Content Amplification Engine Findmine CEO speaks frankly about Personalization, Marketing and how to amp up sales across the entire assortment.

Russo: Hey everyone. Welcome Michelle Bacharach CEO of Findmine, So tell me about Findmine and what’s going on right now?

Bacharach: One of the reasons I started this business was that I believe personalization can literally bankrupt businesses.

Russo: Wow!!

Bacharach: There’s so much risk in just doing the personalization , and losing your brand’s editorial vision. There’s what’s right for the customer. What’s right for the brand. And this magic intersection is this tiny slice in the middle that without Findmine AND a personalization solution, you’re never gonna find it.

Russo: Personalization has been a huge topic. And I think universally agreed upon as a very important aspect to having a digital business. What you’re saying is guys, guess what…that doesn’t work the way it should, without this other part . It actually doesn’t function without the curatorial side of it, which is Findmine.

Bacharach: I think personalization can be so dangerous if taken to an extreme .There’s hidden trap doors that will catch you in this endless cycle of reducing your price, which will lead to your ultimate death. You’re never gonna win and your brand dies. Our first input is: what does the brand believe? What is that differentiation? Keep that sacrosanct. We’re never going to let the consumer go off base and lose touch with what makes the brand different, because it is so dangerous for the brand.

Russo: Very interesting. So, okay. Not to spend too much time on what you don’t do, but I think it’s really important because brands and retailers are overwhelmed by all of the options and choices.

Bacharach: The other thing that I see happening all the time is like brands have invested, or retailers have invested millions of dollars in a customer data platform, which I would put in a personalization category. And you have like unique customer segments across a hundred thousand segments. And you could do one one-to-one storytelling with each, which is amazing. Getting there in and of itself is a huge challenge, but then you get there. And then you’re like, okay, marketing, let’s get, you know, a hundred thousand different messages out to these people. And marketing’s like, no, no. Here’s five pieces of creative that our team…