2017 Trends in Personalization - · PDF file2017 Trends in Personalization ... To help organizations better understand how personalization is being used today, key benefits, barriers

2017TrendsinPersonalization

ResearchscapeInternational Evergage,Inc.

2SURVEYRESULTS PAGE2

©2017RESEARCHSCAPEINTERNATIONAL

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Tohelporganizationsbetterunderstandhowpersonalizationisbeingusedtoday,keybenefits,barrierstoadoption,andplansforthenext12months,EvergageandResearchscapeInternationalsurveyed206organizationsofallsizesabouttheirmarketingoperationsandimplementationofpersonalization.

Thisyear,respondentstothisannualsurveyalmostunanimouslybelievethatpersonalizationhelpsadvancecustomerrelationships(96%),andthattheirprospectsandcustomersexpectapersonalizedexperience(88%).However,onlyaminority(45%)agreethatmarketersaregettingpersonalizationright.Andwhiletheproportionsatisfiedwiththelevelofpersonalizationintheirownorganizationsislowat30%,thereisstillgoodnews:thisrepresentsaconsiderableimprovementfrom2016’s18%.

Respondentscontinuetoreportsubstantialimprovementor"lift"fromtheirreal-timepersonalizationefforts,with88%statingtheyseemeasurableimprovementsduetopersonalization,and23%reportinganimprovementabove20%.Thissuccessleadstoincreasedinvestment,as46%ofrespondentsexpecttheirbudgetsforpersonalizationtoincreaseinthecomingyear.

Echoinglastyear’sresults,emailpersonalizationhadthehighestusageamongthosesurveyed(72%),followedbywebsites(57%).Mobilestillrepresentscomparativelylowerusageatonly28%formobileweband18%formobileapps.

Two-thirdsofrespondentsapproachedpersonalizationwithrule-basedtargetingtosegments(67%)versusthemoreadvancedalgorithmic1-to-1approach(13%),with20%usingboth.Ofthosemarketersnotusingmachinelearning/algorithmicpersonalizationtoday,43%arenotsurewhethertheyareplanningtouseitthisyear,suggestingthatmanymarketersarestillunfamiliarwithmachinelearning.

Thefindingsfromthisyear’ssurveyindicatethatmarketersbelievethatpersonalizationisavaluabletactic,buttheycontinuetostrugglewithexecution.Thereisroomforimprovementinimplementingcross-channelpersonalizationstrategies,leveragingmachine-learningalgorithms,andrelyingondeeperdatafortargeting.



DETAILEDRESULTS

Whenaskedabouttheimportanceofvariousmarketinginitiatives,71%ofrespondentsratedemailmarketingveryorextremelyimportant,followedbySEO(68%),contentmarketing(67%),customercommunity/loyalty(64%)andpersonalizationofalltypes(63%).

Pleaseratethefollowingmarketinginitiativesinorderofimportanceforyourorganization.

SampleSize:204(99%ofRespondents)

PersonalizationUsageandPlansThemajority(72%)ofrespondentsreportedusingpersonalizationforemail.Amongwebandmobilepersonalization,websitepersonalizationismostcommonwith57%ofrespondentscitingusageinthatchannel.Mobilewebpersonalizationishalfascommon(28%),whilewebapplications(20%)andmobileapps(18%)trailbehindinusage.

Areyouusingpersonalizationinanyofthefollowingchannels?



Ofthosewhoarenotcurrentlyusingwebsiteorin-apppersonalization(webormobile),justoverhalf(55%)haveplanstobeginusingthiswithinthenextyear.

Doyouhaveplanstousewebsiteorin-apppersonalization(webormobile)withinthenextyear?


Thosewhodonotintendtobeginpersonalizationinitiativeswithinthenextyearmostoftensaythattheyhaveotherhigherpriorityinitiatives(50%)orthattheircompanyisnottechnologicallysavvyenough(33%).

Whynot?




PersonalizationConfidenceandSatisfactionThereisoverwhelmingagreementthatpersonalizationhelpstoadvancecustomerrelationships(96%).Wouldyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatement:Personalizationhelpsadvancecustomerrelationships.


Almostasmanybelievethattheirprospectsandcustomersexpectapersonalizedexperience(88%).Doyouthinkyourprospects/customersexpectapersonalizedexperience?


96%

4%

AgreeDisagree

88%

12%

YesNo



Asolidmajority(70%)believethattheirmarketingtoolshelpthemunderstandandactoncustomerdata. Doyoufeelyourmarketingtoolshelpyouunderstandandactonyourcustomerdata?


