Category: Marketing

If your idea of personalization stops at “Hi [First Name],” it’s time for a fresh approach to your plans.

These days, consumers expect brands to know them, not just their first names. People want digital experiences that feel like they’re built for them by brands, right down to their preferences, timing, interests, and habits.

With AI and smarter data processing tools in the mix, personalization has evolved way beyond the First Name field. Companies that use these resources are able to create tailored website content, emails that show up just at the right moment, spot-on product recommendations, and can even have chatbots that understand much more than basic requests.
And it’s not just smart. It’s scalable. Every click, scroll, and pause contributes to a smarter, faster, and more relevant customer experience.

Let’s examine how AI is reshaping personalization at every stage of the customer journey and how your business can use it to connect, convert, and keep people coming back.

Why Personalization Matters More Than Ever

Today’s consumers expect brands to understand them, and they’re not shy about voicing frustration when they feel ignored. According to a McKinsey study:

• 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions
• 76% get frustrated when that doesn’t happen

Personalization has evolved from a nice-to-have to a necessity for modern businesses to meet expectations. With the power of AI, you can make this process scalable and dynamic, enabling highly personalized customer journeys across multiple touchpoints.

How AI Enables Personalization at Scale

1.Real-Time Data Collection and Processing

AI allows you to analyze user data in real-time, from clicks and purchase history to browsing behaviour and locations. With this, you can deliver personalized content, offers, and experiences the moment a customer interacts with your website or social media.

For example, a visitor checks out winter boots on your site. You’ve collected that data in real time and can now use it in your advertising campaigns to retarget that same customer with ads for those boots, along with product recommendations based on their browsing history.

2. Predictive Analytics and Intent Modelling

AI doesn’t just react to user behaviour — it anticipates it. By identifying patterns, AI can predict what customers are likely to do next and tailor its recommendations accordingly.

For example, if you’re sending a weekly newsletter on platforms like Klaviyo or HubSpot, AI can help you determine the best time to send an email based on what day and time users have opened your past emails. And it can be tailored to each user on your email list – they don’t all have to receive it at the same time.

This predictive technology makes all the difference when it comes to someone reading your emails or skipping over them.

 3. Dynamic Content Across Channels

Once AI has a handle on what your customers are likely to do next, it can do more than just guess—it can respond in the moment with content that actually feels relevant.
And it goes beyond emails. AI helps tailor experiences across your website, ads, and almost anywhere else your audience interacts with your brand. It’s about making each touchpoint feel like it was designed just for them.

Here’s what that can look like:

• Website: Visitors see different banners, headlines, or even full landing pages depending on their location, past actions, or preferences.
• Ads: Headlines, visuals, and offers change depending on who’s seeing the ad and where they are in their journey.

This kind of tailored experience doesn’t need to take endless hours or a large team. Now, tools like Google Ads’ responsive display ads, Meta Advantage+ campaigns, Optimizely, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud can handle it in real time—and at scale.

4. AI-Powered Chat and Virtual Assistants

If you’re looking to scale the customer experience, another great way to do it is by using AI-driven chatbots or virtual assistants. Both of these tools can guide users from the top of the sales funnel to the bottom, while answering questions and giving product recommendations based on user intent.
For example, if a returning customer visits your website, the chatbot can use stored information to greet them by name, reference their past purchases, and even give a discount code for specific items just for that customer.

It’s a great strategy to help your customers at any time of the day, and make them feel as though they are understood and respected.

5. Customer Journey Orchestration

AI can do more than just respond to customers—it can anticipate their needs and adjust the entire experience based on their actions.

For example, someone checks out your pricing page but doesn’t convert. AI follows up automatically with an email featuring a relevant case study. A few days later, that same person sees a targeted ad with a time-limited offer. Each touchpoint feels like part of a well-thought-out journey, not a random one-off. What used to require a big team and even bigger budget is now within reach for businesses of all sizes. With the right AI tools, you can create customer journeys that feel seamless, intentional, and personalized from start to finish.

Tips to Get Started with AI-Powered Personalization

Start with Clean, Connected Data
AI is only as good as the information it’s working with. Make sure your CRM, website analytics, and marketing automation platforms are properly connected and updated so you’re working with a clear, complete picture of your customer.

Segment Beyond the Basics
Don’t stop at age or location. Use behavioural data—like purchase history, engagement patterns, and lifecycle stage—to create smarter segments that reflect how people actually interact with your brand.

Test, Learn, and Adjust
AI can help you test everything from subject lines to content blocks, but that doesn’t mean you can “set it and forget it.” Keep an eye on what’s working, and use those insights to continuously refine your approach.

Align Internally
Personalization works best when everyone’s on the same page. When marketing, sales, and service teams all have access to the same customer data, your messaging and experience will feel more seamless from end to end.

Choose Tools That Fit Your Goals
You don’t need an enterprise stack to get started. Platforms like HubSpot, Klaviyo, Dynamic Yield, and even Shopify and Mailchimp now offer powerful AI-driven personalization features. Start with what matches your business size and grow from there.

