Marketing

The importance of personalization in an impersonal world…

June 20, 2023
Kate Eazer
January 24, 2023

Let’s face it: in the business world, connection is a prerequisite to revenue. For most prospective buyers, connection starts with feeling seen and engaged by the companies they choose to do business with.

As the company, the onus is on you to make sure your prospects feel seen and understood when interacting with your brand, all while holding their attention in an oversaturated market. Here’s the question: how are you supposed to do that when you’re limited to static, one-size-fits-all sales and marketing assets? Short answer: you can’t. Keep reading!

The need to be seen

Before we go any deeper, let’s examine what “feeling seen” means for a moment. Feeling seen by others is a basic human need that goes way back to nomadic times. Basically, if your tribe couldn’t see you, then you were at risk of being left behind, which almost certainly spelled death. This is why your dog might hold uncomfortable eye contact when doing, ahem, a different kind of business. They want to know that someone they trust is looking out for them.

Flashforward to 2022; while a few things have changed in our world, our basic needs have remained the same. To view this through a modern-day business lens - when people feel seen by you, you make them feel safe, and when you make people feel safe, they’re more likely to do business with you. 

Which begs the next question: how do you help your audience to feel seen in the content that you create and share with them? The answer: personalization. 

The power of engagement

Now, let’s talk about engagement. We all know that learning happens when information is processed through the five senses. But did you know that when we use multiple senses at the same time to interpret new data, our ability to retain it is significantly enhanced? For instance, maybe your kindergarten teacher pointed at the chalkboard when reciting the alphabet so the class could see a letter and hear the pronunciation at the same time. This forces our brain to be more engaged in the experience of learning.

In a business context, a high level of engagement from your audience is critical, as it directly correlates with how quickly they move through your sales funnel. Think about it… If you can get your prospects engaged, then you can show them your value. If you can show them your value, you can influence their decision-making. If you can influence their decision-making, then you can empower them to take that next step towards becoming a customer. 

You’re facing a taller task than your kindergarten teacher, however, because it’s quite possible a five year old has a longer attention span than your average prospect nowadays. So how do you create content experiences that actually engage your audience? The answer: interactivity.

The problem with content today

At this point, we can agree that personalization and interactivity are key in capturing and holding your audience's attention (and more importantly, getting them to do what you want). 

So why is so much of today’s content completely devoid of both?

In the past, interactivity was limited to apps and websites which required expensive developers and long lead times. Personalization was a tedious and time-consuming process that left a lot of room for error. Therefore, many companies had to rely on impersonal and boring PDFs or PPTs for their most important sales and marketing assets. With enough effort and luck, maybe it got the job done back then. It certainly doesn’t now.

With the evolution of the internet, the way we consume content has dramatically changed - and our expectations right along with it. Today, consumers expect their content to be mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, highly engaging, and tailor-made for them. If your content isn’t checking those boxes, you will be left behind, which if you recall historically, means death. Okay, you won’t actually die off, but your sales pipeline will.

Thankfully, since the birth of tools like Tiled, creating this type of content has become easier than ever. 

The impact of personalization and interactivity with Tiled

Tiled was originally created to help marketing and design teams create interactive content without code. Our platform has evolved over the years to do much more, like integrate with a variety of marketing tools, provide real-time audience insights, and most recently, the option to personalize your interactive content.

With the launch of personalization came the ability to create what we call dynamic fields within your content, which empower Tiled users to effortlessly swap out things like text, images, and video on a 1:1 basis to create that “just for you” experience that makes the recipient feel seen, understood, and captivated by your content. 

Just like interactivity, the decision to add personalization to our platform was backed by powerful stats:

  • Personalized marketing actions are proven to drive 40% more revenue 
  • Consumers are 80% more likely to purchase from a brand providing a personalized experience
  • Companies using advanced personalization report a $20 return for every $1 spent

Combining the power of personalization and interactivity at Tiled has allowed us to make our customer pain points less, well, painful.

The problems Tiled solves

Inefficient Workflow

  • Time is money, right? That means workflow inefficiencies could be costing your company quite a bit. With Tiled, you can eliminate the need for a developer and the costly back-and-forths that come with revisions. Instead, your designers can create content using their favorite design tools, and then simply sync their artwork to Tiled to add interactivity and personalization. Not only does this speed up the creation process, but it also streamlines future updates without compromising the creative vision. 

Inconsistent Branding 

  • First impressions matter of course, but so do all the others. How your brand shows up at each stage of the buyer’s journey could dictate whether someone becomes a customer or not. Thankfully with Tiled, designers and marketers get to decide what areas they want end users (in this case, salespeople) to be able to personalize while still maintaining brand integrity and messaging. That means no more rogue reps concocting disjointed PPTs to close the deal. 

Underperforming Content

  • This is the big one. By adding interactivity and personalization to your new or existing sales and marketing assets, you’ll undoubtedly see an increase in engagement and conversions. To take it a step further, you can leverage Tiled’s real-time audience engagement data to learn exactly how prospects are interacting with the content you share, giving you the insights needed to optimize your content and report on your success. 

One of our favorite examples of these pain points being eradicated is with our customer, Compass.

A personalization + interactivity success story 

Compass, the largest independent real estate brokerage in the country, became a customer of Tiled back in 2021. Compass partnered with Tiled because they needed a platform that would enable their team to easily create immersive, on-brand, and personalized content for their potential buyers. 

As an early adopter, Compass has been able to leverage Tiled to dramatically increase their deal size and volume. Read more about their success here.

Being able to create highly engaging content experiences that can then easily be personalized by our sales reps has been such a game changer for us.

Mary Iannacone | Art Director at Compass

Personalized interactive content can change the game for you too…  

Alright, we’re in the home stretch here. Things we know by now:

  • Your prospects need to feel seen and engaged in order for you to earn their business 
  • Personalization makes your prospects feel seen
  • Interactivity gets your prospects engaged
  • Tiled helps teams create personalized interactive content that drives their audience to action

Fortunately, the personalized, interactive content your audience craves (and deserves) has never been easier or more affordable to create. With Tiled, your company finally streamline workflows, improve brand consistency, and make kick-ass content that actually works. 

TL;DR - If you aren't happy with your sales and marketing assets, we can help. Sign up for your free trial today

Topics
Personalization
Tiled
Kate Eazer
Sr. Marketing Manager