Arnas Rackauskas, profile picture
Uploaded byArnas Rackauskas
594 views

The 40 best ways to personalize

This document discusses ways to personalize customer experiences on websites. It identifies 40 tactics across 9 categories for personalizing content, preventing abandonment, using geotargeting, targeted upselling, persuasive design, intelligent merchandizing, offers/discounts, messaging/campaigns, and data capture. Each tactic is described with examples of how companies implement them. The document aims to help businesses identify which personalization tactics suit them best.

Downloaded 12 times
1 2014 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014
2 3 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 The 40 best ways to personalize Website personalization has been rapidly evolving over the past 10 years. In the ecommerce space, product recommendation engines were the first real move away from a one size fits all website. These engines provided a somewhat “personal” recommendation of products based on previous buying and browsing behaviors of visitors. However, it wasn’t until A/B testing came along that ecommerce professionals started to look at personalization as more than just algorithmic product curation. We are now graduating into a new phase where customer segmentation capabilities and the ability to serve targeted content in real- time are a viable reality for most ecommerce businesses. This fundamentally changes marketing’s capabilities online. No longer is the brick and mortar store the only place that the customer can see the personal face of the business. Personalization bridges the gap between the clicks and the bricks. The science of personalization is often about taking content you already have and making sure it meets the right visitors at the right stage of the purchase lifecycle. Use this ebook as a handy resource to gauge which tactics suit your business and identify the best areas for you to drive conversions, fast. For more detailed case studies, visit our website: www.qubitproducts.com #1 Content engagement 4 Special selections Promote buying guides Size guides About us Read our blog #2 Abandonment prevention Free shipping offer Email Collection Reinforce unique selling points #3 Geotargeting 20 Store locator Click and collect Location branding Site redirects Currency conversion Delivery info #4 Targeted upsell 30 Gift wrapping Delivery threshold Discounted items Insurance Free items Recommended accessories #5 Persuasive designs 38 Limited time offer Low stock pointer Add to wishlist Number of current observers Number of recent purchasers #6 Intelligent merchandizing Weather targeting New in Latest offers What’s hot #7 Offers and discounts 56 Money off Percentage off Loyalty offers Referral schemes #8 Messaging and campaigns Campaign mirroring As seen on TV Welcome message Seasonals Smart landing pages #9 Data capture and reviews Feedback collection Review optimization 14 48 64 74 82More useful resources...
4 5 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #1 Content engagement Online shopping is no longer simply about the utility of the website and the moment that the customer makes a transaction. Ecommerce websites are also places to curate a brand and interact with the customer. The role of editorial content, blogs, size guides and photography are paramount to engage and educate your customer.
6 7 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Special selections What is it? Promote a variety of your highest performing content. Why? Your site might have had a guest blogger, or your editor might have made a particularly special choice. Or perhaps you have an array of content that doesn’t fall into any specific category you want to promote. Don’t feel bashful: direct your visitors towards things you think they’ll enjoy! Example company: Whistles Whistles keep their homepage fresh by interweaving their products into editorial content that appeals to the customer’s sense of style in a wider sense. This could be personalized further by segmenting this content for different users based on their visitor history or geolocation. Local store details and seasonal picks keep Whistles’ homepage fresh
8 9 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Promote buying guides What is it? Whether it’s complicated holiday planning, or simply showing international size guides, help your customers purchase by giving them the information they need. Why? Sometimes it’s difficult to know exactly how to purchase from a given website. Insurance companies don’t have baskets, for example. So if your company has a non standard model, you need to make sure your customers aren’t confused. Qubit case study: Farfetch Farfetch, a non-traditional retailer, analysed the value of different content pages by comparing the conversion rates of groups of visitors who had or had not viewed that content. They found that visitors who had engaged with the site’s FAQ page had a greater propensity to convert. By serving a layer directing people to this section of the website, they increased the conversion rate by 17%. A signpost to the FAQs for lost visitors, useful when you ship to over 280 countries!
10 11 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Size guides What is it? Serve your users with size guides to explain exactly how well your products will fit. Why? Returns are already enough of an issue for online retailers, so ensuring customers have as much information as possible about your products is vital. Example company: Bravissimo Bravissimo understands when a user is uncertain about sizing and puts two of the same items, but of different sizes, into their basket. When this happens, the user is directed towards the size guide to help them find the perfect fit. About us What is it? Promote the best things about your brand by ensuring that you educate your customer when they land. Why? Getting people to the checkout is not simply about showing them your best products. It’s also about getting people excited about your brand by giving them an experience that they enjoy. One way of doing this is by pointing them to your “About page” in order to educate your customer about who you are, how the site works, and what you stand for. Qubit case study: Attraction Tickets Direct Using Qubit, Attraction Tickets Direct found that people who saw the About Us page were 14% more likely to book attraction tickets. They wanted to drive more traffic to this page to reinforce the brand message, so they served a layer prompting the customer toward the About Us page. Handy signpost in the top right directs visitors to a tailored size guide Not sure if this is the right holiday for you? A signpost to ‘About us’ is a good reassurance measure
12 13 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Read our blog What is it? Include enticing content on your website that not only informs customers, but engages them with your brand. Why? The longer people spend on your website, the more they’ll be disposed towards purchasing something. If you have helpful content, point them in this direction and watch your engagement levels go up. Even Amazon, the king of catalogue websites, has a thriving hub of social activity focused around list making and reviews. Example company: Playstation Playstation’s blog is filled with enticing content. While many console gamers have already chosen their side in this war, Sony uses a wealth of creative, engaging content to persuade newcomers that their side is the one to back. Playstation does a good job of sorting their blog content by console type and highlighting the most popular content by showing the number of comments. When you have a blog this good, you need to make sure you signpost it throughout the user journey to boost engagement. Dynamic masonry and comments bring the Playstation blog alive
14 15 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #2 Abandonment prevention Reduce the rate of abandonment by serving people with relevant messaging just before they leave your site. You can serve your customers with a variety of different messages that will incentivize them to either purchase a product, stay on your website, or return at a later date.
16 17 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Free shipping offer What is it? Target customers with free shipping when they are leaving the site. Why? The cost of shipping is often tacked on at the end of the buying process and can put people off if they haven’t been alerted to it. Offering free shipping at the right time may just tempt an uncertain shopper to buy. Example company: L.K Bennett L.K.Bennett used Qubit’s visitor history data in order to target users who had added items to their basket, who had not purchased before, and who were abandoning their basket. This personalization drove conversions by 11%. Email collection What is it? Ask abandoning visitors for their email address in a pop-up box. You don’t ask, you don’t get. Why? You can remind them of their basket a week later, when they might have had more time to consider the purchase. People often don’t want to purchase on their first visit to a site, and can be forgetful when they leave. Example company: Urban Outfitters Asking visitors who are unsure about buying right away for their email address is a great way to initiate a relationship. Urban Outfitters target all new customers with a lightbox that asks customers to sign up for their newsletter. The newsletter itself is even personalized for guys and girls! Free shipping, but only for visitors who are on the fence Quick newsletter sign up, targeted at new visitors
18 19 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Reinforce unique selling points What is it? Do you offer full value returns or have a service that none of your competitors have? Make your customers aware of your unique selling points. Why? For new customers especially, it’s important to make sure they understand all the things that make your brand special so they’ll invest over the long term. Example company: Winkelstraat For first time visitors, Winkelstraat deploys an in-page message with three core USPs. For any non-Dutch speakers out there, these are: Free shipping, next day delivery and free 14 day return policy. These are shown on the homepage when people first arrive at the site. USPs worth shouting about, Winklestaad states them loud and clear
20 21 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #3 Geotargeting By being able to gauge the location of a user, you can target them with specific offers, direct them to nearby shops, see what their weather looks like and so on. Hyper-local targeting allows you to personalize the customer experience fully. It’s a very powerful tool!
22 23 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Store locator What is it? Advertise any stores opening near the location of each visitor, or simply tell them where the nearest store can be found. Why? There’s no need for your website to cannibalize your brick- and-mortar locations. Drive offline conversions and appeal to the customer who wants to see the item in-store by highlighting its existence on your website. Example company: Belstaff Belstaff targeted users that had viewed the store locator after browsing several product pages. These users seemed to be interested in purchasing, but also in going to see the physical product before making a final commitment. Belstaff used a layer offering the option to click-and-collect an item from the store. This kind of helpful prompt is a great way to engage a visitor who is clearly interested in your proposition. Belstaff drove casual browsers to the store locator page
24 25 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Click and collect What is it? People like to shop how they want, when they want. So offer the option to buy online but pick up in person. Why? Consumers increasingly expect to be able to pick up their goods where and when they choose. Sometimes you don’t want to have to wait at home for it to be delivered. You might, instead, want to get the product faster than the estimated delivery time, or have a look at the item in the flesh before taking it back with you. Example company: Tesco Supermarkets can be a real hassle to walk around, what with strollers, huge trolleys and a wealth of people to contend with. Allowing your customers to shop online and then come to pick it up is a real time saver for customers. Offer this service to visitors who live near an offline store! Location branding What is it? Alter the look and service of your website so that it’s appropriate for your customers, wherever they may hail from. Why? Mother’s day is celebrated on 33 different days around the world. If you’ve localized your content to take it into account, you don’t want to show it to everyone. If you’ve got location specific content, ensure it only appears to customers from that location. Qubit case study: Childrensalon Childrensalon thought that more overseas visitors would convert if they realized they could chat to a customer service representative in their native tongue. A message layer was created for each of the target markets, asking whether they would like to live chat with a customer service representative in their language. This personalization drove a 13% increase in conversions. Click and collect, great for local shoppers “Speak to customer services in your native language” in Arabic
