The right message to the right person at the right time: this is where the success of a marketing strategy that puts people at the center is encapsulated.
Several times we have reflected on the central role played by audience profiling and segmentation, but in today’s article, we have chosen to delve into one aspect in particular, that of microsegmentation in eCommerce.
But let’s start with a question: why is it important to talk about microsegments?
The breakdown of one’s audience into microsegments is crucial because it allows its peculiarities to emerge. All this translates into the possibility of carrying out even more effective and engaging on-site and off-site personalization activities. The smaller, then, a cluster is, the higher the chance that it will be homogeneous within it, and the higher the likelihood of choosing activities for that segment that are able to enhance and improve the customer experience of each component.
Microsegmentation and customization: 3 basic steps
Implementation, analysis, optimization: for a good strategy of profiling and segmenting one’s audience, one should not forget the importance of an analytical approach to data both when creating segments and evaluating the performance of activities on those specific segments.
In particular, it is important:
- Step 1: Define microsegments from a significant amount of data and information from multiple sources (biographical data, psychographic data, behavioral information on purchasing paths and habits, data on interests, needs, goals..);
- Step 2: Choose on-site and off-site personalization activities for each identified cluster that aim to engage the user, stimulating them to purchase;
- Step 3: Analyze the performance data for each individual activity in order to optimize it and possibly consider defining additional microsegments needed.
Audience microsegmentation: the strategic role of technology
Although more and more companies are ready to recognize a fundamental role for data as an integral part of a strategy, what still appears to be very difficult is the ability to read and use such data in an aggregated way. CRM, eCommerce platforms, cash management systems, to name a few: in the age of omnichannelality still too many companies have uneven data management with information being collected and managed in different environments
The first step is, without doubt, to move from channel-based to user-based data and user information management (single customer view).
Here is that the adoption of Customer Data Platform such as Blendee, becomes so crucial: data and information about users are collected from multiple sources, whether online or offline, made available in a single environment and, most importantly, normalized at the individual user level.
Who are my buyers? From which channels did they come to my site? Which products did they see? Which ones did they purchase? After what actions did they come to purchase? Did they open the promotional newsletter? Did they use the coupon? Effective microsegmentation provides an answer to all these questions and, more importantly, allows microclusters to be defined precisely on the basis of the answers to these questions.
But to put it into practice you need to have the data and information, you need a CDP.
Audience microsegmentation: some clusters to start from
Although each eCommerce project stands on its own because of the characteristics of its audience, we may be able to define a set of ready-to-use microsegments based precisely on buying and browsing behavior.
- Users who have purchased frequently in the past thirty days
- Users who have purchased in the last six months but not in the last three
- Frequent buyers, or users who have made at least 5 purchases in the past six months
- Users who purchase only with promotional coupons
- Users who have purchased many products from the same category/brand
- Users who clicked on the recommended products but never purchased
- Users who abandoned the shopping cart and did not finalize the purchase
- Users who have browsed many pages of the site
- Users who have long dwell times on product pages
- One time shoppers, i.e., users who have made one visit and one purchase
- Big spenders, i.e., users who have orders with an average value higher than the shop average
- VIPs, i.e., users who buy often, spending a lot of
- Lost, or users who have not purchased for too long
The above are just a few examples from which to start; it is important to identify those that are most useful to your business goals and modify the conditions according to your business model.
After creating the microsegments, the next step is to put in place customization activities.
Here are some examples:
- Customizing the content of a page or home page based on the campaign or channel the user is coming from;
- Customization of products in category page for particular segments (ex: top big spender);
- Insertion of behavioral messages as reminders for users who have left items in the shopping cart;
- Sending personalized emails with ad hoc offers to users who purchase frequently;
- Insertion of behavioral messages with timed offers for users who do not purchase often;
- Dynamic profiling forms for anonymous users.
Audience microsegmentation and personalization require continual exercise but are critical to improving your eCommerce performance by always showing readiness to respond to market changes.
