NEW YORK – Despite all the personalization made possible by the use of big data, more often than not, brands are still marketing to consumers with general messages, rather than a more targeted approach. And the result, according to a new survey, is that consumers simply aren’t listening anymore. 

According to a survey of more than 2,200 consumers worldwide, commissioned by marketing software maker Marketo, nearly two-thirds (63%) said they are highly annoyed with brands’ continued practice of repeating generic advertising messages.

“[Marketers] are talking at us rather than engaging with us, and we, as consumers are beginning to tune them out,” Chandar Pattabhiram, group vice president of product and corporate marketing at Marketo, recently told Marketing Daily. “We demand a level of personalization across our journey. As consumers, we’re more and more attuned to brands talking to us personally.”

In fact, the survey showed that more than three-quarters (78.6%) of consumers said they are likely to work with a brand’s coupons or other offers only if those offers are directly tied to how they have previously interacted with the brand. To successfully market to these customers, brands will have to adjust their overall marketing mindset, technology and processes, with the understanding that brand-building is only the first step in what needs to be long-term customer engagement.