The ROI of personalization: How investing in the right software today delivers big returns tomorrow

The Insider approach to personalization

Before we kick off, it’s important to define exactly what we mean by personalization. For most brands in the market, personalization means the ability to recommend the right product to the right user. Brands typically rely on using historical and behavioral data to personalize the customer experience on-site with data-driven recommendations.

At Insider, however, we go beyond offering personalized product recommendations. Instead, we empower brands with personalizable templates and advanced A/B testing capabilities—all within our industry-leading cross-channel platform.

Personalized templates: With over 100 pre-built and personalizable templates for web and apps, we help brands launch and customize one-to-one experiences, fast. Brands can personalize templates to align with their brand and tailor messages to each customer in a flash using our WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, which allows users to see and edit content exactly as it appears when displayed on an interface or webpage. 

A/B Testing: Each personalized template and CRO initiative created with Insider can then be A/B tested. Not only do we help brands find winning combinations of Email, Onsite, Messenger, App, and Push Notifications, but we empower brands with the option to A/B tests based on segments—not traffic split (typical A/B testing tools are based on 50/50 random traffic allocation).

Insider doesn’t just personalize experiences based on historical data, either. We use hypothetical predictive segments and over 16 different algorithms for building stronger, more impactful recommendations.

Insider’s high-converting predictive segments
Insider’s high-converting predictive segments

Let’s look at an example: Amazon typically uses past behavioral data for its recommendations, hence why you often see your last-visited products in the recommendation blocks. But this doesn’t always make sense. 

Insider goes beyond historical behavioral data to create new predictive segments based on generic and user-based algorithms. If someone sees their last-visited products in the recommendation block but doesn’t take action, Insider empowers brands to build new campaigns using different predictive algorithms to re-engage and encourage them to purchase another relevant product.

Yep, we’re not your average personalization tool 😎

The current state of personalization

Advances in technology has made it easier for companies to collect and analyze customer data, enabling them to tailor their marketing efforts to individual preferences and needs. 

From personalized email campaigns to customized product recommendations, personalization has become a vital aspect of modern marketing. And the numbers don’t lie:

  • 71% of consumers feel frustrated when a shopping experience is impersonal.
  • 70% of millennials are frustrated with brands sending irrelevant emails.
  • 91% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations that are relevant to them.

The cost of doing nothing

A common objection we hear is budget—specifically: not having enough of it. And we get it; marketers are consistently tasked with spending less and delivering more. Investing in a new tool comes with hoops to jump through and, typically, a finance team and various stakeholders to get on board. Getting the budget approved to invest in an enterprise tool is no easy task.

But by not investing in the right personalization software, brands are missing out on a huge opportunity to differentiate their brand, increase customer loyalty, and vastly improve revenue in the long run.

Deloitte says it best: “Technology now allows for every interaction to be unique and personal, and consumers expect a personal connection with the companies with which they interact.” In addition, Deloitte highlights that 80% of customers are more likely to purchase from a company that offers personalized experiences, and 69% of online shoppers say that the quality of relevance of a company’s message influences their perception of the brand.

So how many of your potential customers are you losing by not investing in the right personalization software?

5 key benefits of personalization for marketers

The benefits of personalization go beyond just engagement and conversion rates. The right personalization software can also help to reduce acquisition costs and increase customer lifetime value (CLTV)—gold dust metrics for marketers. Let’s take a look…

  1. Increased customer engagement and loyalty

Personalization helps marketers to create more relevant and targeted messaging that speaks directly to the needs and interests of individual customers. This leads to a more engaging and personalized experience that can increase customer engagement, interaction, and loyalty.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Customer loyalty was increased through efficient retargeting and personalization suite of Insider. To bolster our cross-channel marketing approach, we combined the Web and Mobile suites from Insider to deliver personalized experiences for our customers. We were able to create cumulative and unified experiences on the desktop website, mobile website, and mobile app seamlessly. We were able to increase engagement and conversion rates by showing coupons, and recommendations on both platforms.” Read the full review on G2.

  1. Higher conversion rates

Personalization can drive higher conversion rates by providing customers with more relevant offers and recommendations. By leveraging data and analytics, marketers can create tailored experiences that speak directly to individual customers, which can increase the likelihood of a conversion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐“102% uplift in conversion rates achieved using Insider’s Onsite Personalization solution. We were looking for a partner who can help us provide our website visitors with personalized experiences and drive more leads. This is where Insider came into the picture and recommended we implement their Onsite Personalization on our website. They also suggested we use Web Push to send push notifications to our customers. Within a few weeks of the implementation of Onsite Personalization, we observed an uplift of 102% in conversion rates.Read the full review on G2.

