There is a good analogy between marketing for long-term, loyal ecommerce customers and dating someone you hope to one day marry. Marketers who think about building customer relationships the same way they think about building personal relationships may find personalization will give them a significant competitive advantage.
Think about the difference between having dinner with someone on a first date and having dinner with your spouse. On a first date, you’d still be getting to know each other, asking questions about interests and aspirations and learning about jobs, friends, and family members.
But the conversation with your spouse would be very different. That conversation would benefit from years of shared experiences. Spouses can build on conversations they’ve already had, and reference common interests and shared aspirations rather than trying to discover them for the first time.
