Personalisation is Dead in B2C, but Alive in B2B

For years, marketers have worshipped at the altar of “personalisation.” The promise was simple: tailor the message to the individual and watch conversion rates soar. In the B2C world, though, that idea is all but dead.

Not because personalisation doesn’t matter, but because targeting has become so advanced that personalisation in its traditional sense is redundant. In consumer marketing, the platforms already know what you want, when you want it, and which ad is most likely to make you click. Your first name in the subject line doesn’t move the needle when algorithms already know you searched for running shoes and are likely to need a new pair in three weeks.

Why B2C Personalisation Flatlined

B2C personalisation was once about relevance: the right product at the right time. Today, programmatic advertising, AI recommendation engines, and predictive analytics deliver that automatically. What’s left is cosmetic emails that say “Hey %%first_name%%, we thought you’d like this.” It feels more creepy than compelling.

The game has moved on. Consumers don’t want to be “known.” They want frictionless experiences. The machines already do that job better than any human-crafted campaign ever could.

Where B2B Still Has Untapped Potential

In B2B, this is where personalisation still matters, and not in the superficial sense. A VP of Finance or a Head of Supply Chain doesn’t care if you know their name. They care if you know their world.

That’s the opportunity. Instead of dropping first names into email templates, B2B sellers and marketers can personalise by crafting stories that map to the line of business. Not “Our product reduces costs,” but “Here’s how companies like yours reduced invoice reconciliation time by 40% and freed up headcount for more strategic work.”

They can also shape demos around the challenges of the audience. Show the finance leader how your solution affects reporting and compliance. Show HR how it impacts onboarding. Show operations how it smooths workflows. One product, many lenses, each personalised to the person in front of you.

Another path is reframing features into business impact. No one cares about the button you built. They care that clicking it means they close the books three days earlier.

And don’t be afraid to talk about it simply, sometimes like you’re talking to a toddler. That’s not disrespectful. It’s clarity. Your prospects don’t sell or use your product every single day. They don’t know the ins and outs like you do, and they shouldn’t have to. The clearer and simpler you make it, the more they see themselves in the story.

Personalisation = Empathy at Scale

In B2B, real personalisation isn’t a variable in a marketing automation tool. It’s empathy, translated into narrative and proof. It’s the ability to say, “I get your pain, your KPIs, your ambitions. Here’s how this helps you specifically.”

That’s the stuff that builds credibility. That’s the difference between being yet another vendor and becoming a trusted partner.

The Future Belongs to Context, Not Tokens

In B2C, personalisation is already invisible, it’s baked into targeting. In B2B, the opportunity is still visible, but it’s shifting fast. The winners will be those who move beyond “Dear %%first_name%%” and start telling stories that align with the buyer’s business, not the seller’s product.

Because in the end, people don’t want to be sold features. They want to be understood. And sometimes, the best way to show you understand is to explain it as simply as if you were talking to a child.