Guus Rutten
You can't base your business case for personalization solely on the fact that 'everyone is doing it'. You want to develop a specific business case and realistically estimate the expected results. Take inspiration from these 3 practical examples from NS International, ANWB, and Amazon.
NS International: a 50% increase in newsletter subscribers
Previously, NS International invited every website visitor to subscribe to their newsletter, including those already subscribed and those who previously indicated that they did not want to receive newsletters - unnecessary and possibly annoying.
That's why NS International implemented the following personalization. The newsletter banner was now only shown to visitors who weren't subscribed and seemed 'enthusiastic' (i.e., those who had viewed at least 5 pages in a minimum of 2 site visits).
In addition, their preferred destination had to be known, as the personalized CTA text referred to it ("Want to know more about Antwerp? Sign up for our newsletter").
The result? 50% more subscribers to the newsletter. Not bad, considering that fewer people were actually invited.
ANWB: 2x as many clicks
ANWB changed the homepage banner for customers who had viewed information about Italy on the site and/or had planned a trip there and who still needed European breakdown assistance.
This change made a significant difference. The personalized banner received twice as many clicks, and almost a tenth (9%) subsequently purchased European breakdown assistance.
Amazon: cross-channel personalization
About four years ago, a friend of mine suddenly realized that she had never read 'Romeo & Juliet'. She immediately bought the e-book on Amazon. However, with a busy job, she only managed to read a few chapters on her e-reader occasionally. It wasn't enough to get through Shakespeare.
But she didn't give up and ordered the audiobook, which she downloaded to her iPhone. She started listening to it while walking her dog.
Guess what? The audiobook version of 'Romeo & Juliet' remembered where she had stopped reading on her e-reader and started the audio exactly from that point. That is one incredible example of cross-channel personalization!
How to start with personalization
Before you're able to use personalization in your strategy, you got find valuable prospects. An easy way to do this, is by implementing look-alike modeling. Check out how Roularta did this.
