The Importance of Tailored Applications

People value what they create 63% more. Yet most digital experiences treat customers as passive recipients instead of co-creators. This psychological principle, known as the "Ikea Effect", is shockingly underutilized in digital journeys. When someone builds a piece of Ikea furniture, they develop an emotional attachment that transcends its objective value. The same phenomenon happens in digital experiences. After optimizing digital journeys for companies like Adobe and Nike for over a decade, I've discovered this pattern consistently: 👉 Those who customize or personalize a product before purchase are dramatically more likely to convert and remain loyal. One enterprise client implemented a product configurator that increased conversions by 31% and reduced returns by 24%. Users weren't getting a different product... they were getting the same product they helped create. The psychology is simple but powerful: ↳ Customization creates psychological ownership before financial ownership ↳ The effort invested creates value attribution ↳ Co-creation builds emotional connection Three ways to implement this today: 1️⃣ Replace dropdown options with visual configurators 2️⃣ Create personalization quizzes that guide product selection 3️⃣ Allow users to save and revisit their customized selections Most importantly: shift your mindset from selling products to facilitating creation. When customers feel like co-creators rather than consumers, they don't just buy more... they become advocates. How are you letting your customers build rather than just buy?

Personalization is coming up in nearly every conversation I’m having with clients right now. Everyone’s talking about it—but few agree on what it actually means or why it matters. Personalization is not about what you know. It’s about how well you understand. And customers can feel the difference. Most companies treat personalization like a marketing feature. But it’s not. It’s a mindset—a way of being customer-obsessed at scale that extends through the entire customer life-cycle. In financial services, we have the data. We have the technology. What we often lack is the intention. Recently, I opened my banking app and saw a banner offering me a loan “to help pay off high-interest debt.” It referenced my current credit card balance and credit limit—clearly using my data. But here’s the thing: I pay off my card in full every month. My bank account balance is more than 10x my card balance. I don’t carry debt—and I don’t need a loan. So while it looked personalized, it wasn’t relevant. It wasn’t helpful. And it definitely wasn’t personal. Personalization isn’t about inserting data—it’s about understanding context. Here’s what good looks like: ✅ A credit card that recognizes I travel every 6 weeks and tailors rewards to match. ✅ A bank that sees idle cash in my checking account and suggests smart ways to grow it. ✅ A retirement provider that notices I'm behind on contributions and offers a catch-up strategy based on my income and goals. Why does this matter? Because personalization builds trust. Because relevance earns attention. Because when customers feel understood, they stay. It's time to stop checking the box on personalization—and start delivering real value. #CustomerExperience #Personalization #FinTech #Banking #FinancialServices #DataDriven

Most businesses are doing it wrong - and it's costing them. If you're still using a templated, cookie-cutter approach, you're getting left behind. The future belongs to companies that understand one simple truth: personal wins every time. Why? Because we live in the age of data overload, yet customers feel more disconnected than ever. They crave real connection, authenticity, and tailored experiences. Not generic marketing, not mass-targeted ads. But something that says, “This was made just for you.” Most businesses think they’re doing personalization. But they're not. Sending a mass email with a first name in the subject line? That’s not personalization. Personalization is about delivering value at the exact moment your customer needs it, in a way that speaks directly to them. At Burns Funding, we take this approach to heart. No two entrepreneurs are the same, so why would their funding solutions be? Our team builds custom strategies for every client, digging deep into their unique journey. It’s not just about throwing money at a business - it’s about truly understanding the person behind it and creating a plan that sets them up for success. Here’s why personalization is non-negotiable in 2024: ❖ Your data is worthless unless it becomes action. You’re swimming in data. Everyone is. But it’s useless unless you turn it into actionable insights. Businesses that do this right, those that build tailored customer experiences based on real behaviors, will dominate their markets. ❖ Customers don’t want to be a number. In a world full of automation, what customers crave most is human connection. Personalization is how you break through the noise. The companies that succeed tomorrow will be the ones that create lasting emotional ties today. ❖ Personalization = Revenue. Personalized experiences can increase sales by 20% or more. That’s not some fluffed-up number; it’s what happens when people feel like your product or service is made just for them. It’s not a tactic, it’s a business growth accelerator. Most businesses are still waiting for their customers to come to them. That’s a losing game. The businesses that understand how to reach out, meet customers where they are, and anticipate their needs - those are the ones that win. Are you offering something unique, something tailored to your audience’s exact needs? At Burns Funding, we don’t just fund businesses, we partner with entrepreneurs to customize the perfect financial strategy for their future. Personalized funding. Real results. Let’s create something powerful together. Want to learn more? Send me a DM. #Personalization #Entrepreneurship #BurnsFunding #BusinessGrowth #CustomerExperience #CustomSolutions

