Almost
every eCommerce site has “personalized” recommendations for what else you
should be buying. Most of these recommendations occur while checking out or
while viewing your shopping cart. The recommendations are based on what you
have in your cart compared to what other people who purchased similar items had
in their carts.
There is
an increasing desire to have a more personalized shopping experience than these
general recommendations of how my interests are similar to others. In other
words what I am really saying is that when I go online shopping I want the site
to know what I am looking for before I know what I am looking for. How is this
possible? Is this “personalized” experience that I say I want so much the same
as a “personal” shopping experience?
I agree
with many who believe personalization is not as important as personal. Here[i] is
a blog in which Maz Iqbal describes the difference between personalization and
personal. He describes personalization as the necessary “hygiene factor”. By
making recommendations that are relevant to my interests the company is more
likely to keep the customer, for it makes the customer believe the company has
their act together and understand how to use the data being collected. “Personalization”,
he says lacks the ability to build positive emotion, engagement or loyalty.
Without personalization though creates dissatisfaction with the site. Human
beings need to have a personal experience to build desired emotion, engagement
and loyalty.
Maz
describes why a “personal touch” matters by sharing an experience when a
company earned his loyalty. A book that he ordered online came with a printed
receipt. At the bottom of the receipt was a handwritten note stating: “Thanks
for your order, hope you enjoy this excellent book and find it useful. Best
wishes, RocketSurgery Crew.” Because of this simple note, RocketSurgery has won
Maz’s loyalty when faced with a future choice between them and another company.
So What?
Here are three suggestions to help
engage customers through “personalization” or adding the “personal” touch.
1.
Data analysis. Amazon has been the leader in
this area. Most companies collect data at POS, IP information, and traffic
sources to and from. The key is how to analyze the data and then what to do
with it. See this[iii]
for more on Big Data.
2.
Social Commerce[iv]. Here
is a source of built in recommendations and a vast network of friends with
similar interests and buying habits. Imagine performing a Google search for
cross country skis and seeing in the results people in your social network who
are involved in cross country skiing and what gear they have. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bIPBuFZ5tQQ
3.
Multi-channeling. An overwhelming majority of
purchases are made in the following manner (example): seeing an advertisement
on television then performing a search in connection with that advertisement
with a tablet, sometime driving to a store to test out the product and buy it
on a mobile phone while standing in the store.
Personalized recommendations are necessary
at least not to drive customers away. The personal touch is necessary to build
emotion, engagement and loyalty. Combining both techniques are sure to increase
overall customer engagement both on and off line.
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