Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI

by Mark Abraham

In a world where consumers expect more—instantly and seamlessly—personalization is a strategic imperative.

Consumers want personalized experiences, but few companies are rising to the challenge. Those that succeed in personalization build trusted relationships with millions of customers and engage with them at every step throughout their journey. Through the power of AI, they rethink their operations and unleash the creativity of their teams to fine-tune every interaction, delighting customers in the process.

But most companies are not doing personalization well, leading to wasted money, squandered effort, and missed expectations. To be done effectively, personalization must be a critical element of an organization's strategy.

Personalized is a playbook for delivering true personalization at scale. In this book, Boston Consulting Group's Mark Abraham and Harvard Business School's David C. Edelman describe Five Promises of Personalization:

Empower Me: Understand each customer's needs and how best to meet them.
Know Me: Win customers' trust and permission to use their data to improve their experience.
Reach Me: Reach out to the right customer, in the right channel, at the right time.
Show Me: Tailor unique content to be relevant to each customer, enabled by generative AI.
Delight Me: Design new ways of working and ensure continuous improvement, so a customer's experience feels magical.
With detailed examples across industries—including retail, health care, banking, technology, and travel—this book will help executives learn how to put personalization at the center of their strategy, accelerate growth, and capture their share of the $2 trillion personalization prize.

Genres: Business, Artificial Intelligence

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Lydia Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is simple, relatable and has a really helpful framing around personalization to enrich customer experience. I love the five promises and the examples across industries just bring things to life. Highly recommend.

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple, refreshing view on the multitude of capabilities AI can integrate within corporate strategy. The case studies mentioned are succinct and well demonstrated.

[Alex K · Rating 3 out of 5]

good framework and real-life success stories of personalization by industry. It's just really difficult to fully immerse myself into business-y books like this.

Quotes

~ key framework: empower me, reach me, know me, show me, delight me


~ Personalization flips the traditional product-centric approach to marketing on its ear. When empowering the customer is the goal, the individual transaction or interaction is not an isolated event but, rather, part of the continuum of engagement. (alluding to the service design approach)

~ Great service delivery starts with having the right people building trust and confidence with their customers.

~ Savvier companies build their data systems and infrastructure with the end use cases in mind from the outset. They start by defining a data strategy that prioritizes the way in which they want to empower the customer, and in which channel.

~ agile pods made of CX strategist, data scientist/engineer, UI/UX, L&C, engineers and tech architects, creative designers, channel execution/marketing ops, marketers (p. 119)

~ the power of connected sales and marketing to surface rich customer interaction data that empowers sellers and improves customer experiences.

~ chief growth officer, who combines responsibility for marketing and sales - a combination appropriate for transactional (nonsubscription) businesses like retailers, , as well as many forms of B2B.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Stop Wasting Money on Personalization That Doesn't Work!** Are you pouring resources into personalization efforts that are yielding disappointing results? You're not alone. Too many companies are failing to grasp the true potential of personalized experiences, leaving massive opportunities on the table. This book unveils the *secret sauce* behind successful personalization strategies. Discover how industry leaders are leveraging the power of AI and unleashing the ingenuity of their teams to forge lasting connections with millions of customers. Learn how they're meticulously crafting every interaction, turning routine engagements into moments of genuine delight. But this isn't just about feel-good stories. This book provides a clear roadmap for transforming your organization. It proves that personalization, when done right, is a strategic imperative that drives unparalleled customer loyalty and ultimately, a far greater return on your investment. Don't let your company fall behind. Read this book and unlock the true potential of personalized experiences to dominate your market and forge unbreakable bonds with your customers. The future of your business depends on it.

[Darya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is an eye-opening exploration of how businesses can harness the transformative power of AI to redefine customer engagement and deliver personalized experiences that resonate deeply. As a USA Today Bestseller, this book lives up to its reputation by providing actionable insights for businesses striving to meet the ever-increasing demands of modern consumers.
The authors skillfully articulate the growing importance of personalization as not just a competitive advantage but a strategic imperative. They highlight how companies that succeed in this arena create trusted, long-lasting relationships with their customers by engaging with them at every touchpoint in their journey.
What sets this book apart is its clear and accessible breakdown of how AI can empower organizations to rethink their operations. From streamlining processes to unleashing the creativity of teams, the authors demonstrate how AI can fine-tune interactions and consistently delight customers.
The case studies and real-world examples sprinkled throughout the book make the concepts relatable and actionable, making it a valuable read for business leaders, marketers, and anyone interested in the future of customer strategy.
In an age where customer expectations are higher than ever, Personalized is a must-read for anyone looking to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-driven personalization. It’s inspiring, thought-provoking, and packed with practical strategies to help businesses thrive. Highly recommended!

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed the framing the authors had on personalization but felt like the first three chapters and the last two chapters were the only ones that actually said anything & then the middle was examples that weren't detailed enough to be inspiring. the work they have done on the personalization index is interesting, I wonder what else companies that rank highly have in common?

[Michelle S. Berryman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very accessible book on maximizing personalization in customer experience. The five promises of personalization (Empower Me, Know Me, Reach Me, Show Me and Delight Me) are a good framework and litmus test for CX initiatives.