26 27 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Site redirects What is it? You might have a variety of different websites optimized for different markets. Detect where people are coming from, and serve them the right content. Why? It’s never a great experience to go to a Japanese website and have to translate it into English using Google Translate. Remove this barrier to conversion and a great customer experience by optimizing for your largest geographical segments. Example company: Carrefour Carrefour made a new version of their website specifically for their growing Chinese market. They could personalize this service further by using geolocation to detect whether their user is in China and reverting to this site automatically. Translating your site for international markets is a sure way to drive conversions
28 29 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Currency conversion What is it? Detect where a visitor is coming from and show all your product prices in the relevant currency. Why? You want to remove as many of the barriers to conversion as you can. In this case, failing to convert for your customers will harm the amount they’ll be willing to convert for you! Example company: Alibaba Alibaba shows why it’s the leader in the East: it detects where Western visitors are from and shows them the prices in dollars. Delivery info What is it? Your delivery costs might change depending on where a person is in the world. Detect where your customer is visiting from, and then serve them the relevant information. Why? Nothing puts people off delivery more than a hidden cost because of their location. If I’m going to be charged more because of where I live, I want to know before I begin with the transaction! Example company: DFS DFS hypothesized that clearer European shipping information would improve conversions. They served a layer to visitors according to where they were, and pushed them to use DFS’s free call back service for further information. This personalization drove a 23% increase in conversion rates for international users. Local currency conversions make it easier to shop internationally A delivery message, served to European visitors
30 31 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #4 Targeted upsell Customers are often open to the idea of purchasing other items along with their initial purchase. You just have to target them with the right message. Sometimes driving conversions isn’t the best way to make more money. Revenue is the multiplication of the number of conversions with the average order value. You can increase either for a win!
32 33 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Delivery threshold What is it? Offer your customers free shipping when they spend over a certain threshold. Why? It can be a real disincentive to purchase when you feel like you are being scalped for shipping. But while most customers understand it costs a significant amount to do it, they just don’t like the hidden cost of $5 on a $50 item. Make it known that they can get money off by spending more and they will! Example company: New Look New Look offer free delivery for items over a certain threshold for all delivery methods. Gift wrapping What is it? Offer gift wrapping as an additional item in the basket, for added convenience that will delight your customers. This is especially important at Christmas. Why? Gift wrapping removes stress from the customer if the purchase is intended as a gift. This is particularly useful in industries that customarily sell products that are given as gifts, such as jewelry or flowers. Example company: Things Remembered Things Remembered offer personalized gifts and wrapping services, complete with a variety of professional or personal message ideas. Personalize your package as well as using wrapping to increase average order value Make sure people who are near a shipping threshold receive the appropriate messaging
34 35 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Insurance What is it? If your company sells high-order goods, you might possibly offer insurance alongside it. Adding insurance to the product page communicates both a sense of value for the product and raises average order values. Why? Some products are just too expensive to leave their safety up to chance. Sometimes the risk is high: for example, you don’t want to get stranded without health insurance if you go skiing. Example company: Thomas Cook Every time you go on holiday, Thomas Cook offers you travel insurance for both single and multiple trips, depending on whether you are a frequent flier. Discounted items What is it? Bundle products together to create a discount for price sensitive users. Why? Some users are always on the lookout for a bargain. Target them with your best offers once they’ve put something in their basket to drive up average order values. Example company: Moss Bros Moss Bros target users with an offer of two shirts with a suit at a significant discount. Discounts are great for visitors who need a little push to convert. Tailor your insurance options based on holiday history
36 37 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Free items What is it? Offer your customers an additional free item once they spend over a certain threshold. Why? Everyone loves a free gift. Doubly so if it’s relevant to you. Offer your customer free, relevant useful items to incentivize them to spend more. If you bundle products together for the purposes of cross-selling, sometimes it can make sense to offer, ‘buy two get one free’. Example company: Toys R Us When a customer spends over $100 online, they will automatically email you with a voucher for $15. This not only encourages you to spend more the first time around, it also gives you an incentive to come back later! Recommended accessories What is it? Some products go together, some don’t. You might expect someone to buy a belt with a pair of pants, for example. Recommend accessories that match their chosen product! Why? Grouping together products in this way allows customers to benefit from the natural synergies between products without having to travel all over the website. Example company: ASOS ASOS offers you an unobtrusive yet helpful set of items to go along with your chosen product. Free coupons for big spenders Complete the look with ASOS
38 39 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Persuasive designs There are six principles of persuasion: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity. Persuasive designs tend to pull the scarcity lever, creating urgency and driving people towards taking action. #5
40 41 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Limited time offer What is it? All offers last for a limited time, but you can go one step further and add a sense of urgency by including a countdown to the end of the offer. Why? Scarcity is one of the most potent of the six principles of persuasion and the easiest one to implement on your site. People hate to miss out on a deal, so show them exactly how long they’ve got to make their purchase! Qubit case study: Best of the Best Best of the Best run competitions every two weeks where visitors can win their dream car. They previously had a countdown timer for the duration of the competition, however this wasn’t pushing enough visitors to convert. They hypothesised if they started the timer closer to the end, urgency would cause more customers to enter. After implementing the shorter time period, Best of the Best saw a 5% uplift in conversions. Deploying the timer nearer the end of the competition created more urgency
42 43 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Add to wishlist What is it? Promote your wishlist function so customers can store goods they want without having to purchase them then and there. Why? Wishlists are great because they enable customers to set aside some products for later, without having to commit to paying now. This gives you the opportunity to send reminders and upsell emails. Example company Amazon Amazon’s wishlist allows you to add any product you want, as well as offering an extension, which enables you to add products from their affiliates too. Low stock pointer What is it? A stock counter showing products that are about to run out. Why? Urgency is one of the most basic ways of persuading someone to purchase. If your product is running low, serving someone with information about how many items are left can be really persuasive. It’s the ultimate scarcity tactic. Qubit case study: Accessorize / Monsoon Monsoon and Accessorize weren’t showing the number of items in stock for each of their stocked items. Using Qubit, they we able to add a pointer showing the stock level if there were less than three items available. This change resulted in a 10% increase in conversions and was rolled out across all their international sites. Showing your wishlist at the right time can keep visitors engaged Low stock pointer, does what some CMS’s can’t do
44 45 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Number of current observers What is it? As part of the product page, include the number of people looking at the product. Why? Popularity breeds popularity. If many people are looking at one item, it will make other people interested. If the product is perishable, it also gives a sense of urgency to the purchase: if I don’t buy it now, maybe someone else will! Example company: Hotels.com Hotels.com is a busy website. If you’re looking at a popular product, you won’t just know that because of the amount of reviews, they’ll also tell exactly how many people are looking at it right now. When customers are worried about a hotel booking selling out, there’s nothing more incentivizing than seeing that your competition is looking at it right now! Think of it as the online equivalent of viewing a house at the same time as your competition. Real-time viewer numbers persuade visitors to buy asap
46 47 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Number of recent purchasers What is it? Record the number of people who purchase a product over a specific length of time and serve it to your current customers. Why? This has a similar function to a list of best sellers. People flock to popular items. If you can see that 12 other people in your area are considering the same purchase, it validates the purchase decision. Example company: Naked Wines Naked Wines have a feed where they show the wines that people have bought in the past few minutes. You can see, in real-time, just how popular a given product or website is. Socially driven, stock recommendations show what’s really trending
48 49 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #6 Intelligent merchandizing Merchandizing allows you to promote individual products or product ranges for almost any reason. Using your authority as a website, recommend the appropriate product for the time of year, weather or emotional state of your customer!
50 51 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Weather targeting What is it? Use geo-targeting to pin-point your customer’s location, then provide offers tailored to the local conditions. Sunglasses for the sun, and raincoats for the rain. Why? Customers may respond to the weather in a variety of different ways. If you have a great understanding of your customers and how they respond, you can target them more effectively. For example, rainy days might make travel companies a killing in beach holidays, and retail companies might sell a lot of umbrellas. Qubit case study: Burton Burton personalized their homepage by dynamically adjusting the products on display based on the visitor’s local weather conditions. A tile on the homepage was taken over and directed users to weather appropriate products. This would rotate between three different creatives: one with the visitor’s local weather and temperature, another with the ‘B prepared’ icon, and lastly, a styled photograph. As a result of this weather test, Burton had an 11.6% uplift in conversions across all users. Whatever you local weather, Burton has the clothing for you
52 53 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Latest offers What is it? Collect together your latest offers to ensure price-sensitive consumers know where to go. Why? Product fatigue can hit fast if people have browsed your website a few times and haven’t found anything they want. Why would they come back? Publicizing the latest additions to your range will ensure your customers will keep on returning. Example company: Freshpair This company ask you to sign up for their email list on entry, allowing them to contact the customer with ideas, offers and new products even when they have abandoned the site. The persuasive tone of the message is particularly key here: it entices the customer with a direct message to “be the first to know”. New in What is it? Try and leverage the new items in your product range by highlighting them as new to your customers. Why? New products often have a high conversion rate, partly for the novelty factor. However, if you hide them away, you are only promoting them to your most frequently visiting customers. Ensure everyone gets a shot at being as up to date as they can by promoting your new lines. Example company: Baublebar This company have their priorities straight and keep their new lines at the top of the page, right where customers can see them! New arrivals, great for returning visitors Creating a personal dialogue means customers can always get the freshest undies
