Marketing Leaders Can Unlock Commercial Value by Redefining Personalized Digital Interactions with Customer-Shared Data

In a digital landscape that is ever-evolving, the way marketers engage with customers can significantly impact their experiences and commercial success. To create meaningful interactions, marketers must tailor messages to align with customer preferences, focusing on nurturing transparency and optimizing channel selection. 

This involves adjusting the frequency, timing, personalization, and content of communications based on the data customers willingly share.

From the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo in Denver, CO, we spoke with Suzanne Schwartz, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Marketing Practice, to explore how marketers can harness personalization and GenAI to foster engaging conversations with customers, enhance customer learning, boost engagement and drive results. 

Journalists who would like to speak with Suzanne regarding this topic can contact Elizabeth.Bishop@Garter.com. Members of the media can reference this material in articles with proper attribution to Gartner.

A: Personalized interactions have proven to be commercially valuable. In fact, a Gartner survey of 1,464 B2B buyers and consumers in November and December of 2024 revealed that customers are 1.8 times more likely to pay a premium and 3.7 times more likely to purchase more than intended when they feel their experience is personalized. 

Creating messages that match customer preferences is vital for creating meaningful and impactful conversations. To achieve effective personalization, marketers should actively procure and utilize customer data to tailor interactions according to individual preferences regarding frequency, timing, and content.  

However, Gartner found that nearly half of personalized digital communications miss the mark as customers find them creepy, irrelevant, or both creepy and irrelevant. This highlights the need for marketers to refine their messaging strategies by personalizing messages based on data actively shared by customers. 

By leveraging data shared by customers, as opposed to collected data that customers did not directly provide, marketers can better align with customer expectations and combat creepiness. This approach not only improves the relevance of interactions but also fosters stronger relationships and engagement, ultimately leading to more successful customer journeys.

A: Transparency in the use of GenAI is crucial for building trust and fostering effective conversations with customers. As businesses scale their messaging using these technologies, it is essential to be upfront about their application. 

This openness enhances customer trust during AI and GenAI powered two-way conversations such as those through chat and third party messaging apps, allowing for more personalized and engaging interactions at scale. By clearly communicating how AI is being utilized, businesses can reassure customers that their data is handled responsibly and ethically, which is a fundamental aspect of nurturing commercially valuable digital conversations.

A: Choosing the right conversational marketing channels is essential for effectively impacting customer journeys. While it's tempting to use all available channels, such as SMS/texting, email, push notifications, in-app messages, chat, and third party messaging apps, success lies in selecting the right mix that aligns with the desired impact on customer journeys. 

This means understanding the effectiveness of each channel throughout the customer journey, and balancing spend with expected impact. By focusing on the channels that best meet customer needs and preferences, marketers can create the right conditions for conversations to thrive, ensuring that their efforts are both efficient and effective.