According to McKinsey and Co. 71 percent of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions.
And 76 percent get frustrated when this doesn’t happen.
Over the years, personalization has grown in popularity in almost every industry – helping improve your overall product or service, gaining a deeper connection with customers and driving retention.
Yet although many businesses practice it, the challenge arises when you don’t enough data to set yourself apart from all the other companies leveraging personalization.
In this blog, we’re taking a look at how you can differentiate yourself using preference data and how using it in conjunction with technology, can help streamline the process.
What is Preference Data?
Preference data is insight received directly from the customer. By informing businesses of the customer’s likes and dislikes, they can extract information like target demographics, spending intent, favoured employees, services/product preferred, and much more.
Preference data is exceptionally valuable. Not only does it help cater to your customers to improve satisfaction but it also provides visibility into product/service improvements and strengths. All aspects of delivering a more personalized experience.
Extracting Preference Data Using Loop Experience Platform
As McKinsey & Co. so eloquently stated “personalization today, isn’t just a way to stand out, but a way to survive”. Using the combination of Loop Feedback and Loop Messaging, you can extract granular preference data and execute on it simultaneously.
In this section, we’re looking at the multiple ways you can leverage the Loop Platform to take a more personal approach to customer experience.
Customizable Surveys
Surveys are the cornerstone of personalizing the experience. They provide detailed insight into customer preferences and can be tailored to suit your unique needs.
However, in order to get the most insight, it’s important to develop a survey that’s on-brand and speaks to your audience.
In that, the Loop Experience Platform offers flexibility. Providing you with the freedom to customize key aspects like question type, design, verbiage and so on, you can derive the most insight from your customers.
Real-Time Analysis
Acquiring data, in general, is a challenging task. But analyzing it and extracting key information, manually, is even more challenging.
The analysis is key to getting high-level preference data but also understanding the motivations and nuances behind specific answers. Using analysis you can understand trends over time, predict future actions, and know-how to interact effectively with your customers moving forward.
With Loop, customer conversations and survey responses are analyzed in real-time. Populated on your customized dashboards, you get insight into behaviours, trends, operational constraints, efficiencies and more. Using Loop you can start tailoring the experience, the moment the customer reaches out.
Data Management
A common barrier for many personalization efforts is data management. This is especially true if you’re manually surveying customers or asking questions/feedback verbally. Here, data often gets misplaced, is reported inaccurately or is simply difficult to interpret.
Using the Loop Platform you can manage data under a single pane of glass, to better understand preferences. What does that look like? With Loop, you can create and store detailed guest records, including product preferences, previous sentiment, etc., and organize them in individual guest profiles within your PMS or CRM.
Managers or staff can further create personalized notes that other employees can reference to adjust the guest experience accordingly. If your guest mentions that they enjoy a specific brand of water, record it in conversation, and watch their surprise when another employee offers it on their next visit.
Contact Segmentation
Contact segmentation is a great way to ensure the right message gets to the most relevant person. In this way, you create a more personal feel for a number of people without the massive uplift.
As an example within the Loop Experience Platform, contact segmentation is a means of grouping contacts together by common attributes to define a specific audience. This could be “Attended Conference A” or “Visited Location B”. Using these details, you can schedule broadcast messages and surveys that are relevant to that specific audience. Thank them for visiting you or reference a product or service, however you choose to address your specific audience, the more personal the better.
Internal Tagging
Rather than searching for team members on-site or sending an email that might not provide the right context, Loop offers the ability to collaborate effortlessly. This is key for personalization if a specific employee regularly deals with a recurring customer.
Using the Loop Inbox’s internal tagging feature, you can tag relevant employees in customer conversations to resolve issues quickly and fulfill requests. As an example; Let’s say a regular at your restaurant writes in to request a reservation. You can immediately start an internal thread, not visible to the customer, and ask their usual server if there are any drink or menu items they prefer. This ensures that the experience remains consistent regardless of who is serving them.
The Benefits of Personalizing the Experience
As we alluded to at the beginning of this article, there are a number of benefits that arise from personalizing the experience. Here we dive into a select few compelling points.
Building Rapport With Customers
Nobody wants to feel like they’re just a number. Using personalization humanizes the experience and shows value to the customer’s preferences. Not to mention, you improve satisfaction, because the customer’s needs are being met.
Something as simple as referencing their name or offering a free bottle of their favourite beverage can go a long way in improving satisfaction and building a meaningful connection.
Word of Mouth Marketing
A personalized experience leads to greater satisfaction, and happy customers love talking about their experience.
Word of mouth marketing is one of the most powerful ways of generating new clientele because the recommendation comes from an actual person, and usually, someone trusted. This helps you acquire new customers and improves your reputation.
More Informed Employees
An informed employee makes a confident employee.
Providing them with knowledge about the customer and their likes/dislikes, empowers them to make confident recommendations, offer key insight and simply have a productive conversation. As you start gathering more insight into customer behaviour, you’ll notice that knowledgeable employees will feel empowered to enhance the experience.
Drive Retention
While many businesses focus on customer acquisition for generating revenue, it’s actually your current customers who hold the power. In fact, 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers.
With personalization, you can address current customer needs and reward them in a way that resonates. Using preference data like favourite locations, employees, services, products, etc. you can offer things in line with their wants and speak to them in a way that is friendly, personable and engaging.
A customer is less likely to leave when they have a personal connection with both you and the brand.
Personalization is key to driving a successful business. Helping to attract new customers, empower employees and engage current customers, it lays the foundation for an enriching experience.
