High on the priority list for spending (37%) is Personalization tactics, including ratings and reviews and other personalization techniques. Other techniques in the study included forms of Content Management, eMail Marketing, and Multi-Channel integration.
With the right eCommerce platform, retailers can implement advanced eCommerce tactics easily and affordably. Here are some examples of how retailers can implement Personalization Techniques on their eStore.
Avoid Overcomplicated Tactics
OrderDynamics is designed for online retailers and wholesalers (B2B & B2C) who have out grown their current eCommerce solution. These businesses enage us because they've "hit the wall" causing growth challenges - either through a lack of adequate frontend features or inability to streamline backend processes involved with high volume websites.
When engaged by OrderDynamics, these businesses are educated on what features will immediately bring the biggest benefit - allowing them to mature into the more sophisticated features over time.
The issue of personalization can quickly become large, complex, and expensive so tackling basic concepts, as described here, is a great way to provide a personalized website experience without breaking the bank.
“Know your client”; Build Around the Little Things they Value
All of the tactics we look at here should be part of any mid-market eCommerce platform and, if implemented correctly, should lead to increased sales through qualified traffic and converting more visitors.
1. Identify Returning Customers
Recognizing a returning shopper will make repeat buying easier and will naturally lead to additional sales. Since these customers are already qualified, you want to make their subsequent purchases hassle free.
Tips include:
• Cart and Wish List Persistence
• Display user name (“Welcome Back: John Smith” – Not you?)
• Provide easy re-order options (hold and present order history)
• Allow for auto-shipping of consumables
• Merchandise based on past purchases
• Merchandise based on recently viewed, search history, and cart contents
2. Invite Customers Back
Online retailers needs to take advantage of the deep business information coming from their website. The leading platforms that include Order Management Systems (OMS) automatically captures key data on each order and everything about that customer. By creating and scheduling targeting eMails (OrderDynamics built-in email marketing engine is called eCast Manager), retailers can create highly relevant messages back to their Clients. These messages should be a mix of customer service and new promotions that motivate them to come back to the website.
Tips include:
• Highly targeted audiences (filter recipients from data in the OMS database)
• Notifications of new lines or product replacements (or categories / brands)
• Offer incentives to return (coupons and other promotions)
• Notice of items in a persistent wish list
• Notice of items in a persistent cart
• Rate and review previous purchases (specify product)
• Notice of related items or accessories related to a purchase
• Recent sign-up but no purchases
3. Navigation Preferences
Nothing is more annoying than a website not saving preferences that you’ve taken the time to set. Since shoppers will likely navigate your eStore uniquely, the ability to store these preferences is important as is the ability for a shopper to clear saved settings.
Tips include:
• Listings per page
• Grid listing formats
• Categories, Brands, Products of interest
• Recently viewed and searched
• Addresses (Billing, Shipping, Multiple)
• Profile Picture
4. Social Network Feeds
When designing a social networking strategy (or “Social Commerce”), it is important to think about what information you can deliver to your target customer that will incent them to 1) pass that information on (concept of "going viral") and/or 2) make them visit your website. Simply creating a Blog, Facebook or Twitter page is not going to result in revenue.
Tips include:
• Build community through blogging or forums
• Create articles of interest or educational value
• Post promotions to Twitter with links back to Products, Category, Brand pages
• Allow shoppers to post purchases to their Facebook wall (notify their friends of purchases)
• Participate in MySpace, Twitter, Facebook of suppliers / manufactures
5. Personalizing Content
Over and above product content, it is important to have a strategy to manage “content areas” across the site. These content areas typically include flash, video, HTML, or images, and have links to promotions, products, categories, search pages, or brand pages. Making these content areas as relevant as possible to your shoppers increases the overall "personal feel" of a site and leads to finding and buying faster.
Tips include:
• Automatic rotation of content areas based on rules
• Thresholds and tracking of impressions and click through rates (CTR)
• Customize content to be as specific as possible
• Content: Products, HTML, Images, Flash, Video
• Rules to rotate content based on:
o Referral URL, Keyword URI, Domain
o Time of day
o Persona definition (example: Consumer, Prosumer, Expert)
o Geo-targeted IP Address
o Logged in user
The Role of Your eCommerce Platform
As retailers build strategies to better connect with their customers using personalization tactics, an evaluation of their eCommerce platform will probably be in order. It is important for retailers to find a platform vendor that can both enable their immediate vision while being proactive in helping them measure outcomes and adjust accordingly.
While we’ve only covered some basic tactics here, advanced personalization techniques can go beyond core eCommerce platform to involve leading third party services for buying recommendation services, site search control, ratings and review content, and more. The eCommerce platform provider must support all of these systems and have a strategy to help retailers successfully execute on their personalization strategy over time.
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