54 55 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 What’s hot What is it? Due to the viral nature of the internet, sometimes individual products take off for no discernible reason. Keep track of the hottest items and promote them further when you see them fly off the shelves. Why? Customers will often come to your site in search of inspiration! If they are impatient and can’t find something interesting, they may leave your site. A ‘What’s hot?’ section deals with this neatly. Example company: Abesmarket.com Abe’s Market has a useful section entitled, ‘This month on Abes’. They fill you in on what’s selling well, what they recommend, and how they would use the products. Directing visitors to your ‘What’s hot’ section often drives conversions and increases order values
56 57 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #7 Offers and discounts As examined in our recent report, The Value of Customer Feedback, customers complain about price more than anything else. One of the best ways to incentivize purchasing is offering people a deal.
58 59 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Money off What is it? Target specific users with discounts by serving a layer or banner on your website. Why? Price is the biggest source of complaint for visitors to websites, so offering discounts on price will often lead to more purchases. Of course, you have to be careful of cannibalizing your top line, so proceed with caution. Example company: Overstock.com Each day Overstock.com uses “flash deals” which place an item on offer and then counts down the time left for the customer to buy it. This combines a discount tactic with an urgency message which proves very effective. This could be personalized further by targeting specific users with specific products that matches their visitor history. Percentage off What is it? Serve a discount message offering a percentage off a purchase. Why? Discounts will nudge people towards specific products, but sometimes a percentage discount will look more impressive than an absolute value. Example company: Topman Topman offers percentage discounts off selected ranges, incentivizing those who are sensitive to a deal to purchase. Flash deals are a great way to shift excessive stock. Recognise when you need to shift stock quickly and introduce sales to speed things up
60 61 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Loyalty offers What is it? Reward your customers for returning frequently or spending lavishly. You can do this through a loyalty scheme or with free gifts. Why? Your returning customers will form the majority of your income. Using loyalty offers will engage with existing customers and encourage them to come back for more! Example company: Gilt Gilt have a membership group called Noir. If you become a member you receive special offers, invitation to events, and secret previews of their new products. Noir members represent the top 1% of Gilt shoppers (in terms of money spent) and this privilege is removed if you fall out of the top 1%. Exclusivity works well to incentivize customer loyalty. Recognize your highest value customers and invite them to your VIP spaces
62 63 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Referral schemes What is it? Offer your customers rewards if they recommend your website to their friends. You can incentivize them with free credit, or money off a range of products. Why? People who are given recommendations by their friends are not only more likely to make a first purchase, but they are more likely to become repeat customers. Gaining a customer’s trust is a difficult thing for companies, and nobody is better suited to help than their friends. Example company: Uber When you join Uber, you have the option to generate a code that, when clicked on by a friend, will reward both the linker and the linkee with a £10 discount on their next taxi journey. Turn your customers in ambassadors with targeted loyalty schemes
64 65 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #8 Messaging and campaigns Different people have different needs at each stage of the purchase lifecycle. First timers need a warm welcome, whereas people who are visiting from a campaign will feel reassured if there is continuity between what they see on your website and what drew them there in the first place. Here are some great examples of seeing this in action.
66 67 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Campaign mirroring What is it? Match content onsite with other campaigns, reminding customers of products and deals they have seen elsewhere. For example, serve specific messages to those on your mailing list who came through a promotion in their email. Why? Making your campaigns specific to the path your customers took ensures that their path to purchase is streamlined. It reminds them of why they came and encourages them to purchase. Example company: Dorothy Perkins Dorothy Perkins did an email blast to their UK database promoting a 25% off sale with free next day delivery. To accompany the email blast, an on-page layer was shown to shoppers visiting the UK site on product, bag and checkout pages. This message served as a prompt to remind shoppers to enter their discount code. Mirror locally relevant campaigns on your website to create consistent experiences
68 69 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 As seen on TV What is it? Align your online messaging with your television ads. Why? There’s no point sending your customers to your website with a great campaign if they aren’t then shown the same branding. A disconnected experience can put consumers off. Example company: Windows The Windows television adverts align closely with their onsite messaging, including a tour of their new operating system, along with images of couples exploring and experiencing it. Whatever campaign you have running above the line, create consistency on your website
70 71 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Seasonals What is it? Promote different products at different points of the year. Why? It sounds obvious but customers are more likely to buy winter appropriate clothing during the winter. Nobody wants to be targeted with a pair of sunglasses when it’s still dark before they leave work. Example company: H&M H&M publicize their springtime range loud and clear on the front page. This is not just about new arrivals, this is about a new season. H&M do this every few weeks to reflect the frequency of their new stock. This is an interesting example of real-time retailing in action! Welcome message What is it? Make your customers feel welcome by targeting them with a message that highlights your unique selling points. Why? Websites can be confusing places. A welcome message can be used to point your customers in the right direction. Qubit case study: Crew Clothing Crew hypothesized that new visitors needed to understand their brand more clearly before they would purchase. They designed three new messages to show on the first, second and third visits. The first encouraged email sign up, the second free delivery, and the third highlighted their customer service. On average, the effect of seeing any one of these messages increased conversions by 7.4%. Crew welcomed new visitors with free shipping or a USP message Ensure you have the agility to respond to the latest seasons
72 73 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Smart landing pages What is it? Smart landing pages combine analytics with an ability to dynamically change site content in real-time. For example, if you knew a customer had purchased from your site before, you would want to display your new range. Whereas if they are new to the site, you could display your most popular products. Why? Targeted merchandizing allows you to personalize the experience of shopping online, ensuring that customers will find your most useful content in the shortest amount of time. Truly understanding your customer will drive sales, increase average order value, and improve your conversion rates. Example company: Jet2 Jet2 remembers the journeys that you have previously searched for and will automatically fill in the information on the homepage. On returning, customers do not have the hassle of re-filling in options but can resume the process quickly. Remembered search saves Jet2 customers valuable time
74 75 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 #9 Data capture and reviews Collecting valuable feedback or extra information from your visitors will mould your digital strategy to ensure that you are creating a desirable user experience.
76 77 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Feedback collection What is it? Serving customers with an opportunity to leave feedback in the form of an open text box. We, at Qubit, tend to do this when a visitor looks like they’re leaving; but you can do it at any point in their journey. Why? With the rise of analytics, it has become much easier to measure the activities of users quantitatively. However, even if you have the best data in the world, diagnosing exactly what the problem is can be tricky. Qualitative information can, therefore, give your data direction by helping to shape your response to quantitative insights. Example company: Jimmy Choo Jimmy Choo serve users who seem like they’re leaving the site with a feedback box, offering them the opportunity to communicate their concerns. They ask an open ended question when it looks like people are about to leave the site. People who breeze through the site may never encounter this box. Stylish feedback box from Jimmy Choo only fires if visitors are about leave
78 79 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 Review optimization What is it? Integrate customer reviews into your product page to create extra trust. Why? Reviews create transparency in your brand, showcasing what people really think. This ‘voice of the customer’ greatly amplifies whatever you can say about the product. Example company: Travelzoo Travelzoo have taken this one step further by integrating Feefo, a 3rd party application onto their site. Feefo rates the experience that others have received and gives the visitor an external reference on your services. Applications such as Feefo can be deployed intelligently to maximise ROI based on factors including user behaviour and product value. Feefo can be deployed to specific visitor segments using A/B testing platforms
80 81 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 More useful resources... Website personalization and A/B testing practises are still in their relative infancy. We are observing more and more, companies making the graduation from A/B testing to personalization. They use technologies such as Qubit to enable their sites to adapt in real-time to the changing needs of different consumers. Typically these personalization tools have been developed to extend the core functionalities of ecommerce CMS platforms, giving marketers more control over their sites and greater ability to target specific visitors with specific content. Where marketers are sometimes let down is not knowing exactly what to change, and for which audience. This is where hypothesis generation comes into play. If you work from a valid hypothesis, borne out of your visitor data, you are more likely to deliver a personalization that will drive a significant uplift. And herein lies the second issue... Many A/B testing technologies on the market are quick to claim to winning result. The truth is that ‘significant’ winners are often difficult to prove when taking into account statistical noise, false positives and insufficient sample size. Below are three useful reads that shed more light on this issue as well as showing several of the innovative segmentations that Qubit test against. How to become an AB testing professional! http://bit.ly/abtestingresources More inspirational case studies http://bit.ly/casestudiesqubit Research: The value of customer feedback http://bit.ly/valueofcustomerfeedback
82 83 The 40 best ways to personalize 2014 About Qubit Qubit is a Digital Experience Management hub built around the needs of modern ecommerce professionals. We give you the agility, and the confidence, to optimize your website and deliver personalizations that will actually impact the bottom line. Our platform brings together several key technologies that help you understand the needs of your visitors, personalize the online experience and spread useful data throughout your business: Personalisation and A/B testing Audience segmentation Web intelligence Tag management To date, we’ve helped Staples, Topshop, All Saints, Farfetch and John Lewis improve their conversion rates and become more nimble in their marketing and ecommerce operations. If you want to join great company, or for more information about our products and research, please contact info@qubitproducts.com Qubit Real insights. Real uplifts.
84 The 40 best ways to personalize UK +44 (0) 203 551 3990 US +1 (646) 790-8292www.qubitproducts.com

