1:1 marketing: 8 steps to effective personalization

The days of catch-all campaigns are behind us. Modern marketing is about creating direct, personalized connections that actually matter.

The challenge? Doing that at scale without losing control or consistency.

That’s where email still leads. It’s direct, cost-effective, and easy to personalize if you’ve got the right systems in place. Done right, every message reinforces your brand, supports compliance, and builds real relationships over time.

Want to see what that looks like in practice? In this session, you'll discover:

• The journey of marketing from general broadcasts to tailored dialogues

• The power of one-on-one communication in cultivating durable brand connections

• Creative ways to personalize your marketing to stand out

The importance of personalization in B2B marketing

The following datapoints are taken from our reaseach report "The future of 1:1 marketing: Exploring challenges & personalization trends".

• Customers expect personalization: People ignore irrelevant or generic marketing. True 1:1 personalization builds trust and improves engagement.

• Done right, It drives results: Personalization leads to higher conversions, better retention, and stronger brand loyalty.

8 steps to effective personalization

1. Define the experience

• Start by identifying which interactions should be personalized and what outcome you want to drive.

• Focus on user experience before choosing the tech.

2. Get your data right

• Collect data from multiple sources: CRM, website, purchase history, etc.

• Normalize and unify data into a single view of each customer.

3. Create actionable segments

• Go beyond demographics. Include behavior, preferences, and intent signals.

• Use these segments to tailor messaging, offers, and timing.

4. Choose the right channels

• Email, web, social, SMS—select channels based on where your audience engages most.

• Don’t overextend—focus where personalization can make a clear impact.

5. Tailor the content

• Personalize both content and context. This includes images, product recommendations, subject lines, and calls to action.

• Dynamic content helps scale personalization without creating endless versions.

6. Automate and trigger

• Use automation to deliver relevant content at the right time (e.g., cart abandonment, re-engagement).

• Triggers based on real-time behavior increase relevancy and reduce manual effort.

7. Measure what matters

• Track KPIs like engagement, conversion, and lifetime value.

• Tie results back to specific personalized experiences to understand what’s working.

8. Test, learn, and evolve

• A/B test different elements of personalization.

• Continuously optimize based on performance data and feedback.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Personalizing without a clear purpose.

• Relying too heavily on first names or superficial data.

• Ignoring consent or privacy expectations.

• Trying to do everything manually or all at once.

Keep it scalable and sustainable

• Centralized systems and reusable templates make personalization easier to manage.

• Build a flexible framework that allows testing and iteration without overhauling everything.

Speakers

• Carol Howley: Carol is the CMO at Exclaimer, an email signature software platform. She is a senior leader backed by over 15 years in the digital and technology space for established businesses and start-ups. Coming from a background in product marketing, brand development and demand generation, Carol is hugely passionate about building strategy, storytelling, bringing products to life for consumers and driving growth.

• Ashley Topping: Global growth leader in the SaaS industry, with nearly 20 years experience in full cycle product development, brand management, product-led growth, account-based marketing, global business-to-business marketing and sales. Proven track record in scaling SaaS startups with a strategic focus on growing pipeline by creating and executing demand generation strategy from scratch; with clear goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.

• Gina Hortatsos: Seasoned marketing leader with over 24 years of management level experience, 22 years in enterprise software. Driven, results-oriented, operations-oriented leader, passionate about building happy, healthy teams that do great work; global marketing strategy; full-funnel demand creation; global programs and field marketing.