INC Magazine: Customers Want Brands to Get Personal. Here Are 5 Ways to Start

We’ve come a long way since the early days of online marketing, when brands had to cross their fingers and guess at what consumers wanted. In fact, studies show that consumers don’t just want accurate personalization, they expect it. It’s become a part of a brand’s identity and differentiation—“We know you”, “you are a member of our community”, “we curate for you” rather than generic mass messaging. Modern consumers want brands to know them (in a good way) and feel let down when brands don’t deliver.

At the same time, consumers are more sensitive to “creepy” or irrelevant personalization—if a brand behaves in a way that feels invasive or misuses data, trust erodes. The brands that get personalization wrong risk backlash, while those that get it right build loyalty and generate ~40 percent more revenue.

It’s not just about using personalization tech in a cool, fun way. The stakes are high: if Crumbl is sending effective birthday messages, they’re edging out Mrs. Fields and…who knows? Maybe Pinkberry is next. And over time, as brands take in more data about their customers, the personalization gap will only grow larger, leaving those late to the game in the dust.

The reality is that customers that don’t receive “personalized” treatment from you will be effectively stolen by someone who will. But it’s all in the execution. When done right, personalization should feel like hospitality or a concierge. When done wrong, it feels like spam, or worse: surveillance. Here’s how to get it right:

Choose a type of personalization

Your first step should be to define your personalization purpose. After all, no tactic succeeds without a strategy behind it. Ask yourself: What do you plan to do? What value are you trying to build for your business and your customers?

This process also includes defining personalization tiers. Are you making universal or categorical recommendations, creating segments of users based on “x”, or making discrete, individualized offers and recommendations. These details matter. For example, eco cleaning brand Blueland focuses personalization on values, not demographics—surfacing sustainable refills and environmental impact stats that appeal to mission-driven buyers. They keep it simple but consistent.

Don’t take shortcuts

Resist the lure of third-party data and instead build a zero-party and first-party data strategy. That means creating a value exchange where customers willingly share personal data about themselves in exchange for better experiences. Big Fig Mattress does this using post-purchase surveys and review prompts to learn sleep preferences, pain points, and feeding back into ad copy and onsite messaging.

Ruthlessly create value

If you’re gaining lots of data from your customers but your entire brand experience—from search to e-commerce to email and beyond—doesn’t reflect that, you’re on the wrong track. Unify your entire brand ecosystem to use everything you’re learning. Make sure quiz data, purchase history, and engagement signals all connect to your marketing and onsite stack like filtered showerhead brand Jolie, which ensures customers see products and content relevant to their hair/skin goals—not just static upsells.

Tailor what each visitor sees, in real time, based on who they are and what they’ve done, like Glossier, which dynamically shows product bundles aligned with user history.

Ensure every touchpoint after first purchase feels like a continuation of the same conversation, like MUD\WTR, which personalizes email and SMS flows by “why” people buy (sleep, focus, energy), adjusting product education and upsells accordingly.

Get clairvoyant

At some point, you’ll understand your customers so well that you’ll be able to know what they want before they do. Use this knowledge for predictive and contextual personalization. Anticipate what users want before they ask—using behavior, purchase frequency, and intent signals. For example, HOP WTR uses predictive analytics to serve consumers replenishment campaigns right before they run out, improving reorder rates. Similarly, Our Place (maker of the Always Pan) uses browsing and cart history to personalize recipe content and cookware recommendations.

Always evolve

Online capabilities are always changing and getting better, which also means that brands need to measure, test, and iterate continuously. Treat personalization as an ongoing experiment, not a one-time setup. Take Nécessaire, which tests personalized email sequences with different hero products (e.g., Body vs Hair focus) and measures incremental revenue per segment.

Personalization on this level isn’t easy. The truth is that this is a deeply transactional strategy that, in order to succeed in a competitive market, must be carried out with emotional intelligence and empathy. Brands that ignore the emotional part will get outcompeted. Brands that ignore the technical and transactional parts will get outcompeted too. But those that find a balance will build a personal connection and earn customer loyalty that can’t be shaken.

Read the original at INC Magazine