Personalisation is exciting because the data shows it is effective at raising conversions and engagement. There is also something still shiny and new about it.

The possibilities are almost endless for big organisations with a wealth of data. It is broadly welcomed enthusiastically but can often blow out in terms of cost, timelines and scope. This article looks at why that is and how the pitfalls can be avoided.

Like most digital enterprises a personalisation project is born full of promise. Imagine the scenario: the agency partner or internal champion presents a deck exposing just how silly it is to broadcast the same message to all customers.

They are individuals with different needs and diverse preferences. How can it be sensible that we talk to them all in the same way? It can’t be. Nonsense. Old-fashioned broadcast mentality. Personalisation is the future. Chest puffed out, the agency partner or champion walks out with a mandate for change.

However, persuading stakeholders of the power of personalisation was the easy part. Making it happen is where the hard work starts.

Make it a multidisciplinary project

Personalisation projects need interdisciplinary cooperation because a successful project will have to integrate across workflows and systems traditionally not owned by one department. 

For example: 

  • Systems and outputs owned by different stakeholders need to be joined up or integrated – for instance, live data from the CRM or analytics insights powering automated content updates. 
  • The project requires ownership and resource to run – but who and what? Many platforms try making it look easy to manage but it still takes time, and support from a development team is often needed.
  • Different stakeholders will have different agendas and they all need to be managed and resolved.

A successful personalisation project requires a high level of cooperation between departments and multidisciplinary communication. They might all be on the same page but they don’t speak the same language.

Whichever way your company is structured, this kind of project needs many different teams to follow the same script and work together: digital, data, tech, CRM, marketing and content.

These specialists have particular needs that are often not understood outside of the specialism. The vision is easy to paint but the implications for the developers, the content producers or the data analysts may initially seem daunting.

If all the teams can speak the same language then it is more likely that scope compromises can be reached through discussion. Without that communication, the project is likely to hit a brick wall.

Guard against scope sprawl

One-on-one personalisation is very possible and might present the best option for optimal targeting but there are potentially so many data and touchpoints that the scope of personalisation projects can quickly become unmanageable.

For example, six personas in six different scenarios based upon three data variables could equate to over 100 digital executions and analysis – a challenge for any creative team. An alternative might be using segmentation rather than true personalisation so you can keep things simpler.  

Whichever approach you choose, it is also important to focus on the key stages of the customer journey where there are activities that have a clear business benefit (and therefore justify the content and data costs).

Be hyper-organised with your content

We have already seen digital asset management systems assist with publishing across multiple platforms. With personalisation can come a proliferation of images, CTA buttons, headlines, body copy and more. There are more variables that have to be accessible to the personalisation engine. This requires a planned approach to content generation and management.

Content planning and production has to be executed in a very structured way so that it satisfactorily fulfils the personalisation. Versions of assets need to be saved and stored according to conventions that the personalisation engine can tap into.

The UX that informs the design and development of digital assets needs to set out precisely what personalisation will occur based on which triggers. Define the areas of the site that will need to house personalisable content and the rules around what is served when.

By making the requirements explicit upfront development time will be saved further down the line. The content needs to be crafted with the persona and the personalisation scenario front of mind. Think about how the personalised content is going to effectively persuade or communicate with the targeted persona.

Top tips

  1. Communicate your plans by mapping the customer journeys. This helps all the teams get on the same page. 
  2. Support your project with customer insight from qualitative research. Easy-to-understand nuggets such as verbatim quotes can really help bring your idea to life. This also helps with stakeholder management.
  3. Have an iterative and lean mind-set. Start with low-hanging fruit or the most obvious hypothesis. Test and learn.
  4. Focus on executions that have a clear business goal and benefit to the user.