Companies that have adopted a digital plan knows what you want to hear. Leveraging digital adoption to process a vast array of your engagement , includes your preferences, when you listened to your customer, and what led you to understand them.
Despite significant investments in technologies designed to enable personalization more efficiently and effectively, most companies struggle to match Enterprise level of sophistication. In a survey of 5,000 global consumers, two-thirds reported receiving no recommendations or personalization. Yet more than 80% still want and expect personalized experiences.
A Missed Strategic Opportunity
Business leaders are not acting fast enough. A survey of over 1,400 global executives showed that while 85% plan to increase spending on digital capabilities in 2024, much of this is focused on cost savings rather than elevating personalization. That is a strategic misstep. Personalization, fueled by digital adoption, offers one of the most compelling and profitable growth opportunities available today.
The Five Promises of Personalization
True personalization isn’t about inserting a customer’s name into an email. It means creating scalable, data-informed experiences that adapt with every customer interaction. These experiences must deliver on five promises: empower me, know me, reach me, show me, and delight me. The Personalization Index evaluates how companies fulfill these promises and provides a roadmap for improvement.
Empower Me
This pillar evaluates how well companies leverage digital tools to simplify and enrich customer experiences across the journey. For example, SonderMind’s digital wellness app uses interactive assessments to help users track mental wellness and receive personalized recommendations, empowering both users and therapists with data-driven insights.
Know Me
Digital adoption plays a central role in enabling companies to earn and retain customer trust by responsibly collecting and integrating customer data. Sweetgreen exemplifies this by building robust digital relationships with customers, enhancing engagement and frequency of purchases through its app.
Reach Me
Companies must go beyond understanding customers—they must engage them effectively. Leaders use digitally enabled decision engines to trigger timely, relevant interactions across multiple channels. Cisco, for instance, aggregates customer data across service, sales, and external sources to drive personalized B2B engagement.
Show Me
Advanced content creation powered by digital systems allows for mass personalization without compromising brand identity. Pandora, the global jewelry brand, cut content creation cycles from months to days by using automation and templated digital assets, enabling personalization at speed and scale.
Delight Me
Finally, companies must continuously test and refine their customer experiences. DoorDash demonstrates leadership here by running hundreds of digital experiments to optimize user flows, leveraging agile teams that turn learning into action in near real time.
Building the Personalization Index
We created the Personalization Index through marketer surveys, mystery shopping, and financial performance analysis. The tool assesses how well companies apply digital adoption strategies to create superior customer experiences.
Sample Self-Assessment Questions
Here are example prompts organizations can use to evaluate their digital personalization maturity:
- Are we delivering consistent, personalized experiences across all channels and experiences?
- Is customer data centralized and actively used to guide decisions?
- Do we automate segmentation and use behavioral triggers for outreach?
- How fast can we ideate, produce, and launch personalized content?
- Are we continuously testing and optimizing based on feedback loops?
Lessons from Industry Leaders
Companies leading in personalization have three traits in common:
- A Clear Vision and Cross-Functional Leadership
Personalization needs support from the CEO and buy-in from all C-suite leaders. Digital adoption must be a shared mandate, not siloed under IT or marketing. - A Solid Foundation
Leaders prioritize digital integration and data hygiene. They invest in the infrastructure needed to support real-time personalization and seamless digital experiences. - Speed and Scale of Learning
Organizations that reduce their campaign cycles from months to days can test more, learn faster, and adjust in real-time. This agility is crucial to staying ahead.
The Strategic Advantage of Digital Adoption
The Personalization Index demonstrates a clear correlation between advanced digital adoption and business performance. Companies that personalize well see higher customer satisfaction, faster growth, and greater value creation. In fact, those in the top quartile of the index grew 10% annually versus 0% for laggards.
As companies embrace digital adoption, they move beyond simply automating operations—they transform customer relationships. They build loyalty, generate more insights, and deliver exceptional value. In a world where customer expectations are rising, personalization powered by digital adoption isn’t just a competitive advantage—it’s a necessity.
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Danijel Slisko