  1. Improved customer lifetime value (CLTV)

Personalization helps to increase customer lifetime value by creating personalized and relevant experiences that build loyalty and trust with customers. By building loyalty and trust with customers, marketers can increase the likelihood that customers will continue to do business with them over time. The happier they are, the more likely they are to return.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐“Insider’s integration is super fast and we saw amazing results in less than 2 months! We wanted to use our website and mobile app traffic more effectively by showing them relevant campaigns. Using Insider, we were able to show personalized campaigns that resonated with each user. This ensured that our users started returning back more frequently, and this led to an increase in Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV).” Read the full review on G2

  1. Reduced customer acquisition costs

Personalization helps reduce customer acquisition costs by targeting specific customer segments with customized content and offers. By tailoring marketing messages to individual preferences, marketers can increase the chances of customer engagement and loyalty, resulting in reduced customer churn and lower costs associated with acquiring new customers.

  1. Stronger ROI

By creating a more engaging and personalized experience for their customers, marketers can drive higher engagement, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value, which leads to a better ROI over time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐“10X ROI achieved with Insider’s Customer Data Experience Platform. We wanted a simple solution to run personalized campaigns that didn’t require coding. Insider has been a terrific choice for us as it has given 10X ROI monthly with cross-channel personalization.” Read the full review on G2.

Increasing efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability

But the benefits of personalization don’t just stop there. Oh no, investing in the right personalization software can help marketers streamline their marketing efforts by automating tasks such as segmentation, targeting, sharing sales collateral, and messaging. 

By automating these processes, marketers can save time and resources while also increasing the effectiveness of their campaigns.

This is a huge benefit for brands looking to scale their marketing activities. Through advanced automation and personalization capabilities, personalization software makes it easier for marketers to reach a larger audience while still providing a personalized and relevant experience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“42X ROI achieved using Insider’s personalization suite. We were mesmerized by the work done by the Insider team. Using Insider’s Web Push suite, we were able to run multiple campaigns simultaneously, even without the support of the internal development team. With the suggestions and continual support of Growth Managers at Insider, we were able to increase our revenue by a whopping 42 times. We’re glad to choose Insider as our growth partner.” Read the full review on G2

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“Ideal tool to increase conversions on desktop and mobile web. 

Insider is helping us deliver highly personalized user experiences at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Their personalized product recommendation algorithms across the entire shopping journey have also helped us increase conversion rates and AOV. With Insider, we are able to make every virtual shopping session count and deepen customer loyalty.” Read the full review on G2

And as more and more companies invest in personalization, it’s becoming increasingly important for marketers to do the same. By investing in personalization software, marketers can gain a competitive advantage by creating more engaging and personalized experiences that better meet the needs of their customers.

Measuring and optimizing efforts to drive even more impact

Investing in personalization software offers long-term benefits by allowing marketers to track and measure the impact of their personalization efforts over time. By leveraging A/B testing, analytics, and attribution modeling, marketers can determine the impact of their personalization efforts on key metrics, such as engagement, conversion rates, and CLTV.

  • A/B testing is a common method used to measure the impact of personalization on engagement and conversion rates. By testing two different versions of a message or experience, marketers can determine which version performs better and use that data to inform future personalization efforts to drive more conversions.
  • Analytics can be used to track the impact of personalization on key metrics over time. By analyzing this data, marketers can determine the impact of personalization efforts on the bottom line and adjust their strategies accordingly.
  • Attribution modeling can help to determine the specific impact of personalization on the customer journey. By tracking the touchpoints and interactions that lead to a conversion, marketers can better understand the role that personalization plays in driving conversions and adjust their marketing strategy in real time.

Invest today for future growth

Investing in the right personalization software significantly benefits marketers in the long run by improving customer engagement, loyalty, and conversion rates. And with personalization software able to help automate and streamline marketing processes, you’re also investing in reduced operational costs and improved efficiency.

While it may require an upfront investment, the benefits of the right personalization software lead to significant long-term cost savings and increased revenue.

And so, finding the budget for personalization software is essential for companies looking to stay competitive in today’s digital landscape.

Considering migrating? It might be worth it

You might already be using personalization software (alongside a range of other point solutions in your martech stack). So it’s worth remembering it also pays to audit and review your current martech stack to see what gains can be made.

