How to deliver a more personalized customer experience

Would you want to be referred to as a number or be called by your name, wished for on your birthday and anniversary? It would always be the latter.

Did you know that more than 54% of customers expect their interactions with brands to be personalized? In fact, more than 90% of customers are willing to spend more money with businesses that can provide them with the level of customization they desire.

These personalized customer experience statistics say that today's retail environment is challenging and competitive. With peer pressure from discounters, endless options to choose from, market disruption from online agents, and improved price transparency for shoppers, brands need to work hard to stick out.

Traditional retail differentiation strategies, such as distinctive selection or strategic pricing and promotions, are less effective now than they once were since rivals can readily imitate them. However, merchants can still differentiate themselves by using personalized strategies that allow them to design distinctive experiences specific to each customer.

What today's customers want is personalization. Providing a personalized customer experience is about treating customers individually and establishing a human connection. In an era where customers can purchase your goods and services practically anywhere, delivering a personalized customer experience becomes increasingly challenging.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all solution, here are some tips and best practices to create personalized customer experiences. Stay till the end to find out how Layerise can help brands improve their game!

Personalization is a mega trend in 2022

Before we discuss the benefits of personalization of customer experience, let's understand what the term entails.

Customers and businesses have a dynamic relationship. In an age dominated by technology, brands can reach customers via a variety of channels. Furthermore, customers today are very familiar with the brand and product. They understand the business and are aware of their options. According to a survey of 1,000 US adults conducted by Epsilon and GBH Insights, 80% of respondents seek customization from shops. Thus, there is a high need for tailored services in these circumstances.

Customers expect businesses to recognize their unique interests and preferences and serve them accordingly, rather than treating them as customer groups or prototypes. A personalized customer experience can be achieved by providing each individual with tailored messages, offers, items, and so on.

Therefore, providing individualized services that precisely meet the demands and preferences of the customer is referred to as a personalized customer experience. A personalized connection makes a customer more aware of your company. Customers are only satisfied when they receive responses that are specifically tailored to their concerns. As a result, every company should strive to provide tailored customer care experiences to their current and prospective customers.

Brands can also demonstrate their value to customers by using their preferred communication channels, allowing them to switch between them as needed, and connecting them with customer service representatives who have the specialized knowledge needed to respond to their inquiries or solve their problems.

According to a McKinsey & Company study, customers increasingly perceive personalization as the default norm of engagement. Customers now expect and want individualized experiences thanks to online pioneers like Amazon. 76% of customers express frustration when businesses fail to meet their expectations for individualized interactions, which are expected by more than 71% of customers.

The trend was accelerated by COVID-19, making customer loyalty more competitive. Over 75% of consumers during the pandemic shifted to a new brand, item, or purchasing strategy. As a result, companies that still need to adopt a tailored customer experience are under pressure, but there is an opportunity for those that do it well.

Personalization-centric businesses earn 40% more money from these endeavors than typical competitors. A personalized customer experience is often seen as a “hygiene factor,” and customers take it for granted. But if the business gets it wrong, customers may abandon the brand for a competitor.

Benefits of personalization of customer experience

Brands must be fully aware of the benefits of customization in order to create personalized experiences. In this section, we will look at some of the advantages that brands can gain by providing personalized interactions to their customers.

1. It allows brands to provide faster customer service.

Personalization allows businesses to keep track of consumer data. Customer service representatives can tailor their conversations based on valuable information about their customers, such as their preferences, areas of interest and concern, and so on. Businesses can use advanced analytics techniques to filter out customer options and tailor them to each customer.

This level of customization helps in the resolution of problems more quickly due to the agents' familiarity with the customers' methods and shorter response times. Customer service representatives can provide a consistent and personalized customer experience.

2. It improves customer loyalty.

A happy customer will always be more loyal to the brand. Because they previously enjoyed the services, the same person is more likely to make another purchase from your brand. Furthermore, they may promote and recommend your products to their friends and/or relatives.

Personalization allows your brand to reach a larger audience while also strengthening customer relationships.

3. It gives brands a competitive edge.

A company distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering clients customized services. Because of the massive market size, businesses that provide comparable goods and services face intense competition.

Every brand requires a distinguishing feature that differentiates it from the competition and distinguishes it as a superior service provider. Offering customers customized solutions gives your brand a competitive advantage. Personal chat, live agent calls, and email assistance are just a few examples of customer-centric techniques that can give businesses a competitive advantage.

4. It allows brands to fulfill customer expectations.

Offering clients tailored experiences is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Consumer needs and desires are rapidly expanding. In such a situation, it is critical for businesses to meet all of their customers' needs.

Customers, for example, expect a faultless web browsing or online purchasing experience. As a result, most brands prioritize providing services that align with customer preferences.

