What are the Benefits of One-to-one Marketing?

One-to-one marketing, 1-to-1 marketing or 1:1 marketing.

Is your business ready for it and why do we at Impressive think it’s the future?

If your business is yet to latch onto the increasingly personal way of reaching out to your customers, this guide is your ideal starting point. If you’ve already begun digging into the countless possibilities of one-to-one marketing, we’re about to give you the final push you need to convince yourself it’s the best approach.

The dawn of digital marketing changed advertising; you no longer solely plaster your business across billboards, TV ads or the radio. Broadcast advertising such as that involves a business addressing hundreds – maybe thousands – of people at once.

With digital came the power of personalisation; of being able to connect with one consumer at a time to deliver a highly relevant, highly effective solution.

Without further ado, let’s dip into what 1-to-1 marketing is and how it can benefit your business!

What is one-to-one marketing?

One-to-one marketing is a kind of customer relationship management (CRM) strategy, defined by the creation of personalised connections with consumers.

While the term is new-ish, the approach is not. Most brick-and-mortar retailers have always adopted a 1-to-1 selling strategy, remembering who their customers are and what they like, in order to up-sell, cross-sell and provide a better service to inspire loyalty.

Today’s consumers are fed up with irrelevant marketing messages. They want to feel like a business knows them, their preferences and their personality, and one-to-one marketing achieves this, with the end goal of an enhanced ROI.

It’s done using Artificial Intelligence and automation, so that marketing is defined to granular audience segments or individuals and delivers a much, much better experience. Messages are individualised to every unique customer, so they each get their own email, text message, push notification and more.

It goes far beyond just using their first name.One to one marketing was studied in a 1994 book by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, The One to One Future. In the below video, Don Peppers himself discusses the 1-to-1 concept and the value of your customer base.

The benefits of 1-to-1 marketing

Establish a learning relationship with your customers

A learning relationship is one where you get to know your customers – starting with the most valuable ones. With every interaction, you get to know them a little better.

It involves taking information about your customers’ needs, preferences and buying behaviour and stores the information, in order to provide more customised interactions as the relationship progresses. By understanding what drives the customer, you can adjust your product or service and get a competitive edge over others in your market.

Raise customer satisfaction and therefore, revenue

When you’re able to give your customers what they want, they’ll keep coming back to you.

One-to-one marketing utilises machine learning technology to capitalise on real-time and past statistics. It uses this data to provide an enhanced customer experience throughout the entire journey and pinpoint upselling opportunities, that will help the customer and your profit margin.

Here’s an example you might be familiar with:

1. You’re a member of the public who wants to take a flight to Perth from Melbourne to visit family.
2. You book a flight online and are prompted to download the airline’s app. You do it for convenience; it saves you entering your password every time you log onto their website.
3. As your journey time gets closer, you receive handy notifications and advice for a smoother flight. For example, you can add extra baggage, arrange an in-flight meal, book a hire car or a hotel when you arrive at Perth.
4. The app keeps you informed of your flight, too, including any delays and upgrade options.
5. It even gives you some tips about things to do in Perth.

This is a kind of hyper-personalisation that can only be possible through lots of data, but it’s directed at one customer at a time and is completely relevant to their buyer journey. It encourages them to purchase add-ons and ensures their journey is smooth and stress-free. You become like their personal assistant in their pocket, so next time they want to book a flight, who do they buy from?

You, of course. 🙂

For more digital inspo from the travel industry, you might like our blog on Air New Zealand’s marketing strategy.

Deliver campaigns tailored to customer interests

Sending out an email that addresses each individual recipient by name is great; it creates warmer leads that people are more likely to open.

But it’s not enough if they’re not interested in what you’re selling.

Remember that your customers are inundated with a heap of emails every day and if you’re sending them something they don’t want, they’ll head straight for the unsubscribe button.

Use emails to show your customer that you understand them and build campaigns built around the things they love.

That means offering purchase suggestions based on the things they search for, the things they add to their cart and their past orders (if you’re in the eCommerce business). Amazon does this well by keeping recommendations relevant.

Advertise at the right time, in the right places

When you focus on collecting customer data, you can use it to your advantage. Digital marketing allows you to reach your audience when they’re looking for you, where they’re looking for you.

Do your customers prefer email, social media, SMS or push notifications? Connect with them there.

Not only that, but you can use your CRM software to make yourself useful at just the right moment. For example, if you sell office supplies each month, use your understanding of each individual customer to send them gentle reminders to stock up.

Improve your one-to-one marketing strategy with Impressive

Now you understand why 1:1 marketing is so important, but you may still be feeling stumped at where to begin.

We’re the digital marketing experts with the know-how to help you build innovative strategies that make you, well, better than your competitors. Start a conversation with us today.