EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

The studies of more than 2,000 American adults , conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Cordial , and more than 550 marketers , conducted by Momentive , indicated a wide disconnect between the perceptions of brand marketing leaders and their customers when it comes to digital communications .

While 50 % of marketers say that most of the emails they have sent in the past six months have been personalised to their recipients , just 34 % of American consumers , who shop in response to emails from brands , say that the majority of emails they received over the same period were personalised from brands , with about half ( 53 %) perceiving them as generic and not tailored to them . brand ’ s bottom line . The Cordial study found that 83 % of consumers have shopped in response to emails from brands , while 67 % have shopped in response to text messages from brands .

But for brands seeking to improve results , it ’ s clear that personalisation is key : consumers are almost twice as likely to shop in response to an email or text that is personalised than one that is not :

• Consumers who say that most of the emails they received from brands in the past six months are personalised are more likely than those who say that most of the emails they received from brands in the past six months are generic to shop in response to emails from brands ( 27 % vs . 15 %).

• Consumers who say that most of the texts they received from brands in the past six months are personalised are more likely to shop in response to texts from brands ( 26 %) vs . just 11 % among those who say that most of the texts they received from brands in the past six months are generic .

“ Our findings demonstrate the importance of recognising and creating unique messaging experiences for each customer ,” said Carrie Parker , SVP , Marketing at Cordial .

“ While many marketers think they ’ re providing customised offers and outreach , it ’ s clear that their efforts are missing the mark with consumers and could be hurting sales and brand loyalty in the process .”

“ Consumers are clearly comfortable with a high level of communication from brands they trust ,” added Parker .

“ However , at the moment , many brands are not capitalising on the trust they have worked so hard to build , with few consumers , only 34 %, saying the emails they received in the past six months from brands are actually personalised for them .”

The importance of the right personal touch

If consumers are more open to cross-channel marketing communications than ever before , the gap in perception around personalised messaging can have a significant impact on a

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