January 25, 2011
Guest Post By Pete Olson, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at Amadesa
Traditionally, company websites rely on A/B and multivariate testing for website optimization in order to create “personalized” customer experiences. These rules-based tools help companies improve their conversion rates (anywhere from 5 to 50 percent) across a variety of key performance indicators. Each company targets different segments of customers who generally prefer one image, price or color layout over another. However, the truth is that one alternative cannot be the best performing for all individuals within that segment. Customers are living, breathing individuals that, while they may arrive on a Tuesday or from Google (common visitor attributes), also have much more information that can be utilized to deliver the best offer, images or text to them individually. A rules-based approach has its benefits as well, but over time the pure management of the program requires a new approach to relevancy targeting solutions. In order to meet this approach, companies must accept a continuum of targeting options that include automated content selection.
Implementing a solution that uncovers similar visitors and groups them automatically, without costly oversight, enables marketers to think strategically about their brand, the user experience, and delivering on the goals of the business. Automated targeting defines this capability, and moves the marketer one step closer to truly personalizing content to each and every individual, rather than taking a manual approach to content targeting.
Companies are witnessing the benefits automated high-performance targeting offers over the traditional, manual rules-based testing. These benefits include:
• Freedom to focus on matching the right message to the right individual
• Automatic adjustment to changes in site traffic on an hourly basis
• Reduced daily maintenance of running tests and requirements to build manual rules
• Insights and data regarding how content is performing, how traffic is allocated, and what is most
beneficial to the customer
Overall, these new advanced targeting tools make it possible for companies to move in a more profitable direction. Companies that can provide visitors with an on-site, relevant experience through promotions, coupons, offers and purchase reinforcement messages tend to yield the greatest revenue per visitor.
On-site automated targeting is a powerful way to increase the ROI of existing website efforts, but companies shouldn’t jump into it without some pre-planning. Before running targeting on a site, time should be spent designing the approach and clarifying goals and objectives. These can include conversion rates, reduced marketing spend, loyalty and engagement increases.
Traditional testing tools such as manual A/B and multivariate testing provide companies with a valuable starting point from which to design relevant website experiences for customers. Rules-based targeting solutions provide a greater level of control but require constant management to maintain programs. It’s time to move into the new wave of testing. Automated targeting enables businesses to deliver honest personalization and build relevance, continuity and loyalty, resulting in a greater number of conversions and sales.
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Is this a spoof? This article is written in a dense muddle of jargon that attempts to conceal a nearly complete absence of real information. All it actually says seems to be “automated targeting can improve your advertising results.”
And if you’re going to pitch ‘automated targeting’ as a great new way of doing business, perhaps you could take time out of the argot-fest to define the term? And if you’re assuming the reader is already sector-savvy enough to need no introduction to the term, then surely he also doesn’t need vapid advice such as “[b]efore running targeting on a site, time should be spent designing the approach and clarifying goals and objectives.”
This piece, if not intended as satire, is a wonderful example of corporate non-communication, and how some overpaid executives appear to be paid by the syllable, not the successfully conveyed message.