Raphael Thys
The way that we consume the internet is changing drastically.
The way we consume products and services, the devices we use to do so, and even our own preferences are constantly changing at an exponential rate.
Personalized experiences are becoming an important part of the customer journey in this fast-paced change.
Brands that successfully meet personalization demands will be handsomely rewarded with increased loyalty and greater revenue in the years ahead. Because the more consumers interact with a company in a more personalized way, the more likely they are to buy from that company again.
Therefore, personalization will be even more critical in the future as technology advances and people become increasingly reliant on digital services for their daily lives.
In this blog post, we will explore 9 personalization trends that could become more popular in 2022. Some may seem obvious, but others may surprise you.
Why Personalization Has Failed in the Past?
In the past, personalization failed because there was not enough data to support it. Additionally, it was difficult to track the customer journey, and there were time, resources, and technology constraints. However, with advances in technology and data collection, personalization is now possible and can be highly effective.
Personalization has failed in the past because there wasn’t enough data to support it. Marketers didn’t have access to the sophisticated data tools that are available today. They couldn’t track customer behavior or identify patterns. As a result, they couldn’t personalize messages or offers effectively.
Another reason why personalization has failed is that it was difficult to track the customer journey. In the past, there was no way to see how customers interact with your brand across different channels. This made it hard to create a seamless and personalized experience.
Finally, personalization has failed in the past because of constraints in time, resources, and technology. It was difficult to implement personalization effectively without these three things. However, advances in technology have made it possible to overcome these challenges.
With access to more data and better tools, personalization is now possible. Marketers can collect data about customer behavior and use it to create personalized messages that are relevant and effective. Additionally, they can track the customer journey across different channels and touchpoints to create a seamless experience. And with the right resources, they can implement personalization at scale.
Personalization is no longer a pipe dream. It’s a reality that can help you drive better results for your business.
An Expansion in the Number of Personalization Solutions
- The global personalization software market is expected to grow from $620 million in 2020 to $2.2 billion by the end of 2026.
- According to BusinessWire, analysts forecast the global artificial intelligence-based personalization market to grow at a CAGR of close to 13% during the period 2018-2022, according to their latest market research report.
- According to a report by IndustryARC, the recommendation engine market size is projected to reach $12.03 billion by 2025, up from $ 1.14 billion in 2018, with a CAGR of 32.39% during 2020 - 2025.
Although there are more statistics similar to those presented above, there is no need to include more of them. The main point is that the number of personalization tools and their usage is increasing year over year.
The need to improve customer experience and AI/ML's increasing trend are major driving forces in demand for personalization platforms. Moreover, organizations will try innovative ways of using these technologies with advanced analytics so they can create relevant marketing activities tailored specifically towards customers' needs - providing better anticipation than ever before.
9 Personalization Trends You Can't Ignore in 2022
Trend 1: Increase in 1-1 Experiences
Brands are started to take a "one on one" approach with customers.
In the past years, this was just something that marketers talked about in prophecy, but it is no longer just talk. Brands have gone beyond using customer names or showcasing complementary products to previously purchased items by going further than ever before when making true 1:1 experiences come to fruition.
As technology advances, brands will have a higher chance of building personal connections with their customers.
After just a few interactions, they are more likely to form deeper relationships that last longer than before as 1:1 personalization becomes more common rather than the exception for those in need or wanting something specific from you.
Trend 2: Personalized Mobile Customer Experiences
Until now, we all have focused on web personalization.
However, personalization is beyond the web. There are other touchpoints such as email and mobile.
Mobile notifications, SMS, and in-app mobile customer experiences are the next focus point.
According to research by Appinventiv
- the share of m-commerce in all e-commerce is around 73% by 2021
- 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile devices in the last 6 months.
However, four-thirds of customers say that mobile shopping apps don't understand their shopping behavior and don't personalize the customer experience.
With the advancements in mobile personalization technologies and the majority of consumers using their mobile devices for shopping, there will be an increasing trend in mobile customer experience personalization in 2022.
