Jordan Ogren

July 7, 2021

This type of personalization doesn't work.

Personalizing outreach has caught fire like a California forest.

It’s been the rage for a while now, getting endorsements from people like Gary Vee.

I don’t think it works (in most use cases). 😲

Hear me out. 

When you think of personalizing something, what do you think of?

Is it simply adding the name and company for that person?

Is it adding something from their LinkedIn profile (we both attended Harvard)?

I see personalization coming in two forms:
  1. Surface-level personalization
  2. Resonate-level personalization

The examples above are surface-level personalization. They take little time to source and, IMO, add little value to the prospect.

“Hey look, we put your company logo and your face on our sales material!”

😐 Thanks.

What is resonate-level personalization?

It starts with researching if the person you’re targeting fits within your ideal customer profile.

If they do, then it’s about figuring out which job your product does that best fits them. What pain do they uniquely have that you could solve?

How do you find out their pains? Research and interview people like them. 

Maybe their organization is near the high end of your target market, and this leads you to realize they would benefit most from an on-site installation of your product for X reason.

Once you have that information, craft a strong opening that is personalized for their unique situation.

Resonate-level personalization will take more time, but it will show that you understand them and can better help them.

If you’re going to invest in doing personalization, avoid surface-level and go deeper.

What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of personalization? 

Do you think it works?

🧠 // JO