With consumers increasingly alert to issues surrounding the use of their personal information, tailoring your marketing based on personal information presents risks along with the potential for rewards. Personalized messaging may yield better results, but done poorly or mishandled, marketing personalization can cross a line and alienate customers.

The online software comparison firm GetApp conducted a study of consumer preferences regarding marketing personalization and found:

  • 91% of respondents said they feel like ads know too much personal information about them
  • 62% said they’ve opened an email in the past year because their name was in the subject line
  • 53% report that advertisements have become more relevant to their lives in the past three years
  • 42% are willing to share their email with advertisers for more relevant offers, but only 23% would share their marital status and 18% would share how many children they have
  • 18% say personalization has increased their personal connection with a brand, product, or service.

GetApp concludes that there are opportunities to realize benefits from marketing personalization but only if used in a way that overlaps with the value consumers perceive receiving.