After talking with over 50 users of our competitors, we noticed a common theme: their products are too static. Today's users are seeking experiences that adapt to their behaviors, providing tailored, dynamic interactions, particularly as AI technology advances. Everyone expects immediate value - they desire proactive solutions that anticipate their needs before they even ask. For instance, with Nevemind : - Who should I reach out to this week to close my sales quota? - Which important emails have I overlooked? - What key insights am I missing about my network today? Additionally, there's a growing preference for more defined, streamlined experiences over broad, vague ones. Users appreciate being guided consistently from the moment they onboard. This shift is evident in many apps like Delta (portfolio analytics), BeReal., Snap Inc., Duolingo, and Wordle, which not only meet these preferences but also guide users through their interactions. The trend towards personalized, anticipatory technology is apparent and seems set to continue shaping user expectations and product development. #AI #UserExperience #

Contrary to the belief that increasing digitization has eroded hospitality, digital experiences can actually enhance meaningful customer engagement at scale. By leveraging customer-level data, brands can create personalized, human-centric interactions that deepen customer relationships. Luxury brands, for example, excel at this by using detailed customer notes to offer highly tailored experiences, but this approach is scalable for any business with the right tools like a CDP to turn data into actionable insights. Rather than detracting from hospitality, digitization can elevate it, turning transactions into lasting relationships through thoughtful, data-driven personalization. In today’s market, it’s the personalized connection that makes the difference between a loyalty program that simply rewards transactions and one that builds lasting relationships. 

As a team, we talk about solving the hard problems first. The commerce industry has been talking about personalization for a decade plus. Yet we still land on websites and apps that feel generic. Why? Because personalization is a hard problem to solve - most solutions barely scratch the surface. To truly personalize the shopping experience, you need more than a few clicks, prompts or purchase history. You need context (why someone is shopping), historical intent (not just what they’ve bought, but what they’ve considered), a taste layer (what styles, brands, and price points resonate), and real-time product data that’s structured and attributed correctly. Not “you bought socks, here are some sneakers.” (The socks might be for loafers you are on the hunt for.) Not “you like Nike, here are random Nike sneakers.” Personalization that works feels like someone who knows you, surfacing products at the right time, in the right way.. Otherwise as shoppers, we bounce. The solutions that will win are powered by real-time, variant-level product data (not inaccurate affiliate feeds), combined with rich shopper insights - enabling experiences that respond to every signal. It’s not about optimizing for clicks.. it’s about understanding intent and solving real user problems (even if it's hard to solve).

This week marks the End of the Data Moat Era. Big tech "Gatekeepers" are expected to release Data Portability APIs for EU customers, enabling consumers to authorize developers to use their data in new and innovative applications. For the past decade, companies have relied on Data Moats – exclusive access to consumer behavior data – to gain a strategic advantage. But with the introduction of Data Portability APIs, this advantage is set to diminish. Consumers will now have the power to share their data with the applications and services they choose. As a result, the path to strategic advantage will shift from collecting consumer data to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Traditional data points like clicks, scrolls, and occasional purchases will no longer be enough to meet the expectations of today's consumers, who demand personalized, 1:1 experiences from the moment they engage with a product or service. This is especially important in the Age of AI which can activate consumer context into new hyper-personalized experiences. By leveraging AI, developers can unlock the full potential of consumer data, delivering tailored content, product recommendations, and services that truly resonate with their users. Crosshatch is gearing up for this era – creating plug-and-play context for any application on the internet in a way consumers control. What will you create in this new era AI-driven personalization?