However,thereismuchlessagreementthatmarketersaregettingpersonalizationright,withmoredisagreeing(55%)thanagreeing(45%)withthisstatement.

Wouldyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatement:Marketersaregettingpersonalizationright.


70%

30%

YesNo

55%

45%DisagreeAgree



Whenitcomestotheirownpersonalizationefforts,onlyonethirdofrespondents(33%)areveryorextremelyconfidentthattheyhavethetoolstheyneedforpersonalization.Whilethemajorityofrespondentsarelessconfidentwiththeirpersonalizationtools,thepercentageofrespondentswhoareveryorextremelyconfidenthasimprovedsincelastyear,risingfrom24%. Howconfidentareyouthatyouhavethetoolsyouneedforwebsiteand/orin-apppersonalization?


Justunderonethirdofrespondents(30%)areveryorextremelysatisfiedwiththelevelofpersonalizationintheirmarketingefforts.Thisfigurealsorepresentsasignificantimprovementfromlastyear’s18%.B2CrespondentsweremorelikelytobesatisfiedwiththeireffortsthanB2Bmarketers–53%ofB2Cmarketerswereveryorextremelysatisfiedcomparedwithonly21%ofB2Bmarketers. Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwiththelevelofpersonalizationinyourmarketingefforts?




Respondentsweremostsatisfiedwithweb-applicationpersonalization(52%wereveryorextremelysatisfied).Interestingly,email–themostpersonalizedchannel–wastiedwithmobilewebforthelowestsatisfactionrates,withonly39%ofrespondentsfeelingveryorextremelysatisfied.Satisfactionhasimprovedforallchannelssincelastyear. Howsatisfiedareyouwiththelevelofpersonalizationforeachofthefollowingchannels?


Whenaskedtogradetheircurrentpersonalizationefforts,44%gavethemselvesaB,themostpopularchoice.Whilethe46%ofrespondentswhogavetheireffortsaCorlowersuggestsroomforimprovement,itdoesalreadyrepresentanimprovementover2016’sresults–where55%gavethemselvesaCorlower,andCwasthemostpopulargrade(39%).Whatgradewouldyougiveyourcurrentpersonalizationefforts?




UsageMovingintospecificpersonalizationtactics,themostcommonpersonalizationformatamongrespondentswasinlinecontent(textorimagesinserteddynamicallywithinthepagecontent)at59%,withpop-ups(48%),surveyquestions(44%)andinformationbars(messagesacrosstoporbottomofpage)at42%alsocommonlyused. Whatpersonalizationformatsdoyouuse?


Emailcampaignsarethemostcommontypeofpersonalizedexperience,usedby65%ofrespondents,withpersonalizationofthehomepage(58%),recommendations(58%)andinteriorpages(50%)alsocommon.Whattypesofpersonalizedexperiencesdoyouuse?




Personalizedcampaignscanbetargetedviarulerulesand/ormachine-learningalgorithms.Themajorityofrespondents(67%)useonlyrule-basedtargetingtosegments,while13%useonlymachine-learningalgorithmsand20%usebothapproaches. Whichapproachtopersonalizationdoyouutilize?


Nearlyathird(32%)ofthosenotusingmachinelearning/algorithmicpersonalizationintendtostartdoingsointhenextyear.While24%havenosuchplans,asubstantialminority(43%)arenotsure,suggestingalevelofunfamiliaritywiththetechnique.Doyouhaveanyplanstobeginusingmachine-learning/algorithmicpersonalizationinthenextyear?


Whenitcomestotargetingvisitorswithpersonalizedcampaigns,anumberofdifferentcriteriacanbeused.Themajorityofrespondentsuselocation(60%),demographics(56%),andpages/contentviewed(54%)fortargetingtheircampaigns.



Whichofthefollowingcriteriadoyouusefortargetingvisitorsorusersinordertopersonalizetheexperience?-Top10

Note:Showingonlythetop10mostselectedoptions.


MeasurementMostrespondentshavevariouscriteriathattheyuseforassessingthevalueoftheirpersonalizationefforts.Liftinconversionrateisthemostpopularbyfar(68%),withimprovementsintheclickthroughrate(50%),timeonsite(39%),andrevenue(39%)alsocommon. Doyoumeasurethevalueofpersonalizationbyimprovementsin…?-Top10



68%

50%

39%

39%

33%

31%

30%

26%

17%

14%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Conversionrate

Clickthrough rate

Timeonsite

Revenue

Retention/renewalrate

Customersatisfactionrates

Pageviews

Bouncerate

Averageordervalues

Profit



88%ofmarketersreportimprovementinresultsduetopersonalization.Themajority(53%)ofrespondentstypicallyseealiftofover10%fromtheirpersonalizationefforts,while36%typicallyseeliftof1-10%orless.Aremarkable10%ofrespondentssawaliftofgreaterthan30%. Whatpercentageimprovementor“lift”areyougenerallyseeingfromyourwebsiteorin-apppersonalizationefforts?


