Have you ever read a tempting sales email? Received mobile notifications that inform you of products you’ve had on your wish list? Or, a website that greets you with a product you’ve thought about buying?
This is not a coincidence. It’s personalization in action. From on-site experience to marketing campaigns, eCommerce needs personalization at various levels.
eCommerce personalization doesn’t stop with just addressing shoppers by their name. It’s a consistent study of customer behavior and interests. Only when you understand your customer, you can come up with unique personalization for every single one.
Here is a collection of smart eCommerce personalization.
Amazon’s Product Recommendation – On-site Suggestions
Product recommendations act as digital sales assistants which feed customers with more options that go with their purchase or help them to find their desired choice.
Collaborative filtering and content-based filtering are two evolving machine-learning-based algorithms. Collaborative filtering matches the preferences of customers with similar purchases.
It provides suggestions for customers based on a generalized sketch of what her/his type has previously purchased. If Sam buys product A and B while Tim has bought only product A, then product B could be suggested for Tim.
In content-based filtering, the recommendation algorithms match customer profiles with the content of products. It will match customer data like gender or age to product data like price or color.
Chatbots – Personalized Support
Another technology-aided eCommerce personalization is a chatbot. Chatbots act as 24/7 customer service providers. Chatbots can handle multiple customers at once replacing the effort of several human customer service representatives.
Chatbots evolve on-the-go to provide personalized shopping suggestions. This evolution happens based on inquiries provided by users. Chatbots can also assist users in answering questions about delivery or other inquiries typical of the field.
Another opportunity for personalization is rendering support in your customer’s native language. Chatbots can be deployed in multiple social mediums, like on-site and social platforms. This helps eCommerce brands personalize their support across multiple customer touchpoints.
Knock on the Door on Special Days – Sephora Birthday Emails
Reaching out to customers on days that are special to them can work wonders. Sending emails on birthdays, anniversaries, and festival days will provide a personalized feel. Customers are more likely to read what have you have to say if it addresses their lives specifically.
Addressing users by name, greeting them in the subject and bundling the email along with a discount on their favorite products will better open rates.
Here is how cosmetics giant, Sephora, does it:
OpenTable – Earning Product and Website Reviews
OpenTable helps users to reserve tables online. Based on their reservation history, OpenTable asks for reviews from its users. These reviews are then used to improve the personalization in suggesting more restaurants and menus.
OpenTable’s email campaign reminds users to review their restaurant experiences.
Grammarly’s User-specific Weekly Progress Reports
Grammarly’s ‘Weekly Progress Report’ is a personalized report on how a user has performed over the week. The tool rates progress based on ‘Productivity’, ‘Accuracy’ and ‘Vocabulary’. Thus, it provides a detailed report on improvements in different segments.
One way Grammarly encourages people to get interactive is through social media share options. Users can share their progress with their friends via Facebook and Twitter. By sending reports on a weekly basis, Grammarly keeps its users expecting for further updates.
The email has sources that link to the program’s premium upgrades and other resources such as blogs.
eCommerce businesses need personalization from the home page to the payment gateway. Personalizing at every customer touchpoints helps eCommerce businesses increase conversion rates and keep customers coming back long after their first experience.
If you need assistance in personalizing your marketing campaigns, TargetBay can help. TargetBay is a marketing automation tool that can catalyze eCommerce brands to bridge the gap that hinders sales from happening.
