Marketers, UX designers, and product owners have accepted “personalization” as the pinnacle of customer engagement. Customize the customer experience based on the individual’s preferences and habits, and the customer is pleased and appreciative, and can focus on reviewing purchases and options most relevant to them.
But is the goal of the customer experience simply to drive transactions? Or is it to provide value to customers in a way that makes your company matter? What we’ve learned is that an organization or brand that wants to build authentic customer loyalty designs experiences and tells stories that are “personal” rather than simply “customized” to the individual.
Customizing the experience for the individual involves studying the customer’s preferences and habits. Done correctly, this paves the way for an experience the customer appreciates as streamlined and relevant.
Personalizing the experience involves studying what the individual believes and values. Done correctly, this paves the way for the customer to see your organization or brand as a vehicle for ensuring a world they want to live in, one that better promises their value to the “tribe” and their survival. That’s personal.
Nike tapped into the personal notion that determination, not talent, ensures survival (“Just do it.”). Apple understood that creatives initially feared being marginalized in a world suddenly controlled by computer-aided engineers (Apple computers were designed for “the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers — the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.”).
Distinguishing true “personalization” from “customization” will serve your organization well. It will help you do more than appear to know your customer. It will help you matter to them.
