Let\u2019s face it: If you\u2019re not offering personalized experiences, you\u2019re probably losing valuable customers. However, even with countless resources available to improve personalization, marketers still face many hurdles when executing their strategy. If you\u2019re just starting this journey (or tired of hitting roadblocks), we\u2019ve outlined some personalization challenges to watch out for \u2014 and how you can overcome them.<\/span><\/p>\n In our recent\u00a0Trends in Personalization survey, we found that 94% of marketers say customers expect a personalized experience. Still, only 26% of marketers are confident that their organization has a successful strategy for personalization. So what stands in the way of personalized marketing?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Obstacle 1: Lack of organizational alignment<\/b><\/p>\n Often, the biggest factor that leads to personalization strategies failing is a breakdown of coordination across departments and teams. Our survey found that 42% of marketers say a lack of organizational alignment stands in the way of personalization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re not aligned, the result is that customers get a much solid experience,\u201d said Leigh Price, a Senior Director of Product Marketing at Salesforce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our\u00a0State of Connected Consumer\u00a0report reveals that 66% of customers often have to repeat or re-explain information to different representatives, and 60% say it generally feels like they\u2019re communicating with separate departments, not one company.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But when that customer journey is uniform across departments, people can tell. In our State of the Connected Consumer report, 83% of customers say they\u2019re more loyal to companies that provide consistency across departments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The solution is to\u00a0<\/span>identify stakeholders for the three main functional areas of personalization:\u00a0<\/b>strategy, channel execution, and product management<\/span>.\u00a0<\/b>Then build your strategy and program and collaborate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Not sure where to start? Here are the stakeholders you need working in harmony and how they align with the three functional areas:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ll need an\u00a0<\/span>executive sponsor<\/b>\u00a0to help you strategize, own the overall program and provide support. This may be your VP, Marketing, CMO, or even Chief Customer Officer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After you develop a strategy and appoint an executive sponsor, you\u2019ll need several stakeholders to help you implement and manage your overall personalization program. Some of these roles include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Program Manager<\/b>: This person will oversee the personalization program by managing and maintaining schedules, coordinating groups across departments, and providing resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Product Manager<\/b>: Working in alignment with the program manager, the product manager will oversee the day-to-day management of the program and will act as an expert for your personalization product.<\/span><\/p>\n Tech Lead:\u00a0<\/b>Although marketers can run many aspects of personalization campaigns independently, it\u2019s still essential to appoint a tech lead or establish a relationship with IT. They will set up the initial integration and be available as a resource when technical issues arise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Analytics Lead<\/b>: An analytics lead can synthesize data and owns all program insights. From the beginning, you will need this key stakeholder to stay on target, meet your goals, and innovate new approaches to personalization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ll also need a\u00a0<\/span>channel execution team<\/b>\u00a0to help you coordinate and execute campaigns. They may start with one channel and then extend your personalization efforts across channels little by little.<\/span><\/p>\n Obstacle 2: Not being able to access the right data<\/b><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the departments aligned, you have to make sure they\u2019re working with relevant data. Our report shows that 39% marketers believe the lack of data stands in the way of adopting personalization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Organizations often have a wealth of data available to them, but marketers don\u2019t always have access to that data, according to Victoria Calkins, a Product Marketing Manager at Salesforce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn order to drive connected experiences, it\u2019s important to consider all of the data we have on that individual,\u201d she said. \u201cFor example, we want to know when they\u2019ve browsed on our website or contacted customer service. As marketers we often don\u2019t have access to all of this data because it may live in other parts of an organization.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Siloed data \u2014\u00a0when departments don\u2019t have the same information \u2014 leads to disconnected customer experiences. Here are two ways you can overcome this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Obstacle 3: Lack of knowledge and skills<\/b><\/p>\n With coordination and access to proper data in place, now it\u2019s time to ensure your department has the proper technical skills to build a personalization strategy. Personalization requires a team of people with both technical and creative skills. Some marketers don\u2019t have the technical skills to deliver end-to-end personalization, while others lack the creativity to provide relevant and engaging content.<\/span><\/p>\n Our Trends in Personalization survey found 43% of marketers say a lack of knowledge and skills is their most significant personalization obstacle. Embracing technology like artificial intelligence (AI) can help take some of the more routine tasks off your department\u2019s plate, letting them tackle big issues.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are coming out of the age of managing marketing campaigns manually, and you no longer have to do it all yourself because of artificial intelligence,\u201d said Calkins. \u201cUsing AI will allow your marketing efforts to go further without adding extra work to your teams.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Learning about AI can help marketers advance customers toward a purchase, sending messages that are relevant and timely to them. For example, you can use triggered messages, emails that are automatically sent when a customer takes a certain action \u2014\u00a0like placing an item in the cart, but not making a purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n There is only one solution when it comes to this obstacle: investing in the education of technologies that can do the heavy lifting. Companies should empower their talent by expanding their understanding about personalization, giving them the knowledge they need to succeed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Personalization is a work in progress. Tech tools are evolving, and so are our processes and skills (not to mention customer expectations). Now that you\u2019ve identified the three top challenges to personalization, take stock of your own organization and build a path to success \u2013 both for\u00a0yourself and for your customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blog sourced from Salesforce.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_padding_top=”30px” rt_padding_bottom=”30px” rt_padding_left=”30px” rt_padding_right=”30px” rt_bg_color=”#0099df”][vc_column_text]\n\n
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\n<\/span>\u201cPeople think, \u2018I can do one hundred things with personalization,\u2019\u201d said Price. \u201cBut just focus on your website and simple use cases, focus on your email program, and you can iterate and grow from there.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nContact Us<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]