As a consumer, no matter whether you shop online or in a brick-and-mortar storefront, you want to enjoy the same brand experience with the companies with which you do business. Makes sense, right?
Thus, to better simulate the same in-store shopping and engagement experience, many forward-thinking online retailers are employing what’s called “real-time personalization” to drive acquisitions and conversions.
In order to use real-time personalization to its full advantage, business owners should consider the following tips that will help them best connect with customers — and deliver real-time, cross-device customer service that amplifies the user experience:
Use Data to Build Meaningful Relationships
It’s no secret companies have been busy collecting all sorts of personal data about their customers for some time. This can include a customer’s age, gender, date of birth, location and purchase history, amongst many other variables. Yet, when it comes to real-time personalization, amassing tons of data isn’t enough, as companies must know how to analyze and operate with the data they have on file.
For instance, online companies should determine what type of device their customers are using to access their site. If a majority use their smartphones, then they’ll no doubt want and expect a mobile-friendly experience — and business owners should respond accordingly. Business owners should then use a data management plan to understand how their customers react and engage in terms of their website content.
Provide a Seamless Experience with Cloud Call Center Software
To help deliver high-level customer experiences anytime and from anywhere, business owners may wish to consider implementing cloud call center software. In particular, employing this type of software allows customers to more easily get in touch with your support team through a number of different channels, including voice, email, live chat and social media, to name a few.
In other words, all they need is a phone and internet connection to reach you. Pretty seamless, right? Beyond the ease of connecting with a company support rep at any time of the day, agents who work in cloud contact centers can often more easily and efficiently resolve customer service issues and, more importantly, not force that customer to continue to wait on hold.
Moreover, these highly-trained call center agents can provide outstanding and seamless customer experiences on a regular basis across every channel and every touch point, without ever missing a beat.
Know Which Content to Personalize
Companies must not only know whom to target, but also what type of content they should personalize for their customers. In most cases, companies can take steps to personalize new or existing content for any number of customers in various stages of the buyers’ cycle.
Additionally, online retailers can learn a lot about their customers based on their email or IP address and tailor their messages to these specific audiences. For example, a teacher with an email address that ends in .edu who’s shopping for educational products for their classroom may see different ads and call-to-actions than a parent with a more generic email address who’s browsing for toys at the same online store.
Online stores that maintain a regular blog and/or post content to social media can include specific calls-to-action meant for specific audiences. In general, companies should do what they can to offer a personalized experience based on product offers, customer location or price points, which will help to ensure online shoppers will see the most relevant information.
By Offering Real-Time Personalization, Customers are Likely to Remain Loyal
As most online business owners know, customers want and deserve quick a seamless online experience. After all, if they don’t have an optimum experience on one site, they can easily go and shop elsewhere. By not only collecting data about customers but also using this information to get to know them better, people are more likely to be satisfied with their overall experience with an online company and return again and again.