Trend 3: Image Recognition
One of the most popular trends in personalization right now is "image recognition capabilities," which allow companies to recognize specific colors and visual patterns within product images.
This technology could help drive richer, more personalized customer journeys by presenting shoppers with personal recommendations on what they might like based on their tastes and preferences.
This technology will make it easier for consumers to create their own look by searching for similar or matching products. The more granular recommendations are something that many people can appreciate.
There's increasing popularity for image recognition, and it will become more adopted in the near future.
Trend 4: AI-Powered Personalization
Companies have been leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide personalized customer experiences for years.
One widespread use case is showing product recommendations based on previous data, but there's so much potential in AI that we're just scratching the surface.
In 2022, more companies will scale their efforts to use artificial intelligence and machine learning for personalization. Furthermore, it is likely that organizations will find innovative ways of leveraging these technologies beyond the traditional use cases in order for customers have even greater control over how they engage with you online.
As the competitive landscape evolves, one of the most important things for any company is staying ahead and anticipating each customer segment's needs. This means not meeting expectations but instead getting a jump on what they need before it becomes an issue. This also indicates the increasing importance of predictive personalization.
Trend 5: Data Privacy and Cookieless Personalization
The upcoming years are sure to be a roller coaster ride for data privacy.
Recent research found that 48% of consumers appreciate the convenience of personalization so long as their data is secure.
As we see the changing landscape of data privacy, expect that there will be more maneuvering around this issue in coming years. In recent years, browser restrictions increased, and Apple has updated its Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature.
The digital world is evolving with the trend to give users more control over their data. As a result, companies might need to transition to a consent-based, opt-in approach to increase customer trust.
Therefore, it will be essential to make sure your customers have a great personalized experience while also maintaining their trust.
To ensure a good customer experience, it's important that you stay up-to-date with changing data privacy regulations.
Trend 6: Personalizing Longer Customer Journeys
Personalization is a key marketing tactic that has been used for years. It allows marketers to understand their customers and better target them with ads and messaging. However, personalization will begin to expand into longer customer journeys as technology becomes more advanced and data sets grow larger.
This means it will be possible for marketers to create personalized experiences throughout the entire path of a consumer's journey, rather than just at specific points such as when the customer first visits the website or makes an online purchase.
As marketers begin to shift their focus from short-term customer experiences to long-term ones, the effects will be seen almost immediately with increased engagement rates and stronger relationships between brands and consumers.
Trend 7: Increasing Importance of Customer Loyalty
In a world where customer loyalty is king, one bad experience can cost you business.
So it's no wonder that personalization will be key for companies vying to win back customers' trust and keep them coming back again and again.
Personalization will help companies win and maintain customer loyalty through empathy - helping close the "empathy gap" between brands and customers via better-serving customers' likes and dislikes.
The increase in focus on the digital customer experience will lead to more brands measuring loyalty as an important KPI for their business.
You should consider this when doing anything that involves personalization efforts, like measuring how satisfied customers are with you or what they think about your product/service.
To sum up, customer loyalty is becoming increasingly important to companies, especially with the growing number of competitors in every industry. While it can be difficult to maintain customer loyalty, personalization will be the key to keeping customers and increasing customer loyalty.
Trend 8: Omnichannel Personalization
According to Google, an average person switches between an average of three devices to complete a task. And they use over 10 channels to communicate with businesses.
Although consumers are using about 3 devices and more than ten channels, only a handful of brands are ready to deliver an optimized, personalized omnichannel customer experience. Recent research found that less than 1 in 4 businesses say they are investing successfully in omnichannel personalization.
We must admit that online and offline worlds are coming together in an effort to serve customers better.
The idea of personalization is not new, but the way companies interact with their customers has changed. With more than two-thirds of consumers saying they want personalized experiences, it's clear that businesses need to adapt or risk being left behind.
The future of customer experience is more connected and personalized than ever.
Technology has made it possible for organizations to connect user data across every possible touchpoint.
Mobile or web is no longer enough to connect with consumers; brands need a presence across many touchpoints so they can craft exceptional omnichannel experiences that will revolutionize the customer experience.