More Related Content

DOCX
E-BUSINESS
bySANDEEP JENA
 
PDF
ContentMeetsCommerce
byScott Regan
 
PDF
FashionWP
byKestrel Lemen
 
PPTX
CEO Module 3
byCEOcreative
 
PPTX
CEO Module 6
byCEOcreative
 
PPTX
CEO Module 4
byCEOcreative
 
PPTX
CEO Module 2
byCEOcreative
 
PDF
What the heck is content marketing and why you should give a damn | Tips from...
byCraig Martin
 
E-BUSINESS
bySANDEEP JENA
 
ContentMeetsCommerce
byScott Regan
 
FashionWP
byKestrel Lemen
 
CEO Module 3
byCEOcreative
 
CEO Module 6
byCEOcreative
 
CEO Module 4
byCEOcreative
 
CEO Module 2
byCEOcreative
 
What the heck is content marketing and why you should give a damn | Tips from...
byCraig Martin
 

What's hot

PDF
5 E COMMERCE STRATEGIES TO BOOST SALES
byPaulina Rueda
 
PDF
Moz holy grail of e commerce conversion optimization
byBitsytask
 
PDF
2014 marketing-trends
byJOSE LUIS ROQUEÑI
 
PPTX
CEO Module 7
byCEOcreative
 
PDF
How does Marketing Strategy Create Value for Customers Journey?
byPPCexpo
 
PDF
20 Tips to Improve Sales on your Ecommerce Site
byJosh Levine
 
PPT
Respect Sales Prospects Do Not Dissect Them
byIndustryArchive.Org
 
PDF
6 Ways to Stop Ecommerce Shopping Cart Abandonment
byXanthos Digital Marketing
 
PDF
Mcm b2 b ecommerce special report aug 2016
byGillan Hawkes
 
PDF
Amplify point of sale machine jeddah
bypossoftwar
 
PDF
Proactive Service E-Commerce Optimization White Paper
byDaniel Obregon
 
PDF
Guide to eCommerce
byericssonjohn1
 
PDF
Re-imagining the in-store Digital Retail Experience
byTran Ngoc
 
PDF
Gap fashion and babywear case study jaco aucamp v5
byJaco Aucamp
 
DOCX
Educating The Customer – Leading To Better Sales
byeTailing India
 
PDF
4 Questions About Amazon.com that Every Marketer Must Ask
byOgilvy
 
PDF
The Disruptive Innovations for Your Holiday Shopping
byMakeable
 
PDF
FitForCommerce Whitepaper Series
byImran Quraishi
 
PDF
MIT Sloan Rotman Design Challenge: Target Retail Strategy
byVictoria Young
 
5 E COMMERCE STRATEGIES TO BOOST SALES
byPaulina Rueda
 
Moz holy grail of e commerce conversion optimization
byBitsytask
 
2014 marketing-trends
byJOSE LUIS ROQUEÑI
 
CEO Module 7
byCEOcreative
 
How does Marketing Strategy Create Value for Customers Journey?
byPPCexpo
 
20 Tips to Improve Sales on your Ecommerce Site
byJosh Levine
 
Respect Sales Prospects Do Not Dissect Them
byIndustryArchive.Org
 
6 Ways to Stop Ecommerce Shopping Cart Abandonment
byXanthos Digital Marketing
 
Mcm b2 b ecommerce special report aug 2016
byGillan Hawkes
 
Amplify point of sale machine jeddah
bypossoftwar
 
Proactive Service E-Commerce Optimization White Paper
byDaniel Obregon
 
Guide to eCommerce
byericssonjohn1
 
Re-imagining the in-store Digital Retail Experience
byTran Ngoc
 
Gap fashion and babywear case study jaco aucamp v5
byJaco Aucamp
 
Educating The Customer – Leading To Better Sales
byeTailing India
 
4 Questions About Amazon.com that Every Marketer Must Ask
byOgilvy
 
The Disruptive Innovations for Your Holiday Shopping
byMakeable
 
FitForCommerce Whitepaper Series
byImran Quraishi
 
MIT Sloan Rotman Design Challenge: Target Retail Strategy
byVictoria Young
 

Viewers also liked

PDF
26 Top Crowdfunding Sites (Infographic)
byWrike
 
PDF
10 Disruptive Quotes for Entrepreneurs
byGuy Kawasaki
 
PPTX
Social Proof Tips to Boost Landing Page Conversions
byAngie Schottmuller
 
PDF
Europas BlaBlaCar pitch
byVanina Schick
 
PDF
The Ultimate Freebies Guide for Presentations by @damonify
bySlides | Presentation Design Agency
 
PDF
Email Marketing 101: The Welcome Email
bySendGrid
 
PDF
How To Assemble a High Converting eBook
byUberflip
 
PDF
Quick & Dirty Tips for : Better PowerPoint Presentations Faster
byEugene Cheng
 
PDF
The Science of Email Marketing
byHubSpot
 
PPTX
The 10 Timeless Productivity Hacks
byBernard Marr
 
PDF
17 Copywriting Do's and Don'ts: How To Write Persuasive Content
byHenneke Duistermaat
 
PDF
Brand New World
byTorsten Henning Hensel
 
PDF
Some tips on selling from Ogilvy
byOgilvyOne Worldwide
 
PPT
Business Model Innovation Matters
byAlexander Osterwalder
 
PDF
People Don't Care About Your Brand
bySlides That Rock
 
ODP
100 growth hacks 100 days | 1 to 10
byRobin Yjord
 
PDF
Create icons in PowerPoint
byPresentitude
 
PPTX
The Sharing Economy
byLoic Le Meur
 
PPT
Business Model Design and Innovation for Competitive Advantage
byAlexander Osterwalder
 
PDF
Pitching Ideas: How to sell your ideas to others
byJeroen van Geel
 
26 Top Crowdfunding Sites (Infographic)
byWrike
 
10 Disruptive Quotes for Entrepreneurs
byGuy Kawasaki
 
Social Proof Tips to Boost Landing Page Conversions
byAngie Schottmuller
 
Europas BlaBlaCar pitch
byVanina Schick
 
The Ultimate Freebies Guide for Presentations by @damonify
bySlides | Presentation Design Agency
 
Email Marketing 101: The Welcome Email
bySendGrid
 
How To Assemble a High Converting eBook
byUberflip
 
Quick & Dirty Tips for : Better PowerPoint Presentations Faster
byEugene Cheng
 
The Science of Email Marketing
byHubSpot
 
The 10 Timeless Productivity Hacks
byBernard Marr
 
17 Copywriting Do's and Don'ts: How To Write Persuasive Content
byHenneke Duistermaat
 
Brand New World
byTorsten Henning Hensel
 
Some tips on selling from Ogilvy
byOgilvyOne Worldwide
 
Business Model Innovation Matters
byAlexander Osterwalder
 
People Don't Care About Your Brand
bySlides That Rock
 
100 growth hacks 100 days | 1 to 10
byRobin Yjord
 
Create icons in PowerPoint
byPresentitude
 
The Sharing Economy
byLoic Le Meur
 
Business Model Design and Innovation for Competitive Advantage
byAlexander Osterwalder
 
Pitching Ideas: How to sell your ideas to others
byJeroen van Geel
 

Similar to The 40 best ways to personalize

PDF
Blogpost top 5 personalization techniques
byShopboostr
 
PDF
Zakeke - Win & Scale Up in the Ever Evolving Visual Commerce
byLeonardoDAprile1
 
PDF
Top ten tips for implementing Website Personalisation
byRedEye
 
PDF
Personalized images - why they're great and how to use them
byIgor Varyvoda
 
PDF
Exceeding Customer 
Expectations with Personalization - They Key to increasin...
byNosto
 
PDF
How to use web personalization to boost your bottom line - with Belstaff and ...
byQubit
 
