The Personalisation Paradox

Personalisation is a key driver of success. Brands that use personalisation see higher engagement, better conversions, and stronger customer loyalty. But while the benefits are clear, getting it right can be challenging. For example, 63% of digital marketing leaders struggle with personalisation, and only 17% have integrated AI and machine learning tools essential for scaling personalisation efforts.

This gap between ambition and execution costs businesses valuable opportunities to connect with their audiences. As we enter 2025, understanding how to overcome these challenges is more critical than ever.

That’s why we created this guide. Inside, you’ll find insights from a survey of marketing, ecommerce, and digital leaders, uncovering where companies fall short, their most significant barriers, and actionable strategies to unlock personalisation’s full potential.

Why personalisation matters

Personalisation is a proven driver of results. According to our survey, businesses rank higher engagement and better conversion rates as the top benefits of personalisation:

These results show why personalisation is such a powerful tool. Whether targeting broad audiences or niche markets, its impact is clear and measurable.

What the survey tells us:

• 53% of automated campaigns are only moderately personalised, while just 13% are highly personalised.
• 28% of marketers cite a lack of data as their biggest barrier to personalisation, and 33% struggle with poor data quality.
• When asked about time and resources allocated to personalisation, only 9.73% of respondents dedicate significant or extensive effort (more than 40%).
• Nearly 80% of companies personalise fewer than half of their marketing campaigns. These findings reveal a stark gap between ambition and execution.

While the challenges are real, businesses that address these obstacles stand to gain a significant competitive advantage. 2025 is a big year for personalisation. It’s a turning point. Businesses that take on the challenges (like fixing data gaps, investing in the right tools, and training their teams) will be ready to meet rising customer expectations.

“Sending weather related alerts to relevant segments at relevant times allowed us to reach people when we needed to, when it applied to them. This resulted in increased. engagement and conversion.”

The State of Personalisation

So, what are marketers doing in 2025? Personalisation is now a key part of marketing strategies, but businesses are at different stages of the journey. Many have taken the first steps, but only a few are making the most of its potential. Our survey shows where marketers are focusing their efforts and the results they’re achieving.

How personalisation is being implemented

Most marketers incorporate some level of personalisation into their campaigns, with only 6% not using personalisation. However, most are only scratching the surface of what’s possible. Over half of campaigns are moderately personalised, while just 13% reach a high level of personalisation.

This shows a significant gap, and an even greater opportunity, for businesses to go beyond the basics and truly connect with their audiences.

How much are companies investing in personalisation?

The survey reveals how businesses are allocating time and resources to personalisation. While 46% dedicate 10-20% of their resources to it, only a small fraction, less than 10%, are making significant or extensive investments.

This highlights a clear gap between the perceived importance of personalisation and the level of effort businesses are committing to it. For many, personalisation remains an underfunded opportunity waiting to be unlocked.

Channels and data driving personalisation

Data powers personalisation, but how often are marketers actually using it? According to the survey, only 13.72% always use customer data, while the majority rely on it frequently or occasionally.

“However, 19% of marketers rarely or never use customer data for personalisation”

When it comes to the most effective data types, purchase history (21.92%) and demographic information (21.92%) lead the way. Other valuable sources include channel engagement, browsing behaviour, and loyalty data.

This inconsistency highlights a common issue: while data is abundant, it’s not always used to its full potential. For many marketers, the opportunity lies in making better use of the information already at their fingertips.

“We saw a 20% increase in clickthrough rates and conversions. This demonstrated how the benefit directly impacted our marketing success by improving engagement.”

How much is personalisation actually being used?

The survey reveals how extensively businesses are applying personalisation across their marketing campaigns. Nearly 80% of companies use customer data to personalise fewer than half of their campaigns. In fact, over 22% personalise just 10% or less, while only 11.43% fully personalise 76-100% of their campaigns.

These numbers highlight a significant gap between personalisation potential and current execution, showing just how much room there is for growth.

