Listen, think, and respond: Your 3 steps to personalization

And by conversation, we mean a two-way conversation, not a monologue. You need to pay attention to what your customers are telling you, think about what that means, and respond in an appropriate way.

This is where first-party data comes in. It allows you to understand your customers better. Instead of suggesting content relating to a product or service they accidentally clicked on, you can suggest content for the one they are actually considering. The one they’ve clicked on multiple times and spent time reading about.

First-party data can be easily captured. But of course, collecting first-party data, and knowing how to use it, are two very different things.

To make sense of first-party data, you need the right tools.

We’ve seen incredible success from companies with the right CDP and personalization solutions. And with this technology in place, there are just three steps to using first-party data to drive personalization:

1. Listen – Data with purpose
2. Think – Utilizing decisioning
3. Respond – Smart personalization

Step 1 - Listen

No two customers are the same. They are unique and their experiences should reflect that.

A CDP gives you the ability to listen to what your customers are telling you through their interactions. You can see the content they are interested in, the products they are purchasing, and the messaging they engage with. All this information is captured and easily accessible, providing you with a database of virtual gold.

With this consolidated real-time and historical data from both online and offline channels, you can build holistic customer profiles. These will allow you to understand your customers as individuals and act on their preferences.

Step 2 - Think

Your customers expect exceptional experiences. They want you to anticipate their needs and guide them to where they should go next. This is where personalization and decisioning comes into play.

Decisioning – or decision management – is a technique that blends real-time data together with business rules and predictive analytics to make smart decisions about what to talk to customers about, and where, at any one time. It allows you to determine the next-best-actions for your customer personas, providing them with seamless and relevant journeys.

A CDP will give you a treasure trove of data. But unlocking the true value requires the insight and vision of a personalization solution. Together, they are a match made in heaven, delivering a whole new dimension of customer experience.

Step 3 - Respond

When you listen to your customers and make smart decisions about what their next-best-action should be, you want to be able to continue that conversation with them in the same way you would if they were standing right in front of you.

This is when you can start thinking about implementing an omnichannel strategy. Craft tailored experiences on any channel and meet your customers wherever they are on their journey. Adapt and react in real-time and on any channel, based on your customer’s digital behavior.

By bringing together real-time behavioral insights and all your customer data you can understand and engage every customer (and anonymous visitors) instantly.

These tools are designed to help you replicate one-on-one interactions and make those interactions feel as human as possible, providing meaningful moments that make the customer feel valued – and ultimately, build trust in your organization.

To find out more about Sitecore Personalize and how it could support your business, read our new guide “3 steps to smarter customer interactions”.