Although consumers are very open to receiving personalised messages, they don’t feel that they are getting them, according to new research.
Personalisation is not just about understanding the individual consumer – brands need to consider their overall approach based on country-specific, age and gender attitudes to personalised marketing, as well as the characteristics and attributes that make a message feel personal to their different audiences, or they risk alienating customers.
This is according to survey findings released today from Periscope® By McKinsey, which offers a suite of Marketing & Sales Analytics Solutions to help companies achieve sustainable revenue growth.
In all markets surveyed, more than 50% of respondents reported frequently receiving personalised messages. The U.S. and France receive the most personalised messages, with 62% and 60% of consumers, respectively, reporting they frequently receive them. Germany and the UK followed with 55% and 53%.
When it comes to attitudes towards receiving personalised messages from companies and brands, we see most markets surveyed indicate a positive attitude. Consumers in the U.S. again had the most positive feelings towards them, with 50% either really or somewhat liking to receive them, revealing high opportunity for businesses to effectively engage these consumers.
French and UK respondents were considerably less enthusiastic, with 38% and 37% respectively, feeling somewhat or very favorable towards them. Consumers in Germany were more skeptical, with only 29% having a positive feeling about personalised messaging.
Gender and Age Influence Personalization Attitudes
In the U.S. (56%) and Germany (33%), men feel more positively about receiving personalised messaging than women (44% and 25%, respectively). In the UK and France, however, women have a slightly more positive attitude than men in those countries. 39% of French and British women either somewhat or very much like to receive personalised messages as compared to 37% of French and 35% of British men.
Age also impacts the attitude towards personalization. With the exception of Germany, consumers aged 30-39 seem to respond more positively to personalised messaging, followed by respondents aged 18-29. Older generations across the markets surveyed demonstrated a significantly stronger dislike of this type of communication.
Categories are Personal Too
When asked from which types of companies consumers would like to receive personalised messages, in the U.S., 51% said grocery stores, with 49% saying restaurants and bars and 36% noting fashion retailers. The UK also tracked these findings at 44%, 40% and 33%, respectively.
It is a different view in Germany, where the top three categories change: 29% opted for grocery stores, fashion retailers followed at 28%, and then hotels, airlines and car rental companies at 25%.
Interestingly, while certain categories of companies are currently sending more personalised messages than others, survey findings show that some kinds of businesses would be better served to reduce the number of messages they send, while others may be missing out on the potential personalised messaging could deliver to them.
Consumers are Open to Personalised Messages, but are not Getting Them
Brands have a long way to go on getting personalised messages right, with around 40% of consumers across all markets stating messages received only sometimes captured the characteristics that would make them personal – this is red flag for businesses – and a huge opportunity for those that can get it right. While the number of respondents who said these messages rarely or never fit these characteristics outweighed those who said they usually or often do in almost all the markets, the U.S. proved to be the exception.
It is clear from the research that consumers in different countries need to be approached differently when it comes to personalised marketing. For example, U.S. consumers said the top three attributes to influencing personalization are: when a business offers items that are a good fit for their personal style, relate to items they frequently purchased, and when messaging tied to a special occasion. However, German consumers feel communications are most personal when they include items that fit their style, their name and that reference a recent search they made.
“Personalisation initiatives can deliver significant value, including on average 10-30% revenue uplift and higher customer acquisition rates and engagement1. But the key is that they must be done right,” said Julien Boudet, global leader of McKinsey’s work in personalisation. “What’s clear from the findings is that companies are missing the boat on delivering consistently relevant experiences at scale. In order for businesses to be successful with their personalisation efforts, they should employ advanced analytics and solutions to better understand their consumers and manage effectively targeting tradeoffs to drive a change in behavior. If they don’t do this, they risk alienating audiences which in turn impacts brand reputation and customer loyalty.”
For complete details on the survey’s findings, download the 32-page report, ‘Consumer Value Personalization – Up Your Game to Not Miss The Opportunity’, via this link.
Study Methodology
In April 2018, Periscope By McKinsey conducted online research targeting consumers in France (500), Germany (500), the UK (500) and the U.S. (1,000). Respondents were aged between 18 and 70+ and responses were selectively evaluated by age category and gender.
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