Themajorityofrespondents(63%)indicatethattheyseeincreasedconversionratesfromtheirpersonalizationefforts.Respondentsalsoseebenefitinotherareassuchasimprovedcustomerexperience(61%)andincreasedvisitorengagement(57%).Whatarethemainbenefitsyouseefromwebsite/in-apppersonalizationforyourorganization?-Top10





InvestmentinPersonalizationNearlyhalfofrespondents(46%)expecttheirbudgetsforpersonalizationtoincreasethisyear,upfrom35%lastyear.Only4%expecttoseeadecreaseinbudget. Comparedtolastyear,howwillyourpersonalizationbudget/spendingchangethisyear?


Themajorityofrespondents(79%)expecttoseebudgetincreasesover10%,commonlyinthe11-20%range.

Respondentswereaskedabouttheirstaffingfocusedonpersonalization.Mostoftherespondentsdocurrentlyhavepersonnelfocusedonpersonalization(59%).

Doyouhavepersonnelfocusedonpersonalization?




Thisis,however,moreoftenapart-timeresponsibility(57%)thanafull-timeone(38%). Isthistheirfull-timeresponsibilityortheirpart-timeresponsibility?


BarrierstoPersonalizationWhenthosewhowerenotcurrentlyusingpersonalizationwereaskedwhytheirorganizationshadnotadoptedit,budgetconstraints(48%),otherpriorities(44%),andlackofknowledge,skillsorpeople(41%)werecitedastopreasons.Norespondentsindicatedthattheyhadyettoadoptpersonalizationbecausetheybelieveditwasafad. Whyhasyourorganizationnotadoptedwebsite/in-apppersonalization?




PersonalizationasaCorporatePriorityWhenaskedifpersonalizationshouldbeabiggerpriorityintheirorganizations,73%ofrespondentsanswered“yes.”Thisnumberisupfromlastyear’s64%,indicatingthatpersonalizationisgrowinginimportancetomanyorganizations. Doyoubelievepersonalizationshouldbeabiggerpriorityinyourorganizationthanitiscurrently?


DemographicsandFirmographicsAthirdofrespondentsaremarketingmanagersorteammembers.Theremainingrespondentshavemoreseniorroles(DirectorofMarketing,21%;CEO/GM/Divisionhead,13%;VP/SVPMarketing,5%;CMO.,4%),orarespecialistonline/digital/webmarketers(13%).Whichofthefollowingtitlesbestreflectsyourrole?


Whilerespondentsrepresentedabroadrangeofindustries,Technology(26%)hadthehighestrepresentation.TheothercommonindustrieswereRetail(12%),Finance&Insurance(10%),andTravel&Transportation(8%).



Whatisyourorganization’sindustry?-Top10



ThesamplewasmadeupofbothSMEsandlargecorporations,with48%havingsalesoflessthan$50millionand23%havingsalesof$1billionormore. Whatareyourorganization'sannualsales?


ThemajorityofcompaniesareintheB2Barena,eithersolely(43%)ortogetherwithB2C(41%).Only16%areentirelyB2Cfocused.



IsyourcompanyB2B,B2Corboth?


ThemajorityoftechnologycompaniessurveyedareB2Bcompanies(78%).

ThesamplewasfocusedontheUnitedStates(78%),butwithrepresentationfromanumberofothermarkets,principallyCanada(6%),theUnitedKingdom(3%),andIndia(3%). Whatcountryareyoulocatedin?-Top10





RESEARCHSCAPEMETHODOLOGY

OnbehalfofEvergage,Researchscapesurveyed206respondentsfrom19countriesusinganonlinestudyfieldedfromFebruary16toMarch28,2017,tobetterunderstandcurrentadoptionofmarketingpersonalization.Thesurveyresultswerenotweighted.

Throughouttheresearchprocess,ResearchscapefollowedaTotalSurveyQualityapproachdesignedtominimizeerrorateachstage.TotalSurveyQuality,alsoknownasTotalSurveyError,recognizesthatmultiplesourcesoferrorcanreducethevalidityofsurveyresearch.

Documents

2017 Trends in Personalization - · PDF file2017 Trends in Personalization ... To help organizations better understand how personalization is being used today, key benefits, barriers