PDF
E-commerce Personalization Benefits
byNotifyVisitors
 
PPTX
Personalisation - The perfect fit for your fashion brand
byPure360
 
PDF
Personalisation for Peak 2017
byGENE Commerce
 
PPTX
personalization and customization in e-commerce.pptx
byDrVinodhiniYallagand
 
PPTX
Webinar: Beauty Brands: How to Transform Your Customer Experience with Person...
byPure360
 
PDF
Nosto (2017) The Anatomy of a Successful Ecommerce Store.pdf
byIvan Burmistrov
 
PDF
Conversion Rules!
byNosto
 
PPT
Personalization vs. Customization - Comparative Study
byDevesh Jagatram
 
PPT
User experience issues -- Personalization vs. Customization
byVinay Mohanty
 
PDF
Strategia di personalizzazione omnichannel
byContactlab
 
PDF
Jeanswest_InnovateSydney_2015
byMegan Scott
 
PPTX
Making retail personalization more relevant
byBill Bishop
 
PDF
Key insights in ecommerce personalisation - via Shopboostr
byDimitri Haußmann
 
PPTX
6 Most Overlooked Ways to Personalization in B2B E-commerce
byi95Dev
 
Blogpost top 5 personalization techniques
byShopboostr
 
Zakeke - Win & Scale Up in the Ever Evolving Visual Commerce
byLeonardoDAprile1
 
Top ten tips for implementing Website Personalisation
byRedEye
 
Personalized images - why they're great and how to use them
byIgor Varyvoda
 
Exceeding Customer 
Expectations with Personalization - They Key to increasin...
byNosto
 
How to use web personalization to boost your bottom line - with Belstaff and ...
byQubit
 
E-commerce Personalization Benefits
byNotifyVisitors
 
Personalisation - The perfect fit for your fashion brand
byPure360
 
Personalisation for Peak 2017
byGENE Commerce
 
personalization and customization in e-commerce.pptx
byDrVinodhiniYallagand
 
Webinar: Beauty Brands: How to Transform Your Customer Experience with Person...
byPure360
 
Nosto (2017) The Anatomy of a Successful Ecommerce Store.pdf
byIvan Burmistrov
 
Conversion Rules!
byNosto
 
Personalization vs. Customization - Comparative Study
byDevesh Jagatram
 
User experience issues -- Personalization vs. Customization
byVinay Mohanty
 
Strategia di personalizzazione omnichannel
byContactlab
 
Jeanswest_InnovateSydney_2015
byMegan Scott
 
Making retail personalization more relevant
byBill Bishop
 
Key insights in ecommerce personalisation - via Shopboostr
byDimitri Haußmann
 
6 Most Overlooked Ways to Personalization in B2B E-commerce
byi95Dev
 

More from Arnas Rackauskas

PDF
Bzn start rait elektronine prekyba
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
Referral marketing best practices for 2014
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
6 personalizacijos strategijos el. komercijos pardavimams didinti
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
The definitive guide to scrum: the rules of the game
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
eCommerce SEO: a guide to on-site optimization
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
Mobile optimization success guide
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
Master the essentials of conversion optimization
byArnas Rackauskas
 
PDF
22 Ecommerce growth hacks
byArnas Rackauskas
 
Bzn start rait elektronine prekyba
byArnas Rackauskas
 
Referral marketing best practices for 2014
byArnas Rackauskas
 
6 personalizacijos strategijos el. komercijos pardavimams didinti
byArnas Rackauskas
 
The definitive guide to scrum: the rules of the game
byArnas Rackauskas
 
eCommerce SEO: a guide to on-site optimization
byArnas Rackauskas
 
Mobile optimization success guide
byArnas Rackauskas
 
Master the essentials of conversion optimization
byArnas Rackauskas
 
22 Ecommerce growth hacks
byArnas Rackauskas
 

Recently uploaded

PDF
Don Talend Web Page Copy & Pagination - Captive Resources Careers
byDon Talend
 
PPTX
When Google Can’t See Your Site: Technical SEO Services That Fix Invisible Pages
byinfodmtechlabs
 
PDF
Next-Gen Recruitment - Getting Ready for Generation Alpha
byPhilippe Taza
 
PDF
Emotion before algorithms: A customer-first strategy that wins customers, con...
byAnton Shulke
 
PDF
Don Talend - Centegra Health System Electrophysiology Web Page Copy
byDon Talend
 
PDF
LinkedIn Marketing Guide: AI Algorithm Changes
byCMassociates
 
PDF
Organizational Change in Organizational Behaviour.pdf
byits88rahulsoni
 
PPTX
Social Media Marketing Article.pptx/pdf.
bysiddhib724
 
PPTX
best-social-media-platforms-for-restaurants-adzmode.pptx
byadzmode
 
PDF
Course.pdf Digital Marketing at DSSD Nangloi
bychandanisharma2212
 
PDF
Marketing Cloud Next: Onto the Frontier - Session 8: Preparing for the future...
byNext Frontier Marketer
 
PDF
Digital Marketing Agency in Sector 56 Gurgaon - digitalHATS
bydigitalHats
 
DOCX
Buy verified Skrill accounts to ensure secure and efficient ....docx
bymarketng
 
PDF
Marketing Cloud Next: Onto the Frontier - Session 7: Exploring Agentforce Mar...
byNext Frontier Marketer
 
DOCX
Large Satellite Propulsion System Market - 3 Nov 2025 .docx
byadyabisresearch
 
PDF
Traffic's Cute, but Revenue is Better with Justin Rondeau
byAnton Shulke
 
PPTX
IT_Consulting_Services_for_Startups_USA_Tech_Midia (1)
byTechMidia Square
 
PPTX
AI for B2B conversions and lead generation with Andy Crestodina
byAnton Shulke
 
PDF
Online Marketing Is Like Real Estate .pdf
byFulcrum Concepts, LLC
 
PDF
Buying TripAdvisor Reviews_ What You Need to Know.pdf
byJames Williams
 
Don Talend Web Page Copy & Pagination - Captive Resources Careers
byDon Talend
 
When Google Can’t See Your Site: Technical SEO Services That Fix Invisible Pages
byinfodmtechlabs
 
Next-Gen Recruitment - Getting Ready for Generation Alpha
byPhilippe Taza
 
Emotion before algorithms: A customer-first strategy that wins customers, con...
byAnton Shulke
 
Don Talend - Centegra Health System Electrophysiology Web Page Copy
byDon Talend
 
LinkedIn Marketing Guide: AI Algorithm Changes
byCMassociates
 
Organizational Change in Organizational Behaviour.pdf
byits88rahulsoni
 
Social Media Marketing Article.pptx/pdf.
bysiddhib724
 
best-social-media-platforms-for-restaurants-adzmode.pptx
byadzmode
 
Course.pdf Digital Marketing at DSSD Nangloi
bychandanisharma2212
 
Marketing Cloud Next: Onto the Frontier - Session 8: Preparing for the future...
byNext Frontier Marketer
 
Digital Marketing Agency in Sector 56 Gurgaon - digitalHATS
bydigitalHats
 
Buy verified Skrill accounts to ensure secure and efficient ....docx
bymarketng
 
Marketing Cloud Next: Onto the Frontier - Session 7: Exploring Agentforce Mar...
byNext Frontier Marketer
 