While migration may be a short-term challenge, the long-term gains make it worth it because martech bloat could be costing you a lot of money. We cover this topic in detail in a previous post; The benefits of migrating vs. remaining (yes, even during a recession)

The only software you need for building personalized experiences

Insider’s industry-leading Customer Data Platform (CDP) unifies data from your website, app, email, CRM, POS, contact centers, and more to build a 360-degree view of every single customer. By enabling you to segment your customers with artificial intelligence, Insider helps you create tailored experiences that drive results, taking the effort out of building individualized experiences.

Our personalization engine helps brands act fast and at scale. That’s why we’ve been named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Personalization Engines

Insider named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Personalization Engines
Insider named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Personalization Engines.

Insider empowers brands to deliver seamless, timely, and personalized customer experiences with ease. Insider’s advanced personalization software empowers your team to launch meaningful and personalized campaigns in minutes, not hours.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“Personalization Product Recommendations helped improve product discovery by 40%. We’ve been using Smart Recommender, Insider’s AI-powered recommendation tool, to show personalized product recommendations based on the user behavior, and this has been extremely useful in improving product discovery.” Read the full review on G2.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“We observed a 15% uplift in conversion rates and drove 2X ROI using Insider’s Architect. We were finding difficulties building customer journeys to provide our customers with a more personalized experience. Then we got to know about Insider’s Architect, a cross-channel personalization solution to create campaigns on different channels simultaneously. Within just 3 months of usage and implementation of multiple campaigns, we saw 2X growth in ROI.” Read the full review on G2

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“Awesome 30% conversion rate boost using Insider’s omnichannel marketing automation platform, Architect. Insider’s Customer Data Platform (CDP) is also the best in the business as it is able to capture siloed user data from these different channels and bring them to one central location for us to draw insights and act on it to create engaging personalized cross-channel experiences. To put it simply, Insider is a must-have for every marketing team looking to personalize customer experiences across different channels.” Read the full review on G2.

Insider also helps you increase the performance of product listing pages (PLPs) through the use of recommendation widgets. Using personalization across your listing pages can sometimes lead to a mismatched user experience and a slower site. But, with Insider, you can leave the PLP alone for the user to browse products as they wish—but offer a personalized experience by adding recommendation widgets instead. 

Insider’s personalizable widgets allow marketers to customize the border, background, animation, header, and more to deliver truly personalized product recommendations. 

Insider’s easy-to-use widget builder
Insider’s easy-to-use widget builder

How Philips increased conversion rates by 40.1% with Insider’s personalization capabilities

Philips is a Dutch multinational conglomerate that started off as a light bulbs manufacturer and is now a beacon of innovation in technology and healthcare. 

Improving key metrics on mobile with personalized recommendations

Philips wanted to focus on improving mobile engagement, particularly around delivering personalized recommendations to its mobile web users. They also wanted to improve the conversion rate and AOV of mobile users.

Working together with Insider’s growth management experts, Philips used Insider’s AI-powered Smart Recommender to deliver highly contextual product recommendations. Users on a product page are shown relevant product recommendations based on past behavioral data and user preferences.

Thanks to Smart Recommender, Philips gained a conversion rate uplift of 40.1% on mobile.

Philip’s advanced product recommendations using Smart Recommender
Philip’s advanced product recommendations using Smart Recommender

Targeting new website visitors with personalized overlays

Philips wanted to better engage new visitors to their website on desktop and mobile—in a bid to improve the user experience and turn new visitors into customers. They worked with Insider to build an onsite engagement strategy that targeted new users.

Philips integrated a personalized Coupon Code overlay for their web and mobile web engagement, targeting new visitors with special discount coupons on their first purchase.

This strategy resulted in a conversion rate uplift of 14.9% on desktop web and an uplift of 10.2% in AOV on mobile web.

Invest today, grow tomorrow

With Insider’s AI-powered personalization capabilities, you’re free to automate and optimize your marketing campaigns, reduce operational costs, and increase your revenue. By investing in Insider today, you’ll give yourself a competitive advantage in today’s digital landscape and will reap the benefits of improved customer satisfaction and long-term growth.

Book a demo

To find out more about how Insider’s industry-leading personalization software can help your business, book a demo with our growth experts today.

Chris Baldwin - VP Marketing, Brand and Communications

Chris is an award-winning marketing leader with more than 12 years experience in the marketing and customer experience space. As VP of Marketing, Brand and Communications, Chris is responsible for Insider's brand strategy, and overseeing the global marketing team. Fun fact: Chris recently attended a clay-making workshop to make his own coffee cup…let's just say that he shouldn't give up the day job just yet.

Read more from Chris Baldwin

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