• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 19, 2021

Brands are facing hurdles when comes to personalization. The main one is that they lack the right data, according to Identity Marketing for Dummies, an ebook by SheerID. 

Data is useless when it is:

• Anonymous — Anonymous data does not support for personalization. 
• Not meaningful — Some of the data doesn’t have any real meaning for the customer.  
• Not representative — Most data fails to capture who the customer is and what values they hold, and is not very actionable.  

Consumers want a personalized experience, not a generic email. But email is important both for marketing and identity verification because 80% of consumers are willing to share their email address, according to a shopper study by Kelton Global and SheerID. 

In contrast, 57% will provide their mobile number, while 27% will provide their credit card information and 61% will give their Social Security number. 

A Forrester study shows that companies are investing in personalizing:

• Offers/coupons/promotions 
• Web/mobile web experiences
• Product recommendations
• Messaging/email
• Services

But these activities demand identity verification. Companies that fail are plagued by:

• False ID 
• Human error
• Limited purchasing opportunities  

The answer is a verification solution that includes:

• Authoritative data sources
• Minimal data collections
• Complete control
• Seamless customer experience
• Data security
• Customer intelligence
• Document review

And many are seeking identity resolution by asking for the email address. 

Whatever the channel, personalization is worth pursuing. The Kelton Global-SheerID study also shows that consumers experience
these emotions when given a personalized offer:

• Rewarded —54%
• Excited — 47%
• Special — 36%
• Honored — 34%

Summing up, SheerID recommends these ten best practices:

1. Create a compelling invitation, using zero-party data
2. Build consumer trust by respecting privacy
3. Be everywhere your customers are
4. Speak your customers’ language 
5. Make it easy for customers to brag about you
6. Integrate your campaigns with your loyalty program
   
7. Give your consumer tribe one hundred percent — i.e., fund scholarships, donate to schools, hire veterans
8. Celebrate your customers year-round. 
9. Expand your consumer tribes (or create your own)
10. Take up cause marketing