8 ways to personalize the customer experience

The customer experience can be tailored in a variety of ways, such as collecting consumer data and using it to deliver a more personalized experience or providing specialized solutions to meet unique demands. Here are some simple tips for providing a better customer experience:

1. Use your customers’ names.

You probably already know your current clients' names, so don't be afraid to use them. Collect basic information about new customers during the onboarding process. It allows customer service representatives to address customers by name over the phone, email, or live chat.

Names are not only simple to use, but also effective. The first step in developing a relationship is to learn someone's name. Furthermore, being addressed by your name rather than a generic placeholder like "client 12345" feels much more personal.

2. Generate customer profiles

One of the most important aspects of providing a personalized customer experience is understanding your audience. Your company's marketing division should have demographic information about your customers.

Following that, speak with your best customer service agents about the types of clients they frequently deal with on a daily basis. Combining these steps will allow you to create several profiles based on the needs, preferences, and expectations of your typical client base.

3. Ask customers what they want

Asking customers for feedback on how well your company is meeting their needs and where you can improve is the best way to show that you value them as individuals. Customer feedback and surveys are ideal for gathering this level of customer insight and data.

When you solicit consumer feedback, you have the opportunity to step back and listen to what they have to say. However, putting this feedback into action is critical for creating the most personalized customer experience.

4. Educating employees to be customer-facing

Customer service representatives must be educated on how to handle customer emotions in order to create personalized experiences. Nobody wants to feel as if they are being "processed." It is critical how representatives handle an irate or disgruntled customer. A customer does not want to deal with a robotic representative who is simply reading from a script.

5. Be friendly

Know your customers' names, and conduct your interactions as if you were speaking to a friend or family member. Brands should never ignore politeness or miss an opportunity to turn even the most difficult conversations into productive exchanges.

Humanizing the conversation makes it far easier to show customers that you care about them and their specific concerns; compassion and optimism are important when it comes to delighting customers.

6. Build personal connections with your customers

Businesses must build relationships with their customers. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about your customer than just their previous order history. This should include their hobbies and interests and preferences.

Your customer relationship will improve as you learn more about them. Loyal customers are also less likely to abandon your brand.

7. Give your best clients a special treatment

Thank your most valuable customers for being the best. You can reward your loyal customers with exclusive discounts or gifts. To demonstrate your concern for your most devoted customers, give them exclusive access to brand-new goods or services.

Offering incentives to clients is an excellent way to keep them satisfied and interested in your company. Let customers know you appreciate their business by recognizing their repeat purchases or lifetime loyalty to your brand.

8. Collect employee feedback

Service representatives are critical to providing personalized experiences since they are the contact center's eyes and ears. Since they interact with your customers daily, they will be the first to pick up on trends that can help you provide better customer service.

Therefore, encourage little improvements and provide your employees the outlet to share ideas and criticism.

A success story: Nike's approach towards personalization

Retailers across a wide range of industries have successfully used personalization at scale and have seen tremendous success. Let’s look at a success story!

Nike's is one of the world's largest manufacturers of sports footwear and athleisure apparel that has made personalization one of the main pillars of its strategy. Nike allows customers to personalize their clothing and footwear, taking personalization to a new level. The company recently launched a 3-D sneaker customization tool that allows customers to share real-time images of finished footwear.

Nike's physical stores are now offering personalized customer experiences as well. The NikePlus membership program, the company's personalized loyalty program, is the driving force behind Nike's flagship store in New York City's impressive omnichannel shopping experience. Members receive exclusive benefits such as access to the Nike Speed Shop, which offers a selection of "NYC favorites" that are data-driven and regionally designed.

By scanning their NikePlus member pass, members can also reserve items to be kept in pickup lockers and recover them later. Nike Shop the Look members can use QR-code scanning to determine whether their desired sizes and colors are available and to order delivery to a particular pickup point or changing area.

Members can check out using their stored-payment device without waiting in line at the cash register by using Instant Checkout. Additionally, members can access Nike Expert Studio, where they can schedule private, one-on-one consultations with Nike specialists. They may also schedule consultations with Nike by You, where they can view various silhouettes specially tailored to their needs.

How Layerise can help you personalize your customer experience

Layerise provides a unique solution that blends customer service and customer support to assist brands in improving their customer experience.

To personalize the buying experience, brands use Layerise to gather valuable customer data. Based on the customer information collected during the onboarding process, you can automate marketing campaigns depending on your target market's demographics and enhance conversions by creating customized periodical send-outs.

We can further help you by providing self-service support, educational and entertaining content, and real-time chat support to your consumers around the clock. To discover more about our solution, book a demo with us now!