It’s time to go beyond mass personalisation…

We all know that personalised marketing has a better return on investment. But, basic personalisation is not enough. It no longer engages the customers and it’s time to think beyond it. For example, inserting a person’s name into mailer is not enough, it is important to give them offers that are relevant or interesting to them. So personalisation has to be intelligent, which will increase conversion rates, increase order value and in turn improve return on investment.

What marketers are currently doing?

Most brand owners(70-80%) are using basic personalisation like first names in emails and personalised subject lines. Few brand owners (60%) are using dynamic body of emails and target based on past purchases. While, just 40-50% brand owners are using advanced personalisation like offers based on inventory data or real-time data.

According to The Deloitte Consumer Review Made-to-order: The rise of mass personalisation, “Businesses have not only developed the capabilities of mass personalisation to measure specifically what each individual consumer wants, they are now also in a position to link their processes and resources to provide it. This has been made possible by advances in manufacturing and distribution technologies. For example flexible manufacturing and 3D printing enable mass personalisation at lower costs and allow manufacturers to rethink their supply chains radically. Businesses are now postponing production until the latest point possible to allow individual customisation. Beyond the ability to provide more customised products, postponing production in this way can help reduce inventory levels and ultimately increase plant efficiency.”

It further says, “Besides investing in the technologies to deliver customised products, businesses also need to consider their analytics capabilities. The growing use of analytics means that product and service providers are getting better at knowing what consumers want – and do not want – and are adapting their operations to respond accordingly. Depending on the degree of personalisation offered, analytics tools are critical in matching the right consumer to the right outcome. “

“Businesses that embrace personalisation have an opportunity to create a differentiated proposition that may command a price premium, and improve consumer traffic and conversion. Personalisation could also help improve efficiency and reduce costs, and offer a path to sustainable growth, “ it further says.

From mass personalisation to mass customisation…

To show that their product is packed every day and is so fresh, Cafe Pele simply packed their coffee in the daily newspaper. Late in the night, when the newspaper was created, about 5000 packages were vacuum sealed with the cover of O Estado de S. Paulo. Next day, these packages were displayed on supermarket shelves next to copies of the newspaper, which the message: “As you can see, this cafe was packed today.”

Mars Chocolate Mosaic campaign, offers personalised packs available on Amazon. When you talk of persoanlised digital printing, we cannot fail to mention ‘Share a Coke’ campaign. A total of 12 crore labels were printed digitally using HP Indigo 20000 digital press on PET bottles. The job comprised of 238 relationships, 12 different languages, 30 locations, which summed up to 9200 artworks getting printed simultaneously. And the result was 7.5% increase in sales volume for Coke India.

Bespoke personalisation: the next step

Bespoke personalisation happens with active consumer participation in the personalisation process.

For example, James Kennedy, the one-man operation behind Kennedy City Bicycles, builds made-to-order urban bikes from his London workshop while the design is done primarily by the consumer from the business’s website. Without a physical retail store for consumers to visit, Kennedy focuses his attention on creating a completely seamless online experience from personalisation to purchase. That’s bespoke personalisation.

More recently Mondelez India, the makers & bakers of some of India’s leading snacking brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5Star, Oreo, Bournvita etc., invited the nation to ‘go Madbury for Cadbury’. Through this initiative, the company is encouraging all the chocolate aficionados to don their culinary hats and tighten their aprons while they create their own Cadbury Dairy Milk bar. This initiative underscores the company’s commitment to stay consumer-obsessed and to empower consumers to snack right, by providing them with more choice and newer eat experiences.

Challengers are encouraged to seek the spotlight as the next Cadbury inventor by visiting the website madbury.in and partaking in the challenge. From black forest jelly, coconut, wheat crispies, popcorn, salted caramel to desi ingredients like paan, thandai, khajoor, kaju katli and masala chai,there are options galore to pick and choose from. One can submit up to two of their favourite flavors for the chance to be one of five finalists. What more? Apart from taste and creativity, every bar should have a unique name and an inspiring tale that would have the judges captivated. The company has also tied-up with Amazon.in, for an exclusive Madbury store, where consumers can get some wacky ideas to ‘go Madbury for Cadbury’, with some unique ingredients listed.

It’s time to think beyond the mass personalisation. Use the capabilities of variable data printing to create individualised products and see your brand surge to newer heights.