Measuring the impact of personalisation

The survey shows that personalisation delivers measurable performance improvements:

• Over 60% of marketers report up to a 10% boost in click-through rates (CTR) and conversions.
• Around 20% see improvements of 11-20%, while a smaller group achieves gains of over 30%.

When it comes to tracking effectiveness, marketers focus on key metrics like conversion rates (31.75%), CTR (30.16%), and engagement metrics (20.64%). Revenue lift and customer feedback also play a role but are less commonly used.

These results underscore the importance of personalisation in driving tangible business outcomes.

The takeaway

Most marketers haven’t fully tapped into the potential of personalisation. Only 11.43% of companies personalise more than 75% of their campaigns, leaving a significant gap between what’s possible and what’s being done.

Even small steps in personalisation can deliver measurable improvements in engagement, conversions, and revenue. The challenge now is scaling these efforts and expanding personalisation across more channels and campaigns. The opportunity is there. Businesses just need to seize it.

“We achieve much higher open and click-through rates when we use personalised content.”

Effective use cases for data in personalisation strategies

Personalisation doesn’t just happen. Actionable data and smart strategies power it. To help businesses focus their efforts, we can visualise personalisation tactics on a matrix that balances Effort (Easy to Hard) with Impact (Low to High). This framework identifies quick wins and high-potential opportunities.

Easy, low impact

These strategies are simple to execute but deliver limited results. Examples include:

• Token personalisation: Adding first names to email subject lines.
• Birthday or anniversary messages: Automated but often generic.

While these methods are a good starting point, they lack the depth needed for meaningful engagement or significant conversion boosts.

Easy, high impact

These strategies are straightforward yet deliver noticeable results. Examples include:

• Segmentation of offers based on purchase history: Targeted discounts or recommendations tailored to customer groups.
• Cart abandonment emails: Simple reminders that often lead to immediate conversions.

These tactics are the “low-hanging fruit” of personalisation; easy to implement and highly effective.

Hard, low impact

These approaches demand significant effort and resources but may not yield broad results. Examples include:

• Predictive lead scoring for small audiences: Complex algorithms for niche markets.
• Advanced contextual targeting with sparse data: Hard to execute without a rich dataset.

These methods work in specific scenarios but aren’t ideal for scalable solutions.

Hard, high impact

This is where personalisation truly shines. These strategies are resource-intensive but can deliver transformative results. Examples include:

• Real-time predictive personalisation: AI-Powered recommendations based on individual user behaviour.
• Dynamic pricing based on user behaviour: Adjusting offers or pricing in real-time.

Spotler makes these advanced strategies easier with our predictive analytics tools.
Discover more!

From personalised product recommendations to identifying customer lifetime value, our built-in AI and predictive models help you drive results based on past and future customer behaviour. With Spotler, you can achieve powerful personalisation without the complexity.

The matrix highlights a clear roadmap:

1. Start with easy, high-impact strategies to build momentum and confidence.
2. Invest in brutal, high-impact tactics to unlock personalisation’s full potential as resources and expertise grow.
3. By prioritising the right strategies, businesses can turn personalisation into a powerful driver of engagement, loyalty, and growth.

Barriers to personalisation: Why brands hold back

Personalisation has clear benefits, but implementing it effectively isn’t always easy. Many businesses face technical hurdles and psychological roadblocks that prevent them from reaching their full potential. The survey highlights the key challenges, showing a clear gap between what companies aim to achieve and what they can deliver.

“Marketers’ most significant issues with personalisation are a lack of data (28%) and data quality (33%).”

The biggest obstacles

Marketers face several challenges in personalisation, but a lack of data (28%) and technical limitations (25%) stand out as the biggest hurdles. Another significant issue is trust in data or technology (22%), which prevents many businesses from fully embracing advanced strategies.

These barriers highlight the disconnect between ambition and execution, showing that while the potential for personalisation is clear, achieving it often feels out of reach.

