Why website personalisation is so important: the value it can offer your customers and your business.

Pace of change is incredible. How customers see brands, what they expect from them and how they wish to interact, is rapidly developing and evolving.

With that comes a greater awareness of the responsibilities that businesses have to their customers. To deliver what they want, quickly and effectively; to hold and manage their data properly, and to show that they truly understand their customers’ needs. In the scheme of good, better, best – best will always win. A customer will not part with their hard-earned pennies for anything less.

How does website personalisation fit into this and why is it so important?

A report by Accenture shows that 65% of customers are more likely to shop with a retailer who knows their purchase history. Salesforce research also shows that 52% of consumers would switch away from brands who don’t personalise communications, with 65% admitting that personalisation affects their brand loyalty. As Leanne Fyffe, Optimisation Specialist at Missguided told us, “we have a real passion for personalisation and are seeing the value it adds to our business.” And she’s not the only one. Sven Lindell, Chief Digital Officer at Bras n Things (Australia and New Zealand’s largest underwear retailer) says that personalisation has “delivered real improvements to our customer experience.”

The value personalisation can offer your business.

Like Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO), website personalisation involves the coming together of specific processes, technical activities and analytics insights, in order to clear the path to conversion. And its benefits can be really impactful; delivering relevant experiences and creating more persuasive communications, helping customers move seamlessly through the CX journey. What an end result it would be if all of your customers were happier, more engaged and repeatedly purchased from you instead of your competitors.

Here at Fresh Egg, we are often asked ‘if I’m split testing, do I really need website personalisation?’ Yes, we believe you do. I discussed this very same question in an Econsultancy article a couple of years ago, and the answer is still as pertinent now as it was then. 

If we translate the sentiment over to a physical shop, imagine having a well-ordered, stocked and organised shop – would you disregard having assistants helping your customers? As Dan Edelman, Vice President for Marketing and American Express mentions, “Approaching your customers with customised [and] relevant information that reflects their interests and priorities is ultimately what builds meaningful relationships.” And the results speak for themselves. Daniel Anvell, Chief Operating Officer of Intersport describes the output of personalisation as “amazing. Sales are very good and conversion rate has almost doubled.”

Personalisation can enable your website to achieve optimum results across a range of audiences. Statistically speaking, where CRO in isolation can help you achieve your ‘local maxima’, personalisation and CRO in combination can help you reach your ‘global maxima’. It can be a real game changer. 

If website personalisation is so valuable, shouldn’t we all be doing it? If so how do we do it?

Marketers want the magic answer to the questions they have been asking for a few years now. Website personalisation is ripe for exploration, but adoption is flatlining. Some brands with big budgets, digital maturity and a culture embracing experimentation have made headway and are relishing the results that it gives them. But there are definitive blockers preventing many marketers from progressing, leaving many feeling like they are wading through glue.

If you are in this camp, then our new white paper, Essential Personalisations, is definitely for you.

Throughout the paper we explore:

• Why website personalisation is so important: the value it can offer your customers and your business.
• The challenges facing marketers: the contributing factors to why adoption is flatlining, including five key blockers to progress. o The effective and easy-to-implement solution - essential personalisations: how to get up-and-running with essential personalisations and the tactics that you can implement now.
• Setting your personalisation strategy: the objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) that are necessary for a solid strategy – and why forecasting can be valuable too.
• How to prepare your business for the future: when the market overcomes the blockers, will your business be ready to take the next step? Get ready for what’s to come.
• The case studies showcasing what can be achieved: the insight and evidence you need to support your case for future investment.