned-channel messaging preferences" shows that consumer expectations for better owned-channel messaging experiences are growing. They're frustrated with too many messages, and clamoring for better personalization in the number of communications they do want to receive.
Let's take a look at what research is revealing about modern consumer personalization preferences and how brands can meet them.
Epsilon research conducted in June 2024asked more than 500 consumers about the preferences for and perceptions of personalization within the owned-channel communications (email and text/SMS) they receive from brands. The findings revealed that consumers want better and more personalization—even more than they realize.
Over half of the survey respondents said they appreciate personalization in email and text/SMS communications from brands, with only 19% saying they do not. As well, 41% of respondents said they want to see product recommendations based on past purchases in the emails they receive from brands (this was the third most-desired factor in emails after discounts/deals and shipping notifications for respondents). But, only 36% perceive that to be personalization. This seems to raise the interesting notion that consumers want personalization in their owned-channel communications even more than they realize.
Our research also found that 71% of respondents said that excessive brand messaging for both email and text/SMS is their top gripe with the owned-channel communications they receive. This means that even though email is “free,” there is a cost—reputation, tuning out, opting out—if brands send too many. It’s important to prioritize quality over just quantity to meet consumer expectations.
This is all doubly important knowing that earlier Epsilon research on broader consumer preferences for personalization (across all channels) found that 60% of consumers choose to engage with marketing messages when they are "familiar with and like the brand," which was the most selected option over other responses around timing of the message or offering a new or relevant product. This means that brand reputation has a significant impact on how much consumers will engage with a message, so adapting to consumer preferences on personalization and frequency makes a difference.
Many cross-channel engagement solutions fall short of meeting consumers' expectations for more and better personalization. This gap often stems from the attempt to shoehorn personalization into existing technologies that were not originally designed with personalization in mind.
Traditional marketing platforms were primarily built to deliver generic, batch-and-blast messages. While these systems have evolved, their foundational architecture still lacks the flexibility and sophistication needed to provide truly personalized experiences that today's consumers expect.
The main issue is that these platforms typically rely on broad segmentation and basic targeting methods. This approach can lead to superficial personalization efforts, such as using a recipient's first name in an email or targeting based on basic demographic information. While these tactics are better than no personalization at all, they fall short of the deeper, more meaningful engagement that can be achieved through advanced 1:1 personalization.
Furthermore, the integration of personalization features into these legacy systems can be cumbersome and inefficient. Often, businesses end up with a patchwork of add-ons and plugins that do not communicate seamlessly with each other, leading to inconsistent and fragmented customer experiences. This disjointed approach not only hampers the effectiveness of personalization efforts but also creates additional challenges in managing and analyzing customer data.
To truly meet consumer demands, businesses need to invest in cross-channel engagement platforms specifically designed with identity at their core. This enables the kind of 1:1 personalization consumers expect.
We can't personalize messages without knowing the people to whom we're speaking. For this reason, a cross-channel engagement solution with person-first identity at its core is best suited to delivering the kinds of brand-customer engagements that people expect today.
What is person-first identity? It allows brands to recognize individuals between their various accounts and device IDs. These days, most consumers have multiple email addresses and devices, so creating an individual customer ID that recognizes that johnsmith2@email.com is also smithj@message.com ensures that brands a) don't over-message someone, and b) can create seamless, consistent conversations with consumers across all their many accounts and devices. One voice, wherever the customer is.
Plus, the right provider, with person-based identity resolution, can resolve online signals from your customers–in addition to accounts and device IDs. This can help brands better understand who specifically is actually doing what on their owned channels, so they can react accordingly, and message users they know but that just aren't authenticated on their site in that moment.
Brands can build strong relationships with consumers the same way people do with each other: by engaging each of them with a relevant conversation that flows naturally across channels and over time.
It’s time to prioritize better personalization and get innovative with your owned-channel communications. To meet consumer expectations and continue to strengthen your brand-customer relationships, the best thing brands can do is partner with a cross-channel engagement solution with person-first identity built into the foundation.
Epsilon Messaging uses features like person-first identity and machine learning to drive optimal brand-customer relationships—all within an easy, no-code interface. In Forrester’s Email Marketing Landscape report, Q1 2024, Epsilon was recognized among notable vendors and self-reported these extended use cases as the top three that our clients choose us for:
Epsilon Messaging resolves identities, enriches customer profiles and offers technology to drive powerful marketing communications. Epsilon delivers one comprehensive view of the customer, a singular vision for whom to engage and what to spend, and a consistent voice to create relevant customer experiences. Because at the end of the day, this is what consumers are asking for.
Andrea Marvel is currently a Lead Creative Strategist at Epsilon. She has extensive experience in copywriting, integrated marketing, and creative direction. Andrea has been with Epsilon for over 6 years.