Large Satellite Propulsion System Market - 3 Nov 2025 .docx
byadyabisresearch
 
Traffic's Cute, but Revenue is Better with Justin Rondeau
byAnton Shulke
 
IT_Consulting_Services_for_Startups_USA_Tech_Midia (1)
byTechMidia Square
 
AI for B2B conversions and lead generation with Andy Crestodina
byAnton Shulke
 
Online Marketing Is Like Real Estate .pdf
byFulcrum Concepts, LLC
 
Buying TripAdvisor Reviews_ What You Need to Know.pdf
byJames Williams
 

The 40 best ways to personalize

  • 1.
    1 2014 The 40 bestways to personalize 2014
  • 2.
    2 3 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 The 40 best ways to personalize Website personalization has been rapidly evolving over the past 10 years. In the ecommerce space, product recommendation engines were the first real move away from a one size fits all website. These engines provided a somewhat “personal” recommendation of products based on previous buying and browsing behaviors of visitors. However, it wasn’t until A/B testing came along that ecommerce professionals started to look at personalization as more than just algorithmic product curation. We are now graduating into a new phase where customer segmentation capabilities and the ability to serve targeted content in real- time are a viable reality for most ecommerce businesses. This fundamentally changes marketing’s capabilities online. No longer is the brick and mortar store the only place that the customer can see the personal face of the business. Personalization bridges the gap between the clicks and the bricks. The science of personalization is often about taking content you already have and making sure it meets the right visitors at the right stage of the purchase lifecycle. Use this ebook as a handy resource to gauge which tactics suit your business and identify the best areas for you to drive conversions, fast. For more detailed case studies, visit our website: www.qubitproducts.com #1 Content engagement 4 Special selections Promote buying guides Size guides About us Read our blog #2 Abandonment prevention Free shipping offer Email Collection Reinforce unique selling points #3 Geotargeting 20 Store locator Click and collect Location branding Site redirects Currency conversion Delivery info #4 Targeted upsell 30 Gift wrapping Delivery threshold Discounted items Insurance Free items Recommended accessories #5 Persuasive designs 38 Limited time offer Low stock pointer Add to wishlist Number of current observers Number of recent purchasers #6 Intelligent merchandizing Weather targeting New in Latest offers What’s hot #7 Offers and discounts 56 Money off Percentage off Loyalty offers Referral schemes #8 Messaging and campaigns Campaign mirroring As seen on TV Welcome message Seasonals Smart landing pages #9 Data capture and reviews Feedback collection Review optimization 14 48 64 74 82More useful resources...
  • 3.
    4 5 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #1 Content engagement Online shopping is no longer simply about the utility of the website and the moment that the customer makes a transaction. Ecommerce websites are also places to curate a brand and interact with the customer. The role of editorial content, blogs, size guides and photography are paramount to engage and educate your customer.
  • 4.
    6 7 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Special selections What is it? Promote a variety of your highest performing content. Why? Your site might have had a guest blogger, or your editor might have made a particularly special choice. Or perhaps you have an array of content that doesn’t fall into any specific category you want to promote. Don’t feel bashful: direct your visitors towards things you think they’ll enjoy! Example company: Whistles Whistles keep their homepage fresh by interweaving their products into editorial content that appeals to the customer’s sense of style in a wider sense. This could be personalized further by segmenting this content for different users based on their visitor history or geolocation. Local store details and seasonal picks keep Whistles’ homepage fresh
  • 5.
    8 9 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Promote buying guides What is it? Whether it’s complicated holiday planning, or simply showing international size guides, help your customers purchase by giving them the information they need. Why? Sometimes it’s difficult to know exactly how to purchase from a given website. Insurance companies don’t have baskets, for example. So if your company has a non standard model, you need to make sure your customers aren’t confused. Qubit case study: Farfetch Farfetch, a non-traditional retailer, analysed the value of different content pages by comparing the conversion rates of groups of visitors who had or had not viewed that content. They found that visitors who had engaged with the site’s FAQ page had a greater propensity to convert. By serving a layer directing people to this section of the website, they increased the conversion rate by 17%. A signpost to the FAQs for lost visitors, useful when you ship to over 280 countries!
  • 6.
    10 11 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Size guides What is it? Serve your users with size guides to explain exactly how well your products will fit. Why? Returns are already enough of an issue for online retailers, so ensuring customers have as much information as possible about your products is vital. Example company: Bravissimo Bravissimo understands when a user is uncertain about sizing and puts two of the same items, but of different sizes, into their basket. When this happens, the user is directed towards the size guide to help them find the perfect fit. About us What is it? Promote the best things about your brand by ensuring that you educate your customer when they land. Why? Getting people to the checkout is not simply about showing them your best products. It’s also about getting people excited about your brand by giving them an experience that they enjoy. One way of doing this is by pointing them to your “About page” in order to educate your customer about who you are, how the site works, and what you stand for. Qubit case study: Attraction Tickets Direct Using Qubit, Attraction Tickets Direct found that people who saw the About Us page were 14% more likely to book attraction tickets. They wanted to drive more traffic to this page to reinforce the brand message, so they served a layer prompting the customer toward the About Us page. Handy signpost in the top right directs visitors to a tailored size guide Not sure if this is the right holiday for you? A signpost to ‘About us’ is a good reassurance measure
  • 7.
    12 13 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Read our blog What is it? Include enticing content on your website that not only informs customers, but engages them with your brand. Why? The longer people spend on your website, the more they’ll be disposed towards purchasing something. If you have helpful content, point them in this direction and watch your engagement levels go up. Even Amazon, the king of catalogue websites, has a thriving hub of social activity focused around list making and reviews. Example company: Playstation Playstation’s blog is filled with enticing content. While many console gamers have already chosen their side in this war, Sony uses a wealth of creative, engaging content to persuade newcomers that their side is the one to back. Playstation does a good job of sorting their blog content by console type and highlighting the most popular content by showing the number of comments. When you have a blog this good, you need to make sure you signpost it throughout the user journey to boost engagement. Dynamic masonry and comments bring the Playstation blog alive
  • 8.
    14 15 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #2 Abandonment prevention Reduce the rate of abandonment by serving people with relevant messaging just before they leave your site. You can serve your customers with a variety of different messages that will incentivize them to either purchase a product, stay on your website, or return at a later date.
  • 9.
    16 17 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Free shipping offer What is it? Target customers with free shipping when they are leaving the site. Why? The cost of shipping is often tacked on at the end of the buying process and can put people off if they haven’t been alerted to it. Offering free shipping at the right time may just tempt an uncertain shopper to buy. Example company: L.K Bennett L.K.Bennett used Qubit’s visitor history data in order to target users who had added items to their basket, who had not purchased before, and who were abandoning their basket. This personalization drove conversions by 11%. Email collection What is it? Ask abandoning visitors for their email address in a pop-up box. You don’t ask, you don’t get. Why? You can remind them of their basket a week later, when they might have had more time to consider the purchase. People often don’t want to purchase on their first visit to a site, and can be forgetful when they leave. Example company: Urban Outfitters Asking visitors who are unsure about buying right away for their email address is a great way to initiate a relationship. Urban Outfitters target all new customers with a lightbox that asks customers to sign up for their newsletter. The newsletter itself is even personalized for guys and girls! Free shipping, but only for visitors who are on the fence Quick newsletter sign up, targeted at new visitors
  • 10.
    18 19 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Reinforce unique selling points What is it? Do you offer full value returns or have a service that none of your competitors have? Make your customers aware of your unique selling points. Why? For new customers especially, it’s important to make sure they understand all the things that make your brand special so they’ll invest over the long term. Example company: Winkelstraat For first time visitors, Winkelstraat deploys an in-page message with three core USPs. For any non-Dutch speakers out there, these are: Free shipping, next day delivery and free 14 day return policy. These are shown on the homepage when people first arrive at the site. USPs worth shouting about, Winklestaad states them loud and clear
  • 11.
    20 21 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #3 Geotargeting By being able to gauge the location of a user, you can target them with specific offers, direct them to nearby shops, see what their weather looks like and so on. Hyper-local targeting allows you to personalize the customer experience fully. It’s a very powerful tool!
  • 12.
    22 23 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Store locator What is it? Advertise any stores opening near the location of each visitor, or simply tell them where the nearest store can be found. Why? There’s no need for your website to cannibalize your brick- and-mortar locations. Drive offline conversions and appeal to the customer who wants to see the item in-store by highlighting its existence on your website. Example company: Belstaff Belstaff targeted users that had viewed the store locator after browsing several product pages. These users seemed to be interested in purchasing, but also in going to see the physical product before making a final commitment. Belstaff used a layer offering the option to click-and-collect an item from the store. This kind of helpful prompt is a great way to engage a visitor who is clearly interested in your proposition. Belstaff drove casual browsers to the store locator page
  • 13.
    24 25 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Click and collect What is it? People like to shop how they want, when they want. So offer the option to buy online but pick up in person. Why? Consumers increasingly expect to be able to pick up their goods where and when they choose. Sometimes you don’t want to have to wait at home for it to be delivered. You might, instead, want to get the product faster than the estimated delivery time, or have a look at the item in the flesh before taking it back with you. Example company: Tesco Supermarkets can be a real hassle to walk around, what with strollers, huge trolleys and a wealth of people to contend with. Allowing your customers to shop online and then come to pick it up is a real time saver for customers. Offer this service to visitors who live near an offline store! Location branding What is it? Alter the look and service of your website so that it’s appropriate for your customers, wherever they may hail from. Why? Mother’s day is celebrated on 33 different days around the world. If you’ve localized your content to take it into account, you don’t want to show it to everyone. If you’ve got location specific content, ensure it only appears to customers from that location. Qubit case study: Childrensalon Childrensalon thought that more overseas visitors would convert if they realized they could chat to a customer service representative in their native tongue. A message layer was created for each of the target markets, asking whether they would like to live chat with a customer service representative in their language. This personalization drove a 13% increase in conversions. Click and collect, great for local shoppers “Speak to customer services in your native language” in Arabic
  • 14.