Make It Feel Human, Even When It’s Automated

AI might be driving your personalization strategy, but the goal isn’t to feel robotic—it’s to make every customer feel seen, understood, and valued.
It’s easy to get caught up in metrics like clicks, opens, and conversions. But personalization done right goes deeper. It creates meaningful brand moments that feel relevant and human, no matter the channel, the hour, or the size of your team.

With the right AI tools in place, you’re not just automating processes. You’re building smarter experiences, stronger relationships, and a brand that truly connects.
Ready to bring your personalization strategy to life? Let’s talk about how AI can help you turn data into experiences your customers won’t forget.

We’re living in the golden age of content, and the chaos of it too.

With Generative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Jasper, and others now widely accessible, the internet is exploding with blog posts, social content, product descriptions, and entire websites created at the click of a button.

The upside? Anyone can create anything faster than ever.
The downside? Almost everything is starting to sound the same and look the same.

In a world where everyone is publishing, reposting, and repurposing at scale, brands face a new creative challenge: How do you make marketing content that actually cuts through the noise and resonates with your audience?

The answer isn’t to race AI—it’s to outthink it and improve on what it can do. Here’s how to do just that:

1. Tell Stories Only You Can Tell

AI can write about you, but it can’t be you.

That’s your edge. Real brand stories, customer experiences, founder journeys, and behind-the-scenes looks into how your product works—these tell your company’s story and are uniquely yours. They bring personality, humanity, and emotional stickiness that no AI can replicate. Approach it by:

• Sharing a customer success story
• Walking through a “day in the life” of your team, product, or process
• Documenting a learning moment or project, and what it taught you

The more specific and personal your content is, the more it resonates. Keep in mind, it’s not about being perfect—it’s about being real and connecting with your audience.

2. Make Your POV Impossible to Ignore

AI-generated content tends to be safer, and don’t include as much original thought. There lies an opportunity to share a unique perspective and use it as your creative edge. When sharing a blog, a social media post, or a case study about your company, consider sharing:

• What you believe that your competitors don’t?
• What do you care about that others may skip over?
• What your brand stands for and what values you want to represent

For example: Anyone can write “5 Tips for Better Social Media Engagement.” Only your brand can write: “Why (your company name) Stopped Posting on Instagram (And What Happened Next).” Original thinking builds brand trust—and makes people want to lean in.

3. Attract by Digging Deeper, Not Wider

AI can skim the surface of any topic, so if you’re aiming to be a generalist in your field, it’s great. But if you want to be viewed as a leader in your field, the aim is to go deeper with the content you share.

In-depth, well-researched, long-form content that adds actual value is more likely to be trusted, bookmarked, and shared by your target audience. Especially in B2B and technical industries, surface-level fluff won’t cut it—audiences are craving substance.

You can still leverage AI to help you speed up outlines an general research. But when it’s time to write your brand’s story, bring in the nuances, the credible sources, and the receipts.

4. Focus on Human Connection

Even the most technically perfect AI copy falls flat if it doesn’t make people feel something.

Emotion still wins. Always.

Humour, empathy, surprise, nostalgia—these are the building blocks of unforgettable content that’s infused with your voice, tone, and brand personality. The most powerful content circulating today doesn’t just inform audiences—it connects and leaves an impact.

Want to test if your writing is human enough? Read it out loud. If it sounds too robotic or generic, you risk losing the connection.

5. Create Useful Content

People are busy. Your content should earn its place in their feeds, inboxes, and browsers. Educational, problem-solving, utility-rich content is what gets saved, shared, and sent to the team Slack channel, and can be reworked into your brand’s marketing content.

Ask yourself: Will someone genuinely thank me for this? Would I share this if I didn’t work here?

If the answer is yes, then you’re creating the kind of content that builds trust and authority over time. AI can be useful when it comes to researching and finding the popular topics people are interested in, but it’s up to you to find a unique angle that makes your content memorable for your audience.

6. Embrace AI as Your Co-Creator, Not Your Main Brand Voice

AI is an incredible creative assistant. It can help you ideate faster, shape outlines, and repurpose content across formats. But your brand’s voice, values, and big ideas? Those still need to come from you. Treat AI as a trusty side-kick to move projects ahead, but one that requires your guidance, leadership, and expertise. You are still the expert in your field and you understand your audience more than AI can.

A few useful ways to use it in your process is for:

• Generating content ideas or variations
• Drafting base-level outlines for articles, whitepapers, or landing pages\
• Repurposing blogs into social posts, newsletters, or slides
• Experimenting with visual ideas

7. Stay Curious, Stay Evolving

The content world is changing fast, and the brands that thrive are the ones that adapt.

With new tools, new formats, and new audience behaviours, there’s always something shifting. Instead of resisting the change, like the one we’ve seen with GenAI, embrace it with curiosity. Be willing to spend time learning the tools, experimenting with them, and testing them in your daily processes to create stronger content. Focus on earning trust, keeping momentum, and consistently showing up with your content.

