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the Free CMSWire NewsletterThere is a lot of buzz going on around personalization in the online world — how to use it, does it matter, won't the visitor be suspicious, etc. From where I stand, personalization matters. Here's why.
Offline Personalization is Essential and Normal
In the offline world, personalization is everywhere. If I go shopping for clothes and enter a store I have never visited before the sales clerk will immediately analyze and segment me, according to parameters like:
- Gender
- Age
- What I'm wearing (suite vs. casual clothes)
- Style (beard, hair, watch, etc.)
- Brands I'm wearing
Say I'm 33, male, wearing jeans (Hugo Boss), shirt (Eton) and brown leather shoes (Lloyds) — the Clerk will show me clothes which match the brands I’m wearing and my style. Perhaps the clerk will try to up-sell to other more expensive brands, like Armani, but he wouldn't go for "cheaper" brands.
If I buy a new pair of shoes and return a few days later, the sales person will probably remember me and ask about the shoes (showing an interest in me). He could then try to sell me a belt, which matches the shoes — and he would probably succeed. One thing is fairly certain: He would probably not try to sell me the shoes I'd already bought!
What could the business objectives be at the clothes shop? I'd guess it is to get maximum revenues with a focus on customer satisfaction, low return rates and high repeat purchase rates.
How do they deliver that? They prioritize the delivery of relevant, accurate information and in doing so they build trust relationships with their clients.
Taking a Page From the Offline World
The online/interactive world can learn a lot from the offline world. Today even though we write 2010 as the calendar year, many websites are still so nineties — showing the same content to all the visitors, promoting products visitors have already bought (if it's e-commerce) or pushing newsletters customers have already signed up for.
The content might be dynamic, but the experience is static! And this static approach to delivering content is probably why conversion rates are so low on many sites.
Why is that? Many have not done a good job of optimizing their online presence in light of their business objectives.
Instead the focus has been on redesign, user experience, SEO, etc. These things are not bad, but the main question, "What business goals can our website help us achieve?", often slips too far into the background, while the budget is progressively consumed by redesign process.
In this scenario, you might end up with a prettier, more user friendly, more SEO optimized website. But has the site's ability to achieve primary business objectives really changed? In fact, if you compare your online presence today to your online presence in the nineties, what is the difference besides the visual design, jQuery effects, user experience and SEO?
If you're depressed by the answer to that question, it's time to step back and re-think how you are running your online presence.
Base Your Website on Your Business Objectives
What I hope is that you don't see too much of yourself in the above scenario. Regardless, both the interactive space and your business objectives are constantly evolving. We all must continue to ask the question: "What business goals can our website help us achieve?"
And if your desired outcome is to increase revenue, your conversation with yourself might go something like this:
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