Personalization. Are you doing it right?

Personalization is one of the most important elements of the overall customer experience in e-commerce. People will be more willing to buy from you and to consent to future contact, if they know that in return they will get an individual approach and greater convenience of shopping. So the question is how to do it right? How to personalize to achieve the best results?

Let’s work on a real life case study. Imagine you run an interior design store. A woman who is arranging her new apartment visits your store. Let’s call her Jane. Check out those 5 simple ideas of how you can personalize her experience in your e-store.

Personalize your homepage

Our exemplary customer is looking for a dresser for her living room. She typed “dresser” in the search tab and viewed “living room design ideas” section. She has already visited your store a few times, but she hasn’t made any purchases yet. When she goes back to the homepage or visits your store again, immediately show her all of the best dressers that you have on offer. You can also display some recommendations – blog post or design ideas. Show her ways to style the dressers and how they can fit / complement different interiors.

Inspire with new ideas

If you are looking to buy a new piece of furniture, there is a good chance you are also looking for some new design ideas and inspirations. Instead of sending Jane a generic email with a new collection, send her a handful of inspiration. And yes, you guessed it. Personalize those as well.

Show her interior design ideas in the style most similar to what she’s viewed in your store, e.g. Scandinavian style essentials. Make sure each design is linked with products from your e-store and there is a quick and easy way to buy them. Quite simply, shorten her shopping journey as much as possible. Just make sure they are all in-store 😉

Give expert advice

Use pop-ups to give Jane some practical knowledge about the products she is looking for – like 5 questions to ask yourself before choosing the right dressers. Giving advice and sharing your know how, you don’t only encourage her to buy, but also build a relationship. You can use many different formats of pop-ups, like a short survey which will help Jane clarify her expectations and make a better decisions.

Say thank you and give some tips

Thanks to you, Jane has finally bought her perfect dresser. Now what? The time before and just after delivery is a perfect moment for you to contact her via e-mail – maintaining and nurturing your newly established relationship. Don’t limit yourself to delivery updates and terms and conditions. You can also:

• congratulate her on the purchase / thank for choosing your store
• send advice on how to care for a piece of furniture she just purchased
• show different ideas of how the dresser can fit with different designs
• show products that might really complement the dresser
• offer special discounts for next purchases or recommendations

Check in after a while

Jane is now your customer. Which means she is much more likely to buy from you again (providing she was happy with the product and customer experience). So how do you give her this extra little encouragement to shop again? And keep the good relationship going?

Some time after her purchase send Jane and email – address her by her name, ask about her last purchase and show some of your new products you think she might be interested in. You can also remind her about the discount she got after her first purchase and the deadline that’s coming soon (nobody likes to miss an opportunity).

Do you still have some doubts about how personalization and marketing automation can work in your e-commerce? Contact us. Our experts are here to help!