    26 27 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Site redirects What is it? You might have a variety of different websites optimized for different markets. Detect where people are coming from, and serve them the right content. Why? It’s never a great experience to go to a Japanese website and have to translate it into English using Google Translate. Remove this barrier to conversion and a great customer experience by optimizing for your largest geographical segments. Example company: Carrefour Carrefour made a new version of their website specifically for their growing Chinese market. They could personalize this service further by using geolocation to detect whether their user is in China and reverting to this site automatically. Translating your site for international markets is a sure way to drive conversions
  • 15.
    28 29 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Currency conversion What is it? Detect where a visitor is coming from and show all your product prices in the relevant currency. Why? You want to remove as many of the barriers to conversion as you can. In this case, failing to convert for your customers will harm the amount they’ll be willing to convert for you! Example company: Alibaba Alibaba shows why it’s the leader in the East: it detects where Western visitors are from and shows them the prices in dollars. Delivery info What is it? Your delivery costs might change depending on where a person is in the world. Detect where your customer is visiting from, and then serve them the relevant information. Why? Nothing puts people off delivery more than a hidden cost because of their location. If I’m going to be charged more because of where I live, I want to know before I begin with the transaction! Example company: DFS DFS hypothesized that clearer European shipping information would improve conversions. They served a layer to visitors according to where they were, and pushed them to use DFS’s free call back service for further information. This personalization drove a 23% increase in conversion rates for international users. Local currency conversions make it easier to shop internationally A delivery message, served to European visitors
  • 16.
    30 31 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #4 Targeted upsell Customers are often open to the idea of purchasing other items along with their initial purchase. You just have to target them with the right message. Sometimes driving conversions isn’t the best way to make more money. Revenue is the multiplication of the number of conversions with the average order value. You can increase either for a win!
  • 17.
    32 33 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Delivery threshold What is it? Offer your customers free shipping when they spend over a certain threshold. Why? It can be a real disincentive to purchase when you feel like you are being scalped for shipping. But while most customers understand it costs a significant amount to do it, they just don’t like the hidden cost of $5 on a $50 item. Make it known that they can get money off by spending more and they will! Example company: New Look New Look offer free delivery for items over a certain threshold for all delivery methods. Gift wrapping What is it? Offer gift wrapping as an additional item in the basket, for added convenience that will delight your customers. This is especially important at Christmas. Why? Gift wrapping removes stress from the customer if the purchase is intended as a gift. This is particularly useful in industries that customarily sell products that are given as gifts, such as jewelry or flowers. Example company: Things Remembered Things Remembered offer personalized gifts and wrapping services, complete with a variety of professional or personal message ideas. Personalize your package as well as using wrapping to increase average order value Make sure people who are near a shipping threshold receive the appropriate messaging
  • 18.
    34 35 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Insurance What is it? If your company sells high-order goods, you might possibly offer insurance alongside it. Adding insurance to the product page communicates both a sense of value for the product and raises average order values. Why? Some products are just too expensive to leave their safety up to chance. Sometimes the risk is high: for example, you don’t want to get stranded without health insurance if you go skiing. Example company: Thomas Cook Every time you go on holiday, Thomas Cook offers you travel insurance for both single and multiple trips, depending on whether you are a frequent flier. Discounted items What is it? Bundle products together to create a discount for price sensitive users. Why? Some users are always on the lookout for a bargain. Target them with your best offers once they’ve put something in their basket to drive up average order values. Example company: Moss Bros Moss Bros target users with an offer of two shirts with a suit at a significant discount. Discounts are great for visitors who need a little push to convert. Tailor your insurance options based on holiday history
  • 19.
    36 37 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Free items What is it? Offer your customers an additional free item once they spend over a certain threshold. Why? Everyone loves a free gift. Doubly so if it’s relevant to you. Offer your customer free, relevant useful items to incentivize them to spend more. If you bundle products together for the purposes of cross-selling, sometimes it can make sense to offer, ‘buy two get one free’. Example company: Toys R Us When a customer spends over $100 online, they will automatically email you with a voucher for $15. This not only encourages you to spend more the first time around, it also gives you an incentive to come back later! Recommended accessories What is it? Some products go together, some don’t. You might expect someone to buy a belt with a pair of pants, for example. Recommend accessories that match their chosen product! Why? Grouping together products in this way allows customers to benefit from the natural synergies between products without having to travel all over the website. Example company: ASOS ASOS offers you an unobtrusive yet helpful set of items to go along with your chosen product. Free coupons for big spenders Complete the look with ASOS
  • 20.
    38 39 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Persuasive designs There are six principles of persuasion: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity. Persuasive designs tend to pull the scarcity lever, creating urgency and driving people towards taking action. #5
  • 21.
    40 41 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Limited time offer What is it? All offers last for a limited time, but you can go one step further and add a sense of urgency by including a countdown to the end of the offer. Why? Scarcity is one of the most potent of the six principles of persuasion and the easiest one to implement on your site. People hate to miss out on a deal, so show them exactly how long they’ve got to make their purchase! Qubit case study: Best of the Best Best of the Best run competitions every two weeks where visitors can win their dream car. They previously had a countdown timer for the duration of the competition, however this wasn’t pushing enough visitors to convert. They hypothesised if they started the timer closer to the end, urgency would cause more customers to enter. After implementing the shorter time period, Best of the Best saw a 5% uplift in conversions. Deploying the timer nearer the end of the competition created more urgency
  • 22.
    42 43 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Add to wishlist What is it? Promote your wishlist function so customers can store goods they want without having to purchase them then and there. Why? Wishlists are great because they enable customers to set aside some products for later, without having to commit to paying now. This gives you the opportunity to send reminders and upsell emails. Example company Amazon Amazon’s wishlist allows you to add any product you want, as well as offering an extension, which enables you to add products from their affiliates too. Low stock pointer What is it? A stock counter showing products that are about to run out. Why? Urgency is one of the most basic ways of persuading someone to purchase. If your product is running low, serving someone with information about how many items are left can be really persuasive. It’s the ultimate scarcity tactic. Qubit case study: Accessorize / Monsoon Monsoon and Accessorize weren’t showing the number of items in stock for each of their stocked items. Using Qubit, they we able to add a pointer showing the stock level if there were less than three items available. This change resulted in a 10% increase in conversions and was rolled out across all their international sites. Showing your wishlist at the right time can keep visitors engaged Low stock pointer, does what some CMS’s can’t do
  • 23.
    44 45 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Number of current observers What is it? As part of the product page, include the number of people looking at the product. Why? Popularity breeds popularity. If many people are looking at one item, it will make other people interested. If the product is perishable, it also gives a sense of urgency to the purchase: if I don’t buy it now, maybe someone else will! Example company: Hotels.com Hotels.com is a busy website. If you’re looking at a popular product, you won’t just know that because of the amount of reviews, they’ll also tell exactly how many people are looking at it right now. When customers are worried about a hotel booking selling out, there’s nothing more incentivizing than seeing that your competition is looking at it right now! Think of it as the online equivalent of viewing a house at the same time as your competition. Real-time viewer numbers persuade visitors to buy asap
  • 24.
    46 47 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Number of recent purchasers What is it? Record the number of people who purchase a product over a specific length of time and serve it to your current customers. Why? This has a similar function to a list of best sellers. People flock to popular items. If you can see that 12 other people in your area are considering the same purchase, it validates the purchase decision. Example company: Naked Wines Naked Wines have a feed where they show the wines that people have bought in the past few minutes. You can see, in real-time, just how popular a given product or website is. Socially driven, stock recommendations show what’s really trending
  • 25.
    48 49 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #6 Intelligent merchandizing Merchandizing allows you to promote individual products or product ranges for almost any reason. Using your authority as a website, recommend the appropriate product for the time of year, weather or emotional state of your customer!
  • 26.
    50 51 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Weather targeting What is it? Use geo-targeting to pin-point your customer’s location, then provide offers tailored to the local conditions. Sunglasses for the sun, and raincoats for the rain. Why? Customers may respond to the weather in a variety of different ways. If you have a great understanding of your customers and how they respond, you can target them more effectively. For example, rainy days might make travel companies a killing in beach holidays, and retail companies might sell a lot of umbrellas. Qubit case study: Burton Burton personalized their homepage by dynamically adjusting the products on display based on the visitor’s local weather conditions. A tile on the homepage was taken over and directed users to weather appropriate products. This would rotate between three different creatives: one with the visitor’s local weather and temperature, another with the ‘B prepared’ icon, and lastly, a styled photograph. As a result of this weather test, Burton had an 11.6% uplift in conversions across all users. Whatever you local weather, Burton has the clothing for you
  • 27.
    52 53 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Latest offers What is it? Collect together your latest offers to ensure price-sensitive consumers know where to go. Why? Product fatigue can hit fast if people have browsed your website a few times and haven’t found anything they want. Why would they come back? Publicizing the latest additions to your range will ensure your customers will keep on returning. Example company: Freshpair This company ask you to sign up for their email list on entry, allowing them to contact the customer with ideas, offers and new products even when they have abandoned the site. The persuasive tone of the message is particularly key here: it entices the customer with a direct message to “be the first to know”. New in What is it? Try and leverage the new items in your product range by highlighting them as new to your customers. Why? New products often have a high conversion rate, partly for the novelty factor. However, if you hide them away, you are only promoting them to your most frequently visiting customers. Ensure everyone gets a shot at being as up to date as they can by promoting your new lines. Example company: Baublebar This company have their priorities straight and keep their new lines at the top of the page, right where customers can see them! New arrivals, great for returning visitors Creating a personal dialogue means customers can always get the freshest undies