The biggest data challenges

When it comes to using customer data for personalisation, data quality (33%) is the most significant issue, followed by access to data (20%) and fragmented data sources (13%). These foundational challenges can derail even the best personalisation efforts, making it clear that businesses must address these data roadblocks to unlock personalisation’s full potential.

Insights from the field

Survey respondents shared the psychological and organisational challenges that amplify technical barriers:

“We aren’t able to fully trust some of the data and therefore are hesitant to do more complex personalisation for fear of sending the wrong thing to supporters and it having the opposite effect to the desired one.”

“There is a complete reluctance to add more data to CRM, which hampers my attempts to make our campaigns more personalised. Some of this is related to the technical limitations of our CRM; some of it is a reluctance to do more work. The more data I have on clients, the more creative I can be, but this all depends on a willingness to include it at the source!”

“When we lack detailed customer information, we cannot segment our audience effectively. Without insights into individual preferences or behaviours, we’re limited to using broad messaging that might not resonate with each person.”

The psychological barriers

Beyond technical and logistical challenges, psychological barriers play a significant role in slowing personalisation progress. These mental roadblocks often stem from fear of doing it wrong, overstepping boundaries, or fear of the unknown. While these concerns are valid, they frequently result in overly cautious approaches that limit innovation and stall momentum.

Privacy concerns

Many marketers worry that personalisation may come across as intrusive or invasive, even when their intentions are to create a better customer experience. The fear of crossing a privacy line can lead to under-utilisation of available data or hesitation to explore more advanced techniques.

Reluctance to change

Internal resistance is another common issue. Teams may view new personalisation processes as additional work rather than a strategic investment in long-term success. This reluctance often stems from a lack of understanding about the benefits or uncertainty about the effort involved in implementation.

Psychological barriers are often harder to address than technical ones because they require shifts in mindset and culture. However, tackling these concerns head-on through education, transparency, and showcasing success stories can pave the way for greater adoption and innovation.

Unlocking the potential: Strategies to overcome barriers

Personalisation is within reach for any business willing to tackle its challenges head-on. With the right tools, strategies, and mindset, companies can unlock their full potential and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Here’s how to address the most common barriers.

Addressing data gaps

One of the biggest hurdles in personalisation is messy or fragmented data. To create meaningful customer experiences, consolidate all your customer information into a single, unified system. A comprehensive single customer view of your audience makes it easier to design personalised, impactful campaigns.

Once your data is centralised, prioritise cleaning and maintaining it. Duplicates, outdated records, and inaccuracies can disrupt even the most well-crafted strategies.

“One significant challenge we faced was the inconsistency of customer data across platforms, making it difficult to create a seamless and personalised user experience. During a campaign targeting returning customers, incomplete purchase history data led to irrelevant recommendations, resulting in lower engagement. We integrated a data-cleaning protocol and consolidated information into a unified CRM system to address this. While resource-intensive, it improved the accuracy of our personalisation and boosted customer satisfaction by 15% in the following quarter.”

Building internal knowledge

Having great data is only part of the equation. Your team needs the skills to make the most of it. That’s why training is so necessary. Help your teams learn how to segment audiences, craft personalised campaigns, and use the available tools. It’s also essential to bring your teams together. Marketing knows the audience, customer service teams gather on-the-ground insights, and IT handles the tech.

When these groups collaborate, personalisation efforts are more seamless and impactful.

Balancing personalisation with privacy

Privacy concerns can make businesses hesitate when it comes to personalisation. However, customers are usually open to sharing their data if they know how it’s used. Be upfront and transparent. Let them know why their data is collected and how it benefits them. Give customers control over their experience. Opt-in options make them feel empowered and help build trust.

At the same time, focus on demonstrating personalisation’s value, such as faster recommendations, better offers, or more relevant content.

Optimising resource allocation

Personalisation doesn’t require all your time and resources. Start small. Strategies like segmented email campaigns or abandoned cart reminders are simple to implement and deliver quick wins. Automation can also save time and resources. By handling repetitive tasks like tagging customers or delivering dynamic content, automation frees up your team to focus on bigger-picture strategies.

