6 Effective Ways to Personalize Your Website
Website Personalization is the act of creating customized tailored experiences for visitors based on their reason for visiting a website. According to OneSpot
“87% of customers say that personally relevant branded content positively shapes their opinion of a brand.”
Think of the website like an in-person store, not every customer walks in wanting the same thing therefore they won’t want the same sales pitch. They want to feel special. Through website personalization visitors of the site immediately feel the brand is a right fit for them.
While website personalization sounds like a dauntingly difficult task, it’s now easier than ever thanks to data collection and analytics.
- Visitor Data Collection
Before using multiple personalization techniques for the site, it should be tailored to fit the ideal target customer. Without having a clear idea of the ideal target customer, it will be impossible to personalize the site further because the brand identity will be lost. In order to effectively personalize a website, data needs to be collected from each visitor. The starting point is to gather each visitor’s time, date, and location. From the starting point it becomes easier to gather more specific data including the device used to access the site, the vertical market, how many new customers vs returning, time since last visit, and other shopping behaviors.
- Visitor/Customer Profile
Now the data has been collected it’s time to have visitors create accounts on the site. By having returning customers and visitors logging in and filling out their information it will make it easier to monitor their shopping habits and to discover what products are popular and why. These profiles will act as a guide that will show details of the methods and techniques best suited to reaching the target audience. One crucial bit of information to gather is the visitors/customers’ zip codes. This will identify specific regions the website is the most popular in and when, which will give keen insight into what products to advertise and push forward. Most customers/visitors will need to have an incentive in order to make a profile. Most sites offer specific coupons and deals for making an account. - Popups
Popups are a great way of engaging a visitor and personalizing your website. Popups are eye catching and are shown to increase conversations. It’s important to make sure the popups give the visitor/customer a reason to be excited. They can show new promotions, giveaways, products, or discount codes. The popup needs to have bright fun colors and easy to read text. The last thing a popup should be is annoying or tricks the target customer into thinking its spam. - New Customers
Not all visitors will understand how to use the site or know what they are looking for the first time. A way to interact with them is by having an introduction video on the homepage or by having a specialized popup. This popup can offer a discount for first time customers if they enter their email to get added to the newsletter or subscriber list. The popup will give a new visitor the push they need to become a customer. If they decide not to purchase the first time as long as their information is added, then they’ll get access to information that will make them convert from visitor to customer in the near future. - Geo-location/Visitor’s Nearby
According to Episerver, “44% of shoppers prefer specialized coupons based on location.” When coupons are geographically based this limits inconvenience and make the site efficient for visitors and customers. Think about the different time zones and weather per location. A website shouldn’t be promoting a winter coat in a tropical location. Using geo-location personalization prevents this from happening. It’s also a way of showcasing which products are available at the closest physical location. - Reward Programs
Creating a rewards program is not only a great way of thanking returning customers, but it’s a great way to personalize the site allowing the returning customer to feel special. It’s also a technique for encouraging customers to purchase more. Set certain amounts the customer has to spend in order to get specific coupons. The analyzed data from returning customers makes it easy to see which products to recommend to them based on their prior purchasing history.
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Personalizing your website is not just a nice thing to do for the target customer, it’s crucial in order to have an effective business. Customers these days expect everything to be personalized for them. One size does not fit all anymore. Market House makes website personalization easy and guarantees visitor engagement every time.