As the so-called “Me Generation” comes of age, marketers have begun to see a much higher demand for personalized marketing messages. The latest industry data, for example, suggests that a majority of consumers would prefer a personalized email over a stock one (no shocker there).
Similarly, recent polling reveals that this growing consumer demand applies to all facets of marketing. For example, consumers are requesting more personalized text messages. Consequently, marketers have been scrambling to oblige, confident that it will mean higher ROI.
All told, it amounts to the universal perception that personalized one-to-one advertising is clearly the future of marketing.
Relevance has always been a key issue when it comes to marketing, and personalization is just the latest demand being made in the realm of relevance. Most consumers only want to receive messages that are very relevant to their interests and needs, and they believe that greater personalization is the way to make that happen. With better targeting technology and information collection, many professionals in the space believe this is not only a possibility but a probability.
Of course, there are still many challenges standing in the way of truly customized marketing messages, as many consumers are still unwilling to give up the kind of personal information that would make this marketing easy for marketers across myriad industries. There is also the problem of measuring effect, and how expensive such personalization efforts really are.
But the mobile masses have made it clear. They want to be reached in a very direct, relevant, and personal way. And if marketers wish to make an impact with their messages and sell underlying products and services, this desire will have to be met early and often.