The path forward

Personalisation isn’t as complicated as it seems. You can take meaningful steps forward by addressing data gaps, empowering your team, and respecting privacy. Start small and build as you go, focusing on what delivers the best results.

Tools like Spotler can help with data integration, automation, and analytics, but success ultimately depends on a willingness to innovate and adapt. The opportunities are enormous, and the time to act is now. Tackle the barriers, take the first steps, and watch personalisation transform your marketing efforts.

Future of personalisation: What’s next for 2025 and beyond

Personalisation has already revolutionised how businesses interact with customers, but it’s only the beginning. As technology continues to advance and customer expectations evolve, the next phase of personalisation promises even greater opportunities – and challenges.

Here’s what lies ahead and how businesses can get ready for the future.

Emerging trends in personalisation

The next wave of personalisation will be defined by smarter tools, deeper integration, and a sharper focus on ethical data use. Artificial intelligence is set to lead personalisation efforts. Expect AI to drive real-time product recommendations, tailor customer journeys, and refine messaging across touchpoints. AI won’t just support personalisation; it will redefine it.

Using historical and live data, predictive analytics will enable marketers to forecast customer needs with greater accuracy. This will help businesses stay ahead by proactively offering what customers want and when they want it.

Customers engage across websites, apps, social media, and physical stores. The future of personalisation lies in seamlessly integrating these channels to create consistent and personalised experiences everywhere.

Automation, supercharged by AI, will make personalisation more scalable. Think smarter chatbots, adaptive content, and real-time segmentation that reduce manual work while delivering greater impact.

“Innovation with personalisation happens when teams feel free to experiment. Encourage your team to test new ideas and strategies. And don’t be afraid to fail.”

Privacy and trust will become even more critical. Businesses that prioritise transparency, respect for data, and customer control will stand out as leaders in responsible personalisation.

Preparing for the future

Staying competitive in 2025 and beyond requires a proactive approach. Here’s how companies can prepare:

• Embrace real-time solutions
• Scale with AI
• Unify your data
• Prioritise cross-channel integration
• Focus on trust and transparency
• Encourage experimentation

Today’s customers want instant, relevant interactions.

Delayed responses or static content are becoming a bore. Invest in tools that deliver real-time recommendations and dynamic content. These solutions help you meet customer expectations the moment they engage.

Start integrating AI where it can make the biggest difference, like predictive analytics or journey mapping. Scalable AI solutions will help businesses personalise efficiently and effectively.

Fragmented data is a major roadblock. To fix this, break down silos and centralise your customer data in one system. A single view of the customer makes it easier to personalise across all channels and ensures your efforts are consistent and effective.

Customers don’t see your website, app, and store as separate. They see one brand. Make sure your personalisation efforts connect these touchpoints seamlessly. Whether online or offline, customers should feel like you know them and value their time.

With more data comes more responsibility. Be upfront about how you collect and use customer information. Give clear opt-in choices so customers stay in control. Transparency builds trust, and trust makes customers more willing to engage with personalised experiences.

Innovation happens when teams feel free to experiment. Encourage your team to test new tools and strategies. Don’t be afraid to fail; it’s part of f inding what works. The faster you adapt, the better positioned you’ll be for the future. The key to success isn’t just about adopting new technology but building trust, fostering innovation, and staying agile in a constantly evolving landscape. For those who act now, personalisation won’t just be a tool, it will be the foundation of sustainable growth and differentiation.

In conclusion, personalisation is no longer optional

It’s essential! While many businesses struggle with data gaps, technical hurdles, and internal resistance, success is within reach with the right strategies and tools. Now is the time to act. Start by evaluating your efforts, identifying gaps, and investing in scalable solutions. Every step forward (from segmented emails to AI-driven insights) brings you closer to transforming customer experiences and gaining a competitive edge. The future of personalisation is here, and with Spotler, you’re equipped to lead it.