Trend 9: Anonymous Visitor Personalization
The next step in personalization evolution is anonymous visitor personalization. It's still early days for this type of technology, but it will be a major trend in 2022.
The importance of anonymous visitor personalization is that not everyone signs in to their account when visiting a website. In reality, only a small fraction of users sign in to their accounts.
On the other hand, brands know the importance of a personalized customer experience. At the same time, more than 65% of consumers say they want personalized experiences. Moreover, according to another research, brands who personalize their web experiences see a 19% uplift in sales on average.
Although there is an increase in average order value, companies should also keep in mind that there is a fine line between personalized experience and being creepy with the personal information you know about them - specifically for the anonymous visitor personalization.
Three Major Shifts Make Personalization More Individualized
The way we interact with the world is rapidly changing. With technology becoming more and more sophisticated, the line between our physical and digital lives is becoming blurred. Personalization is no longer just about tailoring content to an individual's interests - it's about creating a seamless, integrated experience that feels natural and personalized to each individual.
One of the major shifts that is making personalization more individualized is the digitization of physical spaces. With the advent of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), we are now able to blur the lines between the physical and digital world even further. By overlaying digital content on top of the physical world or creating entirely immersive digital experiences, we can create tailor-made experiences that are deeply personal for each individual.
Another shift that is making personalization more individualized is the move from treating people as numbers to treating them as people. In the past, personalization was often about segmenting people into groups and delivering content that was tailored to those groups. However, this approach often led to experiences that felt impersonal and cold.
Now, with the help of data and technology, we are able to treat each person as an individual. By understanding their unique needs, wants, and desires, we can create personalized experiences that are deeply meaningful and engaging.
Finally, the third major shift that is making personalization more individualized is the composability of products to reach different touchpoints. In the past, personalization was often about creating a one-size-fits-all experience that was delivered through a single channel. However, with the rise of multi-channel marketing and the omnichannel customer journey, we now have the ability to create personalized experiences that are tailored to each individual touchpoint.
By using data and technology to understand the customer's needs at each stage of their journey, we can create a seamless, cohesive experience that feels natural and personalized at every step.
How to Turn the Personalization Trends into Reality
As digital experiences become more and more personalized, customers have come to expect a certain level of individualization from the brands they interact with. In order to meet these expectations, businesses need to invest in customer data and analytics foundations, build up agile capabilities, protect and respect customer privacy, and get started with some quick wins.
Investing in customer data and analytics foundations will give businesses the ability to collect, cleanse, and unify data from various sources. This will provide a complete view of the customer journey, which is essential for personalization. Additionally, businesses need to be able to quickly process this data and create actionable insights in order to make real-time decisions. Building up agile capabilities will allow businesses to move quickly and efficiently to implement these decisions.
Protecting and respecting customer privacy is essential for maintaining trust. Businesses need to be transparent about how they are using customer data and give customers the option to opt in or opt out of personalization. They should also provide clear and concise explanations of why certain data is being collected and how it will be used. Finally, businesses need to have security measures in place to protect customer data from unauthorized access.
Getting started with some quick wins is a great way to get buy-in from stakeholders and show the value of personalization. Identifying low-hanging fruit, such as areas where there is already a wealth of data available or simple changes that can be made to the user interface, can help businesses get started on the path to personalization.
By following these steps, businesses can turn the personalization trends into reality and create experiences that delight their customers.
The Bottom Line
The trend towards personalization is not new, but it's becoming an increasingly important part of businesses.
As consumers demand more experience optimization from brands and digital data becomes easier to access than ever before, organizations need a solution that will meet these needs without compromising on quality or functionality.
Therefore, it's time to get personalized!
To move quickly in this fast-paced environment, brands need to have the right personalization tool that is easy to use and comprehensive.
We all understand that personalization is becoming more and more important in the digital marketing world. Still, it can be hard for companies of any size to know where to start when they are getting started with this new way of thinking about their customer base.
If you don't have the resources or expertise needed on your own team, that's no problem. Our experts are ready and waiting at all times. You can book a call with one of our personalization experts.