By now, all marketers should know that personalization is an imperative, not an option. Research shows that 88% of marketers believe that their prospects expect a personalized experience, but just 31% think they are actually getting personalization right.
So, what is causing this disconnect?
In a recent webcast, Elle Woulfe, VP of Marketing at PathFactory, shared three reasons why personalization efforts are falling short for B2B marketers and offered some insights into how to fix it:
1. Buying Experiences Are Not Curated
“First and foremost [the experience] is not curated. While it is personalized at the onset, we are not doing a great job of curating what comes after,” Woulfe said during the presentation. “It can’t just be about that initial asset. We’ve got be prepared to deliver a content recommendation in that moment based on not only who that buyer is … but also based on consumption.”
“We can log into Netflix and be delivered curated content that is tailored specifically not only to what we’re interested in but to what we’ve watched in the past … B2B marketing needs to do the same.”
2. Buying Experiences Are Too Slow
“Personalization is just too slow because it is a binary experience. It doesn’t allow the buyer to move at the speed they are ready to move at,” Woulfe said. “Personalization is incredibly limited in its scope. For everything a buyer does, they are delivered one thing and that does not reflect how an engaged buyer wants to consume information.”
“Someone who is trying to make a decision and mitigate risk needs to consume a lot of information at once. When you’re providing that binary, single asset experience, you’re not allowing your buyer to move through enough content at the speed they want to move at.”
3. Marketers Think Personalizing At Scale Is Too Hard
“We hope that our buyer will somehow magically go and find that next asset that is going to help them buy,” said Woulfe. “Content personalization at scale looks more like delivering the entire journey anywhere and anytime your buyer clicks based on what they have consumed in the past.”
“Until you can start to really understand how people are consuming all this content, you really don’t know a whole lot about where your buyer is in terms of their interest and intent to purchase your product – this is the key to unlocking how to deliver a personalized experience at scale.”
The insights don’t stop there. Check out the webcast — titled: Don’t Take it Personally: Where Personalization Fails Your Buyer – on demand to learn more.
