Personalization: debunking myths
Once upon a time, traffic analytics was expensive. Only the largest companies could afford it. And even when tools like Google Analytics made the process more accessible, there were not enough people on the market who could benefit from the data.
Over time, software for testing (split and multivariate) and analytical tools were “democratized” and thus contributed to an increase in the number of analysts who can use them correctly. Therefore, today for websites it is absolutely impossible not to think about the quality of traffic - where it comes from, where and to what it is converted.
However, the democratization (read - popularity and simplicity) regarding personalization of this is not yet true. Yes, companies such as Google and Amazon have tools and professionals who can work with it, but does the website that sells doors in Voronezh have any?
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The answer is yes, there is, but this shop of doors most likely does not need “deep” personalization, like an international online auction. In order to determine the level that suits most web services in the world, we will try to separate the facts from the two most common myths.
Myth number 1: Personalization is hard
Nah Some of its types can be made very simple, although many companies are afraid of this. Some of the most difficult types of personalization are integrated with the site engine (CMS), use marketing automation tools, CRM, and offer different content depending on the user's behavior based on his rating (lead scoring - the prospect of a potential client in points). This is an important and necessary type of personalization, but, of course, this is not the only way to make your site more “close” to the user.
If you do not have tools for working with users, then you are far from being alone. Many companies in the world do not deal with data optimization at all and do not have the tools to work with users, but this does not mean that you should bury hopes for high-quality personalization.
At a minimum, for a start, you can study the distribution of traffic by geography and the types of devices from which users come to you (mobile phones, tablets, desktops and laptops) and customize the display of different content / product options depending on the geography of the incoming user. Displaying site content on different types of devices also does not require super-effort and knowledge of behavioral models, but it can bring you a lot of benefits. It will already be personalization and you don’t have to be the size of Amazon to afford it.
Myth number 2: It is not clear when to start
Also not true. If you are really interested in optimizing the conversion and are closely involved in web analytics, then you certainly understand that even basic personalization works and is easy to configure at any time. But there are two nuances:
1) you should be able to clearly segment the traffic and use the A \ B- and multivariate tests;
2) fully own the CMS, CRM and other mechanisms of your service.
If everything is fine with segmentation, you will immediately understand which sections of the site are moving your business, which have the highest bounce rates, and which have the lowest conversion. From here you will receive information for which audience personalization is necessary.
And if you fully use the tools implemented on your service, then again you will understand how deep personalization you need, what content you need to personalize, whether you have enough data to implement personalization in the buying process, and whether your site technically for the full issuance of recommendations.
In general, if you don’t own Google Analytics or Optimizely.com, then it’s better to learn (hire specialists) and do basic tuning and conversion, i.e. first, to introduce personalization at least at this level. In fact, almost all projects can benefit at least from localization by geography (not only the language of the site, but also by the availability of certain goods) and adaptation to different types of devices. In summary, if you want to do personalization more widely, then first conduct an audit of the available tools, personnel and engage in conversion and polishing usability.
Free translation. Source of
Over time, software for testing (split and multivariate) and analytical tools were “democratized” and thus contributed to an increase in the number of analysts who can use them correctly. Therefore, today for websites it is absolutely impossible not to think about the quality of traffic - where it comes from, where and to what it is converted.
However, the democratization (read - popularity and simplicity) regarding personalization of this is not yet true. Yes, companies such as Google and Amazon have tools and professionals who can work with it, but does the website that sells doors in Voronezh have any?
')
The answer is yes, there is, but this shop of doors most likely does not need “deep” personalization, like an international online auction. In order to determine the level that suits most web services in the world, we will try to separate the facts from the two most common myths.
Myth number 1: Personalization is hard
Nah Some of its types can be made very simple, although many companies are afraid of this. Some of the most difficult types of personalization are integrated with the site engine (CMS), use marketing automation tools, CRM, and offer different content depending on the user's behavior based on his rating (lead scoring - the prospect of a potential client in points). This is an important and necessary type of personalization, but, of course, this is not the only way to make your site more “close” to the user.
If you do not have tools for working with users, then you are far from being alone. Many companies in the world do not deal with data optimization at all and do not have the tools to work with users, but this does not mean that you should bury hopes for high-quality personalization.
At a minimum, for a start, you can study the distribution of traffic by geography and the types of devices from which users come to you (mobile phones, tablets, desktops and laptops) and customize the display of different content / product options depending on the geography of the incoming user. Displaying site content on different types of devices also does not require super-effort and knowledge of behavioral models, but it can bring you a lot of benefits. It will already be personalization and you don’t have to be the size of Amazon to afford it.
Myth number 2: It is not clear when to start
Also not true. If you are really interested in optimizing the conversion and are closely involved in web analytics, then you certainly understand that even basic personalization works and is easy to configure at any time. But there are two nuances:
1) you should be able to clearly segment the traffic and use the A \ B- and multivariate tests;
2) fully own the CMS, CRM and other mechanisms of your service.
If everything is fine with segmentation, you will immediately understand which sections of the site are moving your business, which have the highest bounce rates, and which have the lowest conversion. From here you will receive information for which audience personalization is necessary.
And if you fully use the tools implemented on your service, then again you will understand how deep personalization you need, what content you need to personalize, whether you have enough data to implement personalization in the buying process, and whether your site technically for the full issuance of recommendations.
In general, if you don’t own Google Analytics or Optimizely.com, then it’s better to learn (hire specialists) and do basic tuning and conversion, i.e. first, to introduce personalization at least at this level. In fact, almost all projects can benefit at least from localization by geography (not only the language of the site, but also by the availability of certain goods) and adaptation to different types of devices. In summary, if you want to do personalization more widely, then first conduct an audit of the available tools, personnel and engage in conversion and polishing usability.
Free translation. Source of
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/211777/
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