No consumer that shops on the internet is going to mourn the cookie; however, the story is different for ecommerce companies, and the ones that can’t change with the times are going to be left behind. Technology news site The Information recently published an article describing this shift, expounding on alternatives such as Rokt, which utilize first-party data to create a “persistent identity” and personalize far better than cookies. This kind of relevant personalization is a way for brands to stand out, and as Forbes writes “[personalization] allows for long-term relationships with loyalty program members, encourages interaction between consumers and their most loved brands, and facilitates reward redemption.” Lifetime value, loyalty, and improved customer experience are just some of the improvements that proper personalization brings, however, as you’ll see this is only the case when it’s done properly and the increasing expectations of customers can be met.
The Overcrowded World of the Consumer
And maybe overcrowded is even a bit of an understatement; Forbes found that consumers can receive as many as 10,000 brand messages per day. People are being inundated with messaging and that is only becoming clearer to the general public. So how can ecommerce businesses successfully navigate this while meeting customer expectations? Because as Forrester found, 79% of consumers expect companies to make their buying experience simpler and faster. The answer is simpler than businesses are led to believe… just give customers what they want.
Reward Customers (with Relevancy) and They’ll Reward You (with Lifetime Value)
Anyone can tell you that receiving a thoughtful birthday gift tailored to you is better than buying them a gift card, so why do ecommerce companies treat their customers as if they’d prefer the gift card? A whopping 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that personalizes messages, and here’s the kicker; people really don’t need a lot. Consumers are turned off to a brand when the extent of the personalization is their name at the top of an email, which is one part of a dilemma that Netflix’s CMO highlighted in a Rokt webinar, explaining “personalization is a tricky area, if you know too much they are scared, if you know too little they hate you” People don’t want frills or anything complicated when it comes to personalization in ecommerce, relevant and simple offers are the key. And the proof is in the pudding, a commissioned study by Forrester found that when presented with personalization in their buying experience, 56% were more likely to spend more and 65% would buy again. Personalization can be game changing for both ecommerce businesses and their customers.
But that Doesn’t Mean Personalization is Easy…
It’s a reality that is hard to swallow, but chances are you’re not doing personalization right. 81% of ecommerce brands personalize during email, and 77% personalize during web experiences, however personalizing during checkout is only the eighth most common tactic for providing personalization, finds a report by Forrester. And to double down on the importance of doing personalization right, Forrester also reported that 45% of customers would stop buying or switch to a competitor if there was no relevant personalization. But this doesn’t have to be complicated, and this doesn’t have to be a worry. There is already a wealth of first-party data on every ecommerce site, and the perfect real estate to use it on the confirmation page.
How to Give Your Customers What They Want, and Not be Creepy
As mentioned previously, personalization is a very Goldilocks-style problem. But Rokt is the easy solution that ecommerce companies are turning to in order to heighten their personalization capabilities. Incorporating a Rokt placement on your site is seamless, and you can very quickly make use of Rokt’s machine learning to personalize for your customers, while reaching enterprise levels of growth for your business. In a time when cookies are dying out, Rokt makes this possible by employing persistent identity to enable one-to-one personalