Entrepreneur: Marketers have found a new opportunity for more intimate and direct communication with consumers. Not so long ago, families gathered around the TV; now individuals surf the web and watch video on personal, handheld devices. Consumers have grown comfortable with--and even come to expect--a one-on-one dialogue with marketers. And personalized marketing messages are a smart way to get customers' attention and deliver communications that increase sales.

As a small-business owner, you're in the enviable position of interacting with customers you know on a first-name basis. You can more easily maintain a database with in-depth customer information than larger businesses. The key is to use this important data to ensure your communications strike a personal chord with customers.

Personalization is a powerful marketing tactic that's easy to incorporate. Here are three ways to create messages that personally appeal to customers.

1. Transform mass e-mail into one-to-one.

E-mail is an exceptional tool for small businesses thanks to its low cost of implementation and high return on investment when sent to an in-house, permission-based customer or prospect list. While e-mails range from product promotions to soft-sell e-newsletters, in some instances, a one-to-one approach can have a more powerful impact.

For this e-mail tactic to work, the simpler, more direct and less "crafted" your message appears, the better. Avoid graphics and other advertising design elements--including photos--which you might use in less personal forms of e-mail solicitations.

2. Personalize your offers.

Whether you're a retailer, e-commerce merchant or direct-mail marketer, if you sell merchandise, you need to know your customers' purchases, how much they spend per sale, and when or how often they buy. Knowledge of past behavior is a valuable tool for predicting future purchases. Not only can this information guide your business and merchandising decisions, but it's also critical for creating personalized marketing messages that increase sales. For instance, suppose a customer purchased jogging pants out of a wide range of clothing from your website or catalog. By customizing an e-mail or direct-mail follow-up based on this purchase history, you could successfully sell this customer additional exercise attire and related products.

3. Put it in writing.

What better way to make your message stand out than to express it in a handwritten note? After all, with fast online and mobile communications the norm, a handwritten note emphasizes that you've taken the time and thought to communicate something in a special way.

The Power of Personalization [Entrepreneur]

• 1 Comments

  

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Hi Marcel,

I ran across your post and thought I'd mention the company I work for that can help with this personalization.

It's called Handwritten Results (www.handwrittenresults.com) and we help people create 100% authentic handwritten notes. We take the customers message and then we literally handwrite each note. It's a great service for those who want a personal touch but just don't have the time to write each note themselves. We do it all from our website at www.handwrittenresults.com.

Keep up the good work here!

 Posted by: Rob at September 27, 2007 6:29 PM

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