Personalized Communication and SaaS
SaaS, or software as a service, has permeated the marketplace and changed the way we do business. While SaaS has inarguably improved efficiency and accuracy in many aspects of sales, it also has created a new issue. When you can just click a few buttons and blast communication to thousands, ease sometimes supersedes quality. For much of the business world, people still buy from people. So how can you leverage the capabilities of SaaS while retaining a personalized communication style? We’ll explore three ways to have the best of both worlds.
1. Mindfully choose when to automate
Automating your communication strategy isn’t bad, you just want to be cognizant of the best times to leverage this capability. If you’re rolling out a new feature, announcing an upgraded integration, or explaining a universally relevant message, providing a one-size-fits-all message is applicable. There’s no reason to emphasize personalized communication to a message which is clearly high-level information intended for all audiences.
However, if you’re making a sales pitch, addressing a one-off bug, or thanking a customer for their continued partnership, a boilerplate letter misses the mark and feels lazy and impersonal. In these circumstances, a far more specific message, crafted with intent, reinforces the direct sincerity you intend.
In fact, the University of Houston notes, “Consumers have come to expect personalized communication in all interactions, as they often need a reason to pay attention to a brand or material.”
2. Do a delivery check before defaulting to tech
In addition to considering the content of your message, you should also consider the medium you’re employing. Newsletters, blog posts, website copy, mailers, and similar other delivery devices don’t need to appear personalized as the audience knows the content is being distributed for mass consumption.
Alternatively, handwritten cards, phone calls, video messages, and other direct communication mediums shouldn’t rely on scripting or mass production. In sales, marketing, and other areas which require skilled communication strategies, it’s important to plan ahead. Understand your goal. If your call-to-action is a heavy ask, such as requesting their business or a one-on-one meeting, take the time to incorporate personalized communication. If the call-to-action is much lighter, such as visiting a landing page or RSVPing for a webinar, personalization is far less necessary.
3. Know when to merge your personalized communication process
There are unique opportunities where you don’t have to choose an either/or approach. In these circumstances, SaaS technology is built specifically to increase your communication efficiency without sacrificing personalized communication. An excellent example of this is video messaging. Video messaging, with tools like Covideo, allow you to quickly create a number of personalized videos and messages, leveraging teleprompter, screensharing, and snippet features to automate certain pieces of the process, while allowing you to deliver a tailored, highly individualized communication experience with your intended recipient.
While there are still certain circumstances where blasting out a boilerplate email or setting up in-person meetings exist as the two extremes of communication personalization, more and more sales and marketing is existing in the middle, combining the efficient processes of SaaS with the personalized approach of one-off communication.
The Takeaway
As technology continues to embed itself further into each of the areas of our lives, the audiences we communicate with become both more accepting of this, as well as more perceptive to when it is employed.
As Salesloft explains, “The goal of personalization is to rise above the noise and build a stronger relationship with the customer.” With this in mind, choosing what messages require personalization, which mediums are best equipped to deliver this personalization, and how best to find the happy middle will allow you to best leverage SaaS into your personalized communication strategies. You want deeper engagement. Give your audience the same.
