Introduction

Personalisation has been a marketing buzzword for decades, but most of what has been delivered to date is what we call “personalisation lite.” An email that drops in a first name. A seasonal promotion that vaguely matches a segment. A loyalty offer that every customer receives, regardless of their actual needs. These efforts are better than nothing, but they fall short of what customers have come to expect in 2025. Real competitive advantage lies in what we at Ebbon Intelligence are hearing called call mass bespoking.

Beyond Personalisation Lite

True personalisation is not about recognition, it is about relevance. It means anticipating what a customer needs before they ask for it, and delivering that message, image, or offer at the right moment. The key is data, and more importantly, intelligent use of data to predict buying cycles. Instead of a dealership blasting out identical finance promotions to its database, a mass-bespoking approach uses finance renewal dates, past search behaviour, and engagement patterns to serve an individualised campaign that feels as if it was designed for one person.

According to McKinsey, companies that excel at personalisation generate 40% more revenue from those activities than their average competitors. In automotive, where the buying cycle is long and complex, the benefits of intelligent anticipation are even greater.

The Technology Enabler

Scaling personalisation has always been the barrier. Creating thousands of unique messages by hand is not feasible. But AI and automation have changed the equation. Generative tools now allow creative assets, copy, and offers to be built dynamically, driven by CRM and market data. Instead of creating one campaign for 10,000 people, a dealer can launch 10,000 versions of the campaign, each aligned to where a customer is in their cycle.

Charles Isles, Head of Product at Ebbon Intelligence, notes:

“AI enables true mass bespoking, where every interaction feels individually crafted, but the resource requirement remains manageable. The goal is to make scale feel like intimacy.”

Commercial Imperatives

Why does this matter commercially? Because customer expectations are unforgiving. Salesforce research shows that 73% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations, and 62% say they will buy elsewhere if they feel interactions with a current company are impersonal. In a market where loyalty is fragile, failing to meet that standard is risky.

Steve Larkin, MD of Ebbon Intelligence, puts it bluntly:

“The industry cannot afford to keep sending generic blasts and hoping for the best. Personalisation at scale is no longer an innovation, it is a necessity. If you do not anticipate your customers’ needs, someone else will.”

Marketing and CRM Implications

For marketers, this shift is profound. It is no longer enough to measure open rates and click-throughs. The question is whether each interaction feels relevant and timely. That means CRM systems must integrate deeply with predictive analytics, and content must be flexible enough to adapt dynamically.

Su, Marketing Lead at Ebbon Intelligence, highlights the risk of poor execution:

“The danger is that if you get it wrong, it feels like spam. Worse, it undermines trust. Personalisation only works if it is genuinely relevant. That is why data quality and careful design are so critical.”

Ethical and Trust Dimensions

There is also a fine line between anticipation and intrusion. Customers are increasingly aware of how their data is used, and regulators are watching closely. The UK’s FCA Consumer Duty regulations emphasise clarity and fairness in financial promotions, which means personalised offers must be transparent as well as targeted.

A Gen Z Perspective

Younger buyers bring their own expectations. Anko, our Gen Z analyst, captures the shift:

“For my generation, everything is personalised by default. Our feeds, our ads, our apps. If a dealership sends me something generic, it just feels irrelevant. The baseline has changed.”

Risks of Getting It Wrong

Poor execution is worse than no execution. Spam, irrelevant offers, or clumsy personalisation damage trust. Worse, they create noise that customers quickly learn to ignore. Whilst not as extreme as the Salesforce stat, Gartner warns that 38% of consumers who receive irrelevant communications will reduce business with that brand.

Simon West-Oliver, CCO at Ebbon Intelligence, has seen the cost of this first-hand:

“When personalisation misfires, it is not neutral, it is negative. You lose credibility fast. But get it right, and you win attention, loyalty, and sales.”

Conclusion: From Lite to Full-Strength

Personalisation lite has run its course. Mass bespoking is the next frontier, powered by AI, grounded in data intelligence, and executed with precision. The winners in automotive retail will be those who make every customer feel uniquely understood, at scale.

Strategic Takeaways for Dealers and Marketers

1. Stop personalising names, start personalising needs. Design campaigns around buying cycles, not generic segments.
2. Invest in AI-driven creative generation to achieve scale without bloating resources.
3. Prioritise data quality and CRM integration to ensure relevance and timeliness.
4. Balance anticipation with transparency; relevance without trust is a losing game.
5. Remember, poor personalisation is worse than none. Precision is the key to credibility.

References

• McKinsey & Company. (2021). The value of getting personalisation right.
• Salesforce. (2023). State of the Connected Customer.
• Gartner. (2022). Personalisation Impact Report.
• FCA (2023). Consumer Duty Regulations.

AI Supplier Insight (2024). Applications of AI in Automotive Retail.