A CX Lesson from Spider-Man

This article answers the question: Why is personalization so important in customer experience today?

Answer: Personalization matters because most customers expect it and are even willing to pay more for it, making it a key driver of loyalty and revenue.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”  

Several weeks ago, I wrote about how “It’s company policy” is the second most expensive phrase in business. My cartoon for that week featured a superhero who proclaims that empowering employees to take care of customers, rather than standing behind “company policy,” is a power given to them by the company and comes with responsibility. 

That cartoon inspired me to take it a step further. The quote, “With great power comes great responsibility,” was originally used in a 1962 Marvel comic book, Amazing Fantasy #15, that introduced Spider-Man to the world. Seven months later, Marvel Comics started the Spider-Man comic book series, which has stood the test of time and remains popular today. 

The quote was originally a caption and, in later years, was attributed to Uncle Ben, advising Peter Parker (Spider-Man) on how to use his newfound power. However, more research shows that quotes and statements similar to Uncle Ben’s advice go back as far as the Bible, Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.” 

And you are probably wondering what this has to do with the customer experience (CX). In the past few years, with the help of AI, we have been given a superpower: the ability to personalize the customer experience.  

I’ve written extensively about personalization and featured a number of findings in my annual customer experience research. Consider this: 

• Nearly eight out of 10 customers (79%) say a personalized experience is important to them.  

• Six out of 10 customers (63%) are willing to pay more to do business with a company or brand that offers a personalized experience. 

AI is a superpower that can help us collect incredible amounts of customer data, allowing us to personalize the CX. The best companies think about personalization in three ways: 

1. Remembered – You recognize the customer and their buying history. Remember the theme song from the 1980s sitcom Cheers? People want to go … where everybody knows your name.  

2. Connected – You use the information to create relevance. The customer doesn’t have to start over every time they do business with you. The relationship progresses with each interaction.   

3. Known – You know the customer so well, you anticipate their needs and make the experience easier. The customer doesn’t feel like the experience is a transaction. Instead, it feels more like the continuation of the relationship. 

AI gives you the power to turn these three ideas into reality at scale. It can analyze behavior, predict preferences, and deliver insights that the typical salesperson or agent can’t do quickly or easily.  

But be careful. As the opening quote implies, when you have this superpower, you must use it responsibly. Used the wrong way, personalization can become frustrating or off-putting to customers. Bad recommendations and too many marketing messages become intrusive. And then there’s the “creepiness factor,” which has the customer wondering, “How did they know that about me?”  

The companies that get this right won’t be the ones with the most data. They will be the ones using it the right way. Personalization, when done right, builds trust. Done wrong, it breaks it. Use this superpower wisely, and you will create the experience that gets customers to say, “I’ll be back!”

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.