Personalisation is now a key part of any successful marketing & sales strategy. If it isn’t for your business, it should be.

That’s because personalisation is an essential part of any transaction – for both B2B and B2C sales. It’s become the norm. For consumers, it’s useful, it’s engaging and it should now be a given.

According to research by Marketo, over two thirds of customers expect their interactions with businesses to be personalised.

Personalisation doesn’t just benefit the customer. It can benefit your business too. Here’s why you should ensure personalisation is a part of your sales strategy:

1. Personalisation lets you build an instant connection with prospects

B2B sales are built on relationships, and deploying personalisation into your sales funnel allows your reps to interact on a more personal level.

It’s extremely beneficial for your sale reps, because it gives them the opportunity to start building a rapport right at the start of the process.

With personalisation, you’re going into the pitch warm, having already made a connection with your prospects.

2. It humanises your business and your brand

Another important benefit of personalisation is the impact it has on your business and brand.

It immediately changes perceptions amongst your customers – from seeing you as a large, unknown corporation to identifying with you and your salespeople on a personal level.

Introducing personal messages – with a custom video for example – instantly puts a face to a name. It gives prospects someone to identify with and humanises your brand.

3. You can stand out from your competition

A study by EConsultancy found that at least 38% of businesses aren’t undertaking any type of personalisation in their marketing or sales processes.

In the B2B sphere, this number is likely to be much higher, because consuming-facing companies typically embrace the necessities and benefits much sooner, following in the footsteps of retail giants like Amazon, Netflix and Spotify.

So even with a small amount of personalisation in your sales funnel – a personal message or a tailored piece of content – you’ll immediately stand out from your competition.

Your prospects will notice you. They’ll see you care about their individual needs. And they’ll want to buy from you.

4. And get more loyalty from your customers

Personalisation helps to build loyalty amongst your customers too. They expect personalisation, they like personalisation, and they find it useful.

Nobody likes receiving a generic email or a proposal that could have been written for any number of businesses, in any industry.

So when you personalise communication in your sales funnel, customers take note. They’re impressed. When you add value to that personalisation and make it highly relevant, they’ll really appreciate your effort.

And they’ll reward it with their repeat business, because you’ve built a trusted, beneficial relationship with them.

5. Personalisation increases conversion rates

Personalisation on websites sees a big uplift in conversions – and it will do the same in your sales funnel. According to Econsultancy, 93% of companies saw an increase in sales when deploying personalisation online.

In the sales funnel, personalisation also brings benefits to your conversion rates. A personalised message at the start of the process is more likely to increase the likelihood of a follow up call, keeping leads interested and encouraging further engagement.

And a personalised video message can increase conversions of closed deals and signed documents by over 30%, because it’s something different, something unique. It communicates directly with your prospect.  

6. And helps salespeople close more deals

Personalisation tools and strategies are also extremely beneficial to your salespeople. The more tools you can give them, the easier their jobs are to guide prospects through the funnel and convert at the end.

If a sales rep can personalise their first point of contact, they’re much more likely to get a foot in the door. If they can send a personal video message, then they can do what they do best – build trust and rapport with their prospects.

With the right information at their fingertips, salespeople will find it much easier to reach out to potential customers, engage with them and the challenges they are facing, and develop a long-lasting relationship (that will ultimately help them close those deals).

7. Most importantly, personalisation will increase your revenue

By closing on a personal note – whether it’s at the end of an initial email to a warm lead or a thank you message at the bottom of a submitted contract – you are much more likely to encourage your prospect to advance to the next stage in your sales funnel.

Ultimately that will lead to increased revenue – the biggest benefit of personalisation.

You’ve established trust, demonstrated value and understanding, and built a great, personal relationship. That will make it easier to close that final deal.

And it will ensure it’s easier to make more revenue from that deal too – either via upselling other products now or via long-term business from loyal customers.