  • 28.
    54 55 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 What’s hot What is it? Due to the viral nature of the internet, sometimes individual products take off for no discernible reason. Keep track of the hottest items and promote them further when you see them fly off the shelves. Why? Customers will often come to your site in search of inspiration! If they are impatient and can’t find something interesting, they may leave your site. A ‘What’s hot?’ section deals with this neatly. Example company: Abesmarket.com Abe’s Market has a useful section entitled, ‘This month on Abes’. They fill you in on what’s selling well, what they recommend, and how they would use the products. Directing visitors to your ‘What’s hot’ section often drives conversions and increases order values
  • 29.
    56 57 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #7 Offers and discounts As examined in our recent report, The Value of Customer Feedback, customers complain about price more than anything else. One of the best ways to incentivize purchasing is offering people a deal.
  • 30.
    58 59 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Money off What is it? Target specific users with discounts by serving a layer or banner on your website. Why? Price is the biggest source of complaint for visitors to websites, so offering discounts on price will often lead to more purchases. Of course, you have to be careful of cannibalizing your top line, so proceed with caution. Example company: Overstock.com Each day Overstock.com uses “flash deals” which place an item on offer and then counts down the time left for the customer to buy it. This combines a discount tactic with an urgency message which proves very effective. This could be personalized further by targeting specific users with specific products that matches their visitor history. Percentage off What is it? Serve a discount message offering a percentage off a purchase. Why? Discounts will nudge people towards specific products, but sometimes a percentage discount will look more impressive than an absolute value. Example company: Topman Topman offers percentage discounts off selected ranges, incentivizing those who are sensitive to a deal to purchase. Flash deals are a great way to shift excessive stock. Recognise when you need to shift stock quickly and introduce sales to speed things up
  • 31.
    60 61 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Loyalty offers What is it? Reward your customers for returning frequently or spending lavishly. You can do this through a loyalty scheme or with free gifts. Why? Your returning customers will form the majority of your income. Using loyalty offers will engage with existing customers and encourage them to come back for more! Example company: Gilt Gilt have a membership group called Noir. If you become a member you receive special offers, invitation to events, and secret previews of their new products. Noir members represent the top 1% of Gilt shoppers (in terms of money spent) and this privilege is removed if you fall out of the top 1%. Exclusivity works well to incentivize customer loyalty. Recognize your highest value customers and invite them to your VIP spaces
  • 32.
    62 63 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Referral schemes What is it? Offer your customers rewards if they recommend your website to their friends. You can incentivize them with free credit, or money off a range of products. Why? People who are given recommendations by their friends are not only more likely to make a first purchase, but they are more likely to become repeat customers. Gaining a customer’s trust is a difficult thing for companies, and nobody is better suited to help than their friends. Example company: Uber When you join Uber, you have the option to generate a code that, when clicked on by a friend, will reward both the linker and the linkee with a £10 discount on their next taxi journey. Turn your customers in ambassadors with targeted loyalty schemes
  • 33.
    64 65 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #8 Messaging and campaigns Different people have different needs at each stage of the purchase lifecycle. First timers need a warm welcome, whereas people who are visiting from a campaign will feel reassured if there is continuity between what they see on your website and what drew them there in the first place. Here are some great examples of seeing this in action.
  • 34.
    66 67 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Campaign mirroring What is it? Match content onsite with other campaigns, reminding customers of products and deals they have seen elsewhere. For example, serve specific messages to those on your mailing list who came through a promotion in their email. Why? Making your campaigns specific to the path your customers took ensures that their path to purchase is streamlined. It reminds them of why they came and encourages them to purchase. Example company: Dorothy Perkins Dorothy Perkins did an email blast to their UK database promoting a 25% off sale with free next day delivery. To accompany the email blast, an on-page layer was shown to shoppers visiting the UK site on product, bag and checkout pages. This message served as a prompt to remind shoppers to enter their discount code. Mirror locally relevant campaigns on your website to create consistent experiences
  • 35.
    68 69 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 As seen on TV What is it? Align your online messaging with your television ads. Why? There’s no point sending your customers to your website with a great campaign if they aren’t then shown the same branding. A disconnected experience can put consumers off. Example company: Windows The Windows television adverts align closely with their onsite messaging, including a tour of their new operating system, along with images of couples exploring and experiencing it. Whatever campaign you have running above the line, create consistency on your website
  • 36.
    70 71 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Seasonals What is it? Promote different products at different points of the year. Why? It sounds obvious but customers are more likely to buy winter appropriate clothing during the winter. Nobody wants to be targeted with a pair of sunglasses when it’s still dark before they leave work. Example company: H&M H&M publicize their springtime range loud and clear on the front page. This is not just about new arrivals, this is about a new season. H&M do this every few weeks to reflect the frequency of their new stock. This is an interesting example of real-time retailing in action! Welcome message What is it? Make your customers feel welcome by targeting them with a message that highlights your unique selling points. Why? Websites can be confusing places. A welcome message can be used to point your customers in the right direction. Qubit case study: Crew Clothing Crew hypothesized that new visitors needed to understand their brand more clearly before they would purchase. They designed three new messages to show on the first, second and third visits. The first encouraged email sign up, the second free delivery, and the third highlighted their customer service. On average, the effect of seeing any one of these messages increased conversions by 7.4%. Crew welcomed new visitors with free shipping or a USP message Ensure you have the agility to respond to the latest seasons
  • 37.
    72 73 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Smart landing pages What is it? Smart landing pages combine analytics with an ability to dynamically change site content in real-time. For example, if you knew a customer had purchased from your site before, you would want to display your new range. Whereas if they are new to the site, you could display your most popular products. Why? Targeted merchandizing allows you to personalize the experience of shopping online, ensuring that customers will find your most useful content in the shortest amount of time. Truly understanding your customer will drive sales, increase average order value, and improve your conversion rates. Example company: Jet2 Jet2 remembers the journeys that you have previously searched for and will automatically fill in the information on the homepage. On returning, customers do not have the hassle of re-filling in options but can resume the process quickly. Remembered search saves Jet2 customers valuable time
  • 38.
    74 75 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 #9 Data capture and reviews Collecting valuable feedback or extra information from your visitors will mould your digital strategy to ensure that you are creating a desirable user experience.
  • 39.
    76 77 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Feedback collection What is it? Serving customers with an opportunity to leave feedback in the form of an open text box. We, at Qubit, tend to do this when a visitor looks like they’re leaving; but you can do it at any point in their journey. Why? With the rise of analytics, it has become much easier to measure the activities of users quantitatively. However, even if you have the best data in the world, diagnosing exactly what the problem is can be tricky. Qualitative information can, therefore, give your data direction by helping to shape your response to quantitative insights. Example company: Jimmy Choo Jimmy Choo serve users who seem like they’re leaving the site with a feedback box, offering them the opportunity to communicate their concerns. They ask an open ended question when it looks like people are about to leave the site. People who breeze through the site may never encounter this box. Stylish feedback box from Jimmy Choo only fires if visitors are about leave
  • 40.
    78 79 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 Review optimization What is it? Integrate customer reviews into your product page to create extra trust. Why? Reviews create transparency in your brand, showcasing what people really think. This ‘voice of the customer’ greatly amplifies whatever you can say about the product. Example company: Travelzoo Travelzoo have taken this one step further by integrating Feefo, a 3rd party application onto their site. Feefo rates the experience that others have received and gives the visitor an external reference on your services. Applications such as Feefo can be deployed intelligently to maximise ROI based on factors including user behaviour and product value. Feefo can be deployed to specific visitor segments using A/B testing platforms
  • 41.
    80 81 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 More useful resources... Website personalization and A/B testing practises are still in their relative infancy. We are observing more and more, companies making the graduation from A/B testing to personalization. They use technologies such as Qubit to enable their sites to adapt in real-time to the changing needs of different consumers. Typically these personalization tools have been developed to extend the core functionalities of ecommerce CMS platforms, giving marketers more control over their sites and greater ability to target specific visitors with specific content. Where marketers are sometimes let down is not knowing exactly what to change, and for which audience. This is where hypothesis generation comes into play. If you work from a valid hypothesis, borne out of your visitor data, you are more likely to deliver a personalization that will drive a significant uplift. And herein lies the second issue... Many A/B testing technologies on the market are quick to claim to winning result. The truth is that ‘significant’ winners are often difficult to prove when taking into account statistical noise, false positives and insufficient sample size. Below are three useful reads that shed more light on this issue as well as showing several of the innovative segmentations that Qubit test against. How to become an AB testing professional! http://bit.ly/abtestingresources More inspirational case studies http://bit.ly/casestudiesqubit Research: The value of customer feedback http://bit.ly/valueofcustomerfeedback
  • 42.
    82 83 The 40best ways to personalize 2014 About Qubit Qubit is a Digital Experience Management hub built around the needs of modern ecommerce professionals. We give you the agility, and the confidence, to optimize your website and deliver personalizations that will actually impact the bottom line. Our platform brings together several key technologies that help you understand the needs of your visitors, personalize the online experience and spread useful data throughout your business: Personalisation and A/B testing Audience segmentation Web intelligence Tag management To date, we’ve helped Staples, Topshop, All Saints, Farfetch and John Lewis improve their conversion rates and become more nimble in their marketing and ecommerce operations. If you want to join great company, or for more information about our products and research, please contact [email protected] Qubit Real insights. Real uplifts.
  • 43.
    84 The 40 bestways to personalize UK +44 (0) 203 551 3990 US +1 (646) 790-8292www.qubitproducts.com