Dot the i's: personalization, personification and customization in eCommerce

It will be about three terms that are familiar to every online store - personalization, personification and customization. Let's analyze each of them separately, and understand the difference. Of course, the online store can pay attention to these definitions, and can bypass them. It all depends on understanding whether building these models affects the customer’s desire to buy goods. An online store with these three approaches looks much more interesting than most sites that are like two peas in a pod like each other - the same offers, one directory for everyone. The approach of personalization, personification and customization of your website shows the attitude to the client, demonstrates your attentiveness and care for him.

Site personalization - customization tool for the interests of the client
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The process of site personalization is a customization with each specific user. Setting up an online store personalization changes the search engine results for each specific client, issues special offers, banners. The visitor receives advice with the most interesting products for him.

An example of personalization of the site could be the following purchase in an online clothing store. The client enters the site, looks at the goods interesting to him: pants, dresses, sneakers, etc. The system based on the history of viewed models adds a general picture about the interests of the client and gives its options. That is, based on the viewed history, the store provides relevant information for the buyer. All this is done for convenience and personal contact with the client.



There is one caveat about personalization. Buyers are reluctant to disclose their personal data, although the statistics are as follows: 80% of buyers would gladly visit personalized sites, while 63% do not want to give personal data that is necessary to customize personalization. The personalization system automatically finds out some data about its clients itself: the city (calculated by IP), the client’s actions on the site provide information about the field, age, interests, the history of purchases made indicates solvency. Unfortunately, not everything is so simple: for example, the client can choose children's shoes, but this, apparently, does not mean that he is a child. A detailed picture of the client can give auxiliary questionnaires filled out during user registration. In the complex, all this helps to customize the site's personalization.

Spectrum of personalization: website and e-mail newsletter

Often, personalization of the site is confused with personification. In turn, personification is a function of the site, which gave the features of a living person. Everybody is familiar with the offers of online stores with a pop-up window of a live online assistant who will help in the selection and answer all the questions - that's what personification is.



The site may also use the image of a fictional persona, character. How can a fictional character help? After registering on the website of learning foreign languages, we are greeted by a cheerful lion character named Leo. He immediately picks up a personal training program for the client, and for this he offers to take a test for vocabulary, knowledge of grammar and so on.



The most important thing in learning foreign languages ​​is to work hard and do a lot. When a service can offer such a nice and original assistant character, it will be much easier for the user to force himself to learn a language every day. The spectrum of the embodiment of the personification function of online stores is often shifted to e-mail newsletters. It is a good idea to contact your client on behalf of a fictional character, a hero. “Leo is your friend and helper, he gives you hints. Your task is to feed him every day while studying at the service. ” Seems able to interest, isn't it? This is the purpose of the personalization of the newsletter - to get away from boring banal addresses on your behalf, and to address on behalf of a bright and cheerful character who can motivate the client.



Everyone knows the main character of Duracell, which was chosen for the brand of batteries. Addressing the newsletter on behalf of a long-lived rabbit thanks to Duracell batteries is very convenient, especially if the corporate identity was originally based on the use of a fictional character.



Not only cute lion cubs, rabbits and kittens can be in the image of a fictional character, on whose behalf you are addressing in your newsletter. An effective way is to address on behalf of a person who is an employee or the head of a company. Someone may argue that addressing on behalf of the general director is not convincing, since it is absolutely theatrical, in real life they never write letters personally. So do it on behalf of the manager, the project coordinator. This is how an online education center visualizes a successful employee image that appeals to you personally. The letter does not even specify what kind of position Oksana holds, but the image works.



For each received personalized letter lies a team of professionals, real people. Use names, photos, quotes, tips, sayings of the employees themselves.

A personalized website in tandem with an e-mail newsletter will help to form a positive idea about your company with the client. Having backed up this image with a successful deal, the client will definitely want to make a repeat purchase.

Customization - setting "not the same as everyone else"

The customization process is launched specifically on the basis of individual requirements and requests for goods. There is a category of customers who, after looking at a wide range of goods, will anyway say: “No”, and add: “I need the color of the awning pompadour” (especially pink). It is for such an audience that the customization system is configured.

Sometimes the online store offers to change almost all options of things, to develop a completely new design and functionality. For this purpose, a separate section is created under the names “Customization”, “Creating your own model”, etc.

Customization of goods offers to change the parameters as desired by the user, for example, the color of a thing (including its individual part). It may even be the initials on the selected item.
This is what the online store “Shoes of prey” looks like, which uses the customization system as the main tool:



To propose to develop the shoes of your dreams to a woman is the same as offering her to replace well-known shoe designers Christian Louboutin or Manolo Blahnik. Each would like to try for a moment to become a fashion designer of their unique shoes.



The site offers to choose according to your taste almost everything:

• The model that suits you: on the heel, on the low run, open or closed.
• The material of the product. It can be: soft or patent leather. There is even a natural snake skin.
• Style and height of the heel - can be adjusted depending on the height that you are comfortable to wear.

The system of customization is quite a powerful psychological campaign. While the client changes color, size, style and adjusts other configurations of the model, he begins to feel himself the owner of this thing.

Personalization, personification and customization - this set of three will allow you to develop your own unique approach in providing services to the client, increase brand awareness and competitiveness.