For years, companies have been leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to provide personalized customer experiences. One widespread use case is showing product recommendations based on previous data. But there's so much more potential in AI that we're just scratching the surface. One of the most important things for any company is anticipating each customer's needs and delivering predictive personalization. Understanding customer intent is critical to shaping predictive personalization strategies. This involves interpreting signals from customers’ current and past behaviors to infer what they are likely to need or do next, and then dynamically surfacing that through a platform of their choice. Here’s how: 1. Customer Journey Mapping: Understanding the various stages a customer goes through, from awareness to purchase and beyond. This helps in identifying key moments where personalization can have the most impact. This doesn't have to be an exercise on a whiteboard; in fact, I would counsel against that. Journey analytics software can get you there quickly and keep journeys "alive" in real time, changing dynamically as customer needs evolve. 2. Behavioral Analysis: Examining how customers interact with your brand, including what they click on, how long they spend on certain pages, and what they search for. You will need analytical resources here, and hopefully you have them on your team. If not, find them in your organization; my experience has been that they find this type of exercise interesting and will want to help. 3. Sentiment Analysis: Using natural language processing to understand customer sentiment expressed in feedback, reviews, social media, or even case notes. This provides insights into how customers feel about your brand or products. As in journey analytics, technology and analytical resources will be important here. 4. Predictive Analytics: Employing advanced analytics to forecast future customer behavior based on current data. This can involve machine learning models that evolve and improve over time. 5. Feedback Loops: Continuously incorporate customer signals (not just survey feedback) to refine and enhance personalization strategies. Set these up through your analytics team. Predictive personalization is not just about selling more; it’s about enhancing the customer experience by making interactions more relevant, timely, and personalized. This customer-led approach leads to increased revenue and reduced cost-to-serve. How is your organization thinking about personalization in 2024? DM me if you want to talk it through. #customerexperience #artificialintelligence #ai #personalization #technology #ceo

Most companies don’t actually know their customers as well as they think they do. 🤔 In a world where personalization reigns supreme, direct-to-consumer brands have no excuse not to be data-driven. Here's the harsh truth: without deep insights into customer behavior, you're leaving opportunities (and revenue!) on the table. 🚪💸 Let me paint a picture: One of our clients, a fintech company, wanted to boost the adoption of their premium app features. They had amazing functionality, but the uptake just wasn’t there. Using Fivvy, we identified the right users—those already engaging with competitive apps and showing behaviors that indicated premium preferences. The result? An 18% increase in premium feature adoption and 7% less churn in this segment. Here’s the kicker: it wasn’t about spamming all users. It was about precision. Personalized push notifications and targeting worked because we truly knew their audience. 🎯 In the age of abundant data, the winners are the companies that leverage it smartly—not just to sell but to add real value to their customers' lives. What’s stopping your company from becoming truly customer-centric? #CustomerExperience #DataDriven #Fintech #CustomerSuccess #DirectToConsumer #Fivvy

I just read a wonderful report on 'The State of Gen AI in Consumer Applications' published by Elevation Capital, and it resonates well with the experiences we have at Konverge AI. Here are some key highlights:  - AI Assistants are Becoming Indispensable - Couldn't agree more! AI integrations are impacting how we work every day. Our AI copilot use cases have helped clients improve productivity by more than 40%.  - Diversifying Mobile AI Ecosystem - There is rapid diversification in the mobile AI landscape. One of our implementation with AI photo enhancement feature has seen 75% increase in active users. - Redefining Engagement with AI Companions - The report highlights companion bots as the most retentive use cases. We have worked on conversational health bots helping organizations with employee welfare & HR initiatives.  - Personalized Education and AI-Assisted Shopping - In the past, we have developed AI tutors resulting in improved student performance by 30%. E-commerce assistant has improved conversion rates by 25%.  - Personalization at Scale - Tailored experiences is the future! Our recent hyper-personalized AI marketing campaign boosted ROI by 60% for an e-commerce client. But beyond these trends, a few key takeaways stand out for me:  1. Utility will eventually trump novelty in AI applications.  2. User adoption is crucial for AI success.  3. Enterprises can leverage AI to better support employee mental health.    At Konverge AI, we're helping organizations implement AI that's practical, user-friendly, and genuinely enhances human potential. Want to discuss AI? Let's chat! #GenAI #AIAssitants #AI #ConsumerApps