Retail marketers love talking about personalization, and for good reason. The more that brands can leverage personalization in their in-store and online marketing efforts, the more customers they can make happy… and keep loyal to their brand.

Well, in theory. In reality, it’s tougher than it sounds.

This is why in a recent survey by Optimizely, they showed that while 75% of marketers “agree that they can ‘clearly measure’ the impact of personalization on their businesses,” and while “73% of brands have been personalizing their content for at least three years,” they also found that only 33% of customers “think [brands] are delivering hyper personalized experiences tailored to resonate with individual customers.”

Ouch! How can so many marketers be so wrong at just how well their personalization efforts are working?

As any stat-head will tell you, these two data points are not in opposition to each other. Retail brand marketers are saying that their personalization methods are clearly affecting their bottom line, while customers are saying that their personalization efforts are mediocre at best.

They’re both right!

The survey shows that even a modicum of personalized marketing – even if they barely even feel personalized to the customer – still has the proven ability to move the needle.

And we know this to be true from other reports. McKinsey showed that “personalization most often drives 10 to 15 percent revenue lift (with company-specific lift spanning 5 to 25 percent).” They also found that “personalization can reduce acquisition costs by as much as 50 percent.” [emphasis ours]

In short, the ROI of personalization efforts is proven and measurable, just like that 75% of marketers reported. And yet, only a third of customers even feel like they’re doing a good job of it! In short, many brands are only putting a C-level effort into their personalization and still getting A-level results.

Or are they?

If the vast majority of consumers aren’t all that impressed with the level of personalization they’re receiving from retail brands, then there is clearly room for improvement. Considering today’s recessionary times, brands also risk their audience choosing cheaper, competitive brands for their needs. When loyalty is more important than ever for each store’s bottom line, leaving personalization efforts on the table and coasting by may lead to lower revenue. Not great when the holiday shopping season is just around the corner!

At Endear, we call true personalization “clienteling.” It’s using solid customer data to provide an intimate, personal shopping experience similar to what a high-end shopper would get when she walks into a local boutique that knows her by name.

Some outlets like Competitor Monitor have described personalization as sort of an arms race, where basic personalization methods have saturated the market and now companies must go even further to stand out from the crowd. Luckily, consumers seem to have an appetite for this type of hyper-personalization as long as their data isn’t being sold or shared by their trusted brands, and they provide this example:

If you have a Netflix account, you’ll have noticed how the recommended movies and TV shows become more and more the kind of thing you’ll want to watch as time goes on. That’s because Netflix is able to take the algorithms of what you are watching and create a more personal experience for you. Far from being weird or unwelcome, this is often exactly what the user wants – so much so that they rely on it.

Today’s customers are ready and willing to accept hyper-personalization from shared data with their favorite brand as long as it makes their experience faster, better, and more tailored. In fact, all signs point to Gen Z – soon to be the largest consumer segment – is all for sharing online data, and not as skittish about it as even Millennials are. In many ways, young consumers expect even more of their data to be used for their convenience, which is why we’re not surprised that only 33% from the aforementioned survey believe that they are receiving true personalization at all.

Your brand’s marketing team can improve their clienteling game by leveraging platforms like Endear CRM to segment, target, and cater to customers ready to get more personal. For a free demo of what Endear can do for your brand, connect with us today.