Customization Is All The Rage

Why would you use generic marketing if you didn’t have to? These days customizing your marketing efforts and promotional campaigns is easier than it has ever been before. This doesn’t just mean that customization is cheaper than it has ever been (though it is); there are also more ways to go about it. In the following paragraphs we are going to show you some of the things you can do to customize your advertising and promotional campaigns.

One of the best ways to market your business is to give away something that someone will actually use. For example, if you want people to remember who you are, you have a calendar printed up and make sure that your company’s name, contact information and logo appears on every page. You can also give out magnets, pens, or—if you have the budget for it—clothing, coffee mugs, etc.

A few years ago, if you sent out direct mail, you had to address it to “Resident” or “Customer.”  Today you can buy software that will tell you exactly who lives at each address. This way you can customize the mail so that it is addressed to and addresses the person who will be opening it. Credit Card companies are famous for this. How many credit card offers do you get each week that are not only addressed to you personally but contain personalized reply paperwork as well—not just with your name but with your address, phone number, etc? Personalized mail gets a better response than generic mail.

This is true of email marketing as well. This is why more and more marketers are trying to capture your name and personal information as well as your email address. Emails that use your name in the salutation are more likely to get the response that the business owner wants. Some will even include your name in the email’s subject line. The nice thing about this is that most of the email list managing companies offer this sort of customization as part of your membership package.

This sort of personalization and customization doesn’t stop at just email marketing. More and more business owners are using personalization software to tailor a user’s experience while he is on that company’s website. The best example of this is Amazon. When you log in you don’t just get a list of items that you’ve already looked at. You’re also provided with suggested items that you might like based on your search history as well as whatever demographic information they’ve gotten from you. Netflix does this as well. So does Tivo—it pays attention to what you watch and then suggests other shows it thinks you might enjoy.

Customization and personalization are the name of the game today. While it wasn’t so long ago that you had to hope someone would respond to a “Dear Buyer” letter sent in the mail, today you can rest assured that—based on your ability to address the person by name as well as demographic information and personal taste—you are more likely to make sales than you ever were before.