What To Keep In Mind

Using AI in a mindful way will keep you successful in creating content in the age of GenAI.While the internet might be louder than ever, your voice can rise above the noise and reach your intended audience. Because while AI can generate content, only you can create a meaningful connection.

Looking to sharpen your content strategy in the era of AI? Connect with us! Let’s talk about how to build content that not only gets clicks but also earns trust and provides value.

There’s something powerful about the words Made in Canada. It goes beyond a label. It signals quality, authenticity, and a shared sense of values. As global brands battle for attention in crowded markets, Canadian consumers are quietly (but confidently) choosing to support businesses closer to home. Why? Because they trust them. Trust is everything—and for brands with a Canadian identity, that trust is already baked in. If your brand isn’t actively leaning into that local edge, now’s the time to start.

Trust Starts at Home

Canadian consumers are making it clear: trust is the most important factor when deciding which products to purchase. As recent surveys show, Canadian shoppers increasingly gravitate toward products that align with their values—and proximity plays a major role. A 2025 Interac survey indicates that 71% of Canadians polled actively look for products that are clearly Canadian-made, even when they might be more expensive. Meanwhile, 4 out of 5 Canadians polled are likely to choose Canadian-made products over imported goods, according to Lexpert.

But this isn’t just a matter of economics—it’s about relationships. Canadian brands with local roots benefit from the trust of a population that values authenticity and community connection.

Buying local means:

• Supporting Canadian jobs and communities—instilling pride and fostering trust in your brand.
• Reducing environmental impact through shorter, more transparent supply chains.
• Getting better service and customer support trusting that local businesses understand the unique needs of Canadian consumers.
• Aligning with local values and culture backing businesses that share their cultural context and understand their needs.

The Rise of “Local Loyalty” in Canada

Trust is the foundation of loyalty, and loyalty fuels repeat purchases, word-of-mouth referrals, and long-term brand advocacy. A strong Canadian identity gives your brand a powerful shortcut to all three. Here are a few ways Canadian brands are winning with digital-first strategies:

• SEO & Localized Content: Optimizing for keywords like “Made in Canada” and regional terms not only boosts your search rankings but also drives organic traffic from consumers who prioritize local businesses.
• Transparency & Storytelling: Consumers today want to know where their products are made, how they’re made, and who’s behind the brand. Use your website, social media, and videos to share your story authentically and build trust.
• Community Engagement: Local investment goes beyond product offerings—it’s about investing in the community. Whether through partnerships, virtual events, or cause-based marketing, fostering an emotional connection strengthens brand loyalty.
• Values-Driven Branding: Whether it’s sustainability, ethical sourcing, or Indigenous ownership, Canadian consumers expect their brands to reflect their personal values. Highlight these values in your campaigns, and you’ll deepen the trust with your audience.

How to Leverage Your Canadian Identity in Your Digital Strategy

Whether your brand has been proudly Canadian from day one or you’ve recently moved production closer to home, now is the time to leverage that local identity in your digital marketing strategy. Here’s how to bring it to life:

• Build a Digital Presence Around Your Canadian Story – Don’t just slap a maple leaf on your logo—integrate your Canadian identity into your website, social media channels, and digital ads. Use video, customer testimonials, and interactive content to showcase your local roots and build a deeper connection with your audience.
• Optimize for Local & Voice Search – More consumers are actively searching for “Canadian-made” products. Optimize your content for localized SEO, including Google My Business and voice-search-friendly content, to capture this growing demand.
• Align with Purpose-Driven Digital Campaigns – Today’s consumers care about more than just a product—they care about the impact of their purchase. Partner with Canadian charities, Indigenous businesses, or environmental initiatives. Purpose-driven campaigns through influencer collaborations or social ads create stronger brand affinity and trust.
• Use Regional Targeting in Paid Ads – If your products are tailored to specific provinces or cities, make sure your paid ads reflect this. Geotargeting and customized ad creatives increase engagement and conversions by resonating more directly with the local audience.
• Make “Homegrown” Part of the Digital Customer Experience –From website design to the eCommerce checkout process, make sure customers know they are supporting a Canadian business at every touchpoint. Small, subtle elements—like using Canadian spelling, local references, or culturally relevant visuals—reinforce the trust that Canadian shoppers value.

Final Word: Digital-First, Locally Rooted

For Canadian businesses, “local” is more than just a location—it’s a competitive advantage. In today’s market, where digital presence defines brand trust, integrating your Canadian identity into your strategy isn’t just smart—it’s necessary. Leverage that local advantage. Share your story. Optimize for local search. Because when consumers feel like they’re supporting something that’s truly their own, they come back—not just as buyers but as passionate brand advocates.

Want to position your Canadian brand for digital success? At 9dot Digital, we craft full-stack digital strategies that drive trust, engagement, and conversions. Let’s build your next winning campaign.