Introduction:
As a famous Swedish quartet once said (or Alan Partridge depending on your preference), “Knowing me, knowing you. Ahaaaa”. Now, you might be wondering, what on earth has this got to do with my business and generating more revenue?
Well, bear with us on this one: by getting to know your data (knowing me), and in turn, your customers (knowing you), you can deliver more meaningful sales interactions and convert more deals.
In this guide, you’ll learn why personalised selling matters and how to execute it well using the right technology. This way, you can create customised experiences that resonate with your prospects and clients, making them more likely to sing "I do, I do, I do, I do, I do" to your offerings.
Knowing me, Knowing you:
What exactly is personalised selling?
Personalised selling goes back to the roots of shopping, with face-to-face interactions between the seller and the buyer. Over time, these interactions help build knowledge, a relationship, and trust, increasing the likelihood of a sale.
Let’s say Benny and Björn go to the local farmers' market every weekend for veg. The green grocer notices they buy a lot of carrots and asks "why?". Turns out our boys from ABBA love carrot soup. So, the next Saturday, the grocer highlights some different varieties of squash that would go well in the soup, and the following week, some spices as well.
The green grocer noticed a purchasing pattern and asked questions, increasing the amount being spent with him and securing customers for life by building trust. As a bonus, he stands out from his more well-known supermarket competitors by offering unique and personalised touches.
But what happens if you're not just selling a few vegetables at the weekend to a local community? What if you’re selling a raft of products or services to customers you can't meet face-to-face? That's where technology becomes your best friend in personalised selling.
The Winner Takes it All:
How to do personalised selling well
Now you know the “what,” let’s get into the “how.” What can you do right now to make personalised selling work for your business?
1. Knowing Me: Centralise your customer data
When it comes to customer data, it's everywhere. Think about all the various touch points you have with a business when you make a purchase — emails, calls, chatbot conversations, website visits, invoices, sales orders, and so on.
It is challenging when customer data is scattered, as it becomes difficult to obtain a comprehensive understanding of your customers and identify the trends and patterns necessary for personalised sales.
This is where centralising your data into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system comes in. A CRM is far more than just a digital contact book. It’s a comprehensive tool that allows you to collate all your customer data in one place, providing a single, unified view of each customer (as well as lots of other handy things like keeping track of your sales).
Once you've got your CRM system, you can start adding and collecting all of your data. But hang on. Technology is meant to save time, right? Won't that be really time-consuming? That's where integration comes in. With platforms like Zoho CRM, you can integrate all your existing tools (with no coding required). From social media platforms to marketing emails, finance, and even your support desk, integration makes it a whole lot easier to bring all your data under 'one roof.'
Let's say you're an online record store that also sells musical merchandise. By centralising all customer data, you can now see Benny's (he’s gone solo this time) entire purchasing history with your business. You know he has recently purchased a vintage record player from your store online. You can also see that he downloaded an e-book about ABBA’s greatest hits (he’s getting nostalgic).
By having all this data in one place, you can send Benny a personalised offer that hits the right note, making him say thank you for the music and increasing your revenue opportunities.
2. Knowing You (ahaaa): Insights and analytics
Now that we have all our data in one place, it's time to understand our customers — what they like, need, and how they behave. This is the essence of personalised selling.
Zoho Analytics (a complementary product to CRM) helps transform raw data into actionable insights, enabling you to tailor your sales approach to meet your customers' specific preferences and behaviours. It really is a powerful tool for creating reports and insights from all the data you've brought into your CRM.
Suppose you notice that your customers are particularly interested in ABBA-themed events. Using Analytics, you can see that event-related emails have the highest engagement rates.
By combining this insight with purchase data, you can identify which customers have previously attended events and are likely to do so again. Armed with this information, you can create targeted campaigns offering early-bird tickets or exclusive event perks to these high-value customers.
With Analytics, you can see how customers interact with your brand in customisable graphs, charts, and widgets (and don't we all love those?). Now you know exactly which products your customers are most interested in, what times of the year they are most active, and which marketing messages resonate the most with them.
3. Super Trouper: Segment your customers
Segmentation is key to personalised selling, allowing you to group customers based on specific characteristics, behaviours, or preferences. This enables you to tailor your messaging and offers to each segment, ensuring your communications are relevant and engaging. Crucially, you can engage with far more people than just Benny and Björn.Cue the money, money, money!
Let's say you're running an online store that sells ABBA merchandise. With Zoho CRM, you can segment your customers based on their purchase history, interests, and behaviour.
Next, define your segmentation criteria. For example, you could create segments for customers who bought ABBA's "Gold: Greatest Hits" album or those interested in ABBA-themed apparel. Create custom fields in Zoho CRM to capture these data points, then use filters to set criteria for each segment.
With these segments in place, you could then use Zoho Campaigns to send targeted email campaigns. For example, you could send an email to the "Greatest Hits" segment promoting a new collector's edition vinyl of "Gold: Greatest Hits," while the "Apparel" segment might receive an email showcasing the latest ABBA-themed t-shirts and accessories.
The benefits of segmentation are immense. Segmentation also helps in prioritising high-value customers and addressing their specific needs, fostering loyalty and repeat business. By segmenting, you ensure that your customers feel like Super Troupers, appreciated, and more inclined to make that purchase and keep purchasing.
4. Take a chance on automation
Now you’ve set up your segmentation, let’s take it a step further and introduce automation, making your personalised selling process smoother and scalable as you grow (and saving you some time to boot).
Imagine a customer signs up for your ABBA fan club or makes a purchase. Boom! They’re placed in the perfect segment defined in your CRM. With Zoho CRM and Zoho Campaigns, you can set up automated workflows that instantly trigger actions such as sending a tailored email. Now that is enough to make you shout 'Mamma Mia!'.
You can easily configure workflows in CRM to trigger actions when customers enter these segments. Then, hop over to Zoho Campaigns and create awesome email templates for each segment. Link these workflows, and voilà! Your communications are timely, relevant, and super engaging.
(P.S. it really is that simple).
Why is this so awesome? First off, it saves you tons of time. No more manual drudgery — automation does the heavy lifting, so you can focus on strategic, creative tasks. Consistency is another big win. Automated workflows ensure that every customer gets the same high-quality experience.
Let's talk about scale. With automation, you can deliver personalised messages to a large audience without breaking a sweat. It’s like having ABBA perform for you, perfectly in sync, playing a harmonious tune. Plus, automation reduces the risk of errors and makes sure no customer is forgotten, optimising your marketing efforts and driving better conversion results.
The winner really does take it all...
Personalised selling isn't just a strategy; it's a game-changer. By harnessing technology and leveraging your existing data, you gain the power to make laser-focused decisions.
Imagine tailoring your marketing and sales efforts precisely where they count the most, reaching customers with offers that feel like they were made just for them. This approach not only boosts sales but also builds stronger relationships and customer loyalty, setting you apart in today's competitive landscape.
Now, it's your turn to take to the stage and implement these processes. Start by signing up for a free trial of Zoho CRM today and see how personalised selling can transform your business.
(We promise you'll be singing "the winner takes it all..." as you close all of those lovely deals).
