23 Nov Just how personal, is your personalised marketing… really?
This morning I opened my inbox to be greeted by Cortana. Her daily brief reminded me that today was the day to source the statistics to finish this article. As for the rest of my day, as a tech marketer, automation is going to save me between 10 and 50% on costs previously racked up by manual tasks – like sending out direct campaign emails, dealing with collateral requests, collating reports, or refining Google Ads.
Automation is everywhere in everyday life. It is the customer services ‘rep’ you speak with on social media. It is product support, integrated into your CRM. Automation is in your email inbox, it’s on LinkedIn, it suggests social replies, even attempting to predict our amusement.
In the world of marketing, automation changed the game. Emails are now addressed using the recipient’s first name and can include more information about their position or company. Email sequences can adapt on the fly according to which content the reader has engaged with.
Now automation is so ingrained in our everyday lives, it’s far easier for us to spot ‘personalised marketing’ that is driven through digital automation. We don’t have to see a “Hi [first name]” to immediately feel that that personal email, is anything but. The lack of personalisation in the rest of the message gives the game away for us.
The best case scenario? A less impactful message.
The worst? Alienation.
True Engagement Doesn’t Look Like This. And it Sure Doesn’t Feel Like This.
People want to feel valued, understood, known. Whether B2C or B2B.
What they don’t want, is to feel cheated (no matter how inconsequential it may ultimately be).
When you’re talking about high-value prospects – the primary gatekeepers to a multi-year contract, the decision makers of £1,000,000+ purchases, it pays to get personal, in-person.
The Incognate Three Step Approach
True engagement is deeply personal. It demands that you engage at senior level – using different mediums to build up an understanding of your prospects. It means honing in on the individual, and their organisation, in detail, backed up by research, facts and information.
Given that you’re here, reading this, you’re our target market. Here’s how we work to market to you (and if you also target high-level B2B buyers, it’s also an idea of how we might approach your campaign).
First, We Start With In-Depth Research
We visit their website, read news reports and take in industry sector information. We talk to receptionists, secretaries, PAs to qualify the account and confirm that they’re the right prospect for us (and that we could be the right provider for them).
This high-level information hands us an overview of how the account might be structured. We then create an organisation tree and begin to get a feel for the performance issues they might be facing.
While all of the above is just general information, we still need to know that it’s correct (if it’s not, we run the risk of immediately irritating our prospect). So we clarify – we confirm with the Sales & Marketing Administrator, Marketing and Sales Execs.
Next, We Strengthen What We Know
We pick up the phone and speak with key people identified as influencers or involved in the decision making process to confirm and strengthen everything gathered at the information stage. We come to understand more of the situation in the sales department, and then we move on to researching competitive threats, and asking about key influencers and decision makers.
Finally, We Make the Approach
We know them, inside out. We’ve confirmed our insight is right. Now is the time to tell that key decision maker exactly how we can improve their sales lead generation performance.
Now check your LinkedIn inbox again. How would our approach fare when pitted against those pitching for your business?
Are marketers proving their mettle when it comes to knowing you in a meaningful way? More to the point, are you, when you contact your own prospects? If not, it might be time we talked. Whether you need to engage more new business or would like to develop large enterprise accounts, we can help.
Speak with Helen Fox – our Customer Success Manager, on 01844 211 690 to find out how we can support your business. Or send our team a message, and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
