Predicting customer intent & securing the sale with personalization 2.0
Whether they stumble upon your ad while casually scrolling their Instagram profile or intentionally arrive at your site with something in mind, each customer that visits your website presents a unique opportunity to convert interest into a sale. Yet, where once landing on your site was all it took to secure a purchase, today’s customers have more options than ever before. As a result, businesses must proactively work to engage customers.
Doing so relies on personalized customer engagement that is intelligent. This helps businesses recognize which site visitors will buy, which ones are just browsing, and which ones are on the fence and need a little nudge to make a purchase decision. However, in today’s highly competitive market, connecting with on-the-fence customers entails more than using their name in an email subject line or sending a coupon on their birthday each year. Instead, the modern consumer desires that brands provide instant and individualized engagements, with 91% of consumers being more likely to shop with brands who remember, recognize, and serve relevant content to them.
Enter Personalization 2.0. Brought on by the ongoing pursuit for more tailored, relevant, and instant brand engagements, Personalization 2.0 utilizes a 360° view of each visitor to deliver highly relevant, 1:1 interactions and increase chances of converting interest to a sale.
The 360° personalization model
In order to give on-the-fence consumers the boost they need, a Personalization 2.0 approach takes a 360° view of a customer into account in order to better understand intent, identifying if intervention is necessary to serve up the best offer or information to drive action.
Let’s explore scenarios in which Jessica engages with different businesses over a period of several days. These businesses leverage intelligent engagement that utilizes a 360° view of Jessica’s past transactions, location, preferences, and demographics to drive action:
- Context and location: Jessica is located in Santa Cruz, California.
Jessica had added a particular hand sanitizer that was out-of-stock in her digital cart. After two weeks, the sanitizer was available again:
“Jessica, the hand sanitizer in your cart is available for free delivery. Click to confirm!” - Temperature: Jessica is in Boston today where it is 83° F.
Rather than making an offer for hot coffee on a warm day, Jessica’s local coffee shop sends her a push notification that reads:
“Free cookie with every iced coffee purchased for take-out in the next hour!” - Channel: Jessica only makes purchases via a mobile device.
Jessica browses on her laptop for hotels for her upcoming trip but does not book anything. Recognizing she tends to make purchases on her smartphone, her favorite hotelier chain sends her a push notification that shows her intended travel dates and says:
“Only 2 rooms left. Book now!” - Attitude: Jessica only makes purchases when she has a coupon for free shipping.
A retailer notes that the same items have been in Jessica’s cart for over a week. In the past, she has always made purchases when offered free shipping. As such, they send her an email that says:
“Jessica, you’ve unlocked free shipping! But hurry, this offer expires tonight!” - Affinity: Jessica belongs to a bank loyalty program with gift card rewards.
Jessica frequently makes purchases on her debit card at a local fast food joint. Observing this, at the end of the month Jessica’s bank—which has a partnership with that restaurant—sends her a message that reads:
“Congratulations! You can turn your credit card rewards into burgers and fries for the rest of the month. Redeem your gift card here.” - External: Jessica frequently uses Facebook.
Above other forms of social media, Jessica prefers Facebook. Her favorite retailer recognizes this behavior and serves her a sidebar ad that says:
“The Summer Collection Is Here. Shop Now.” featuring items from Jessica’s cart.
At the heart of effective Personalization 2.0 initiatives is the ability to use AI and ML to make purchase predictions while the customer is browsing the website or mobile app and take instant action in the moments that matter most. At ZineOne, we empower businesses to consider a 360° view of every customer and offer next-generation personalization through our AI-powered in-session marketing, which has a 90% accuracy in predicting customer intent by the 5th click.
Interested in learning more about the critical role Personalization 2.0 plays? Access our Giving On-the-Fence Visitors a Boost with Personalization 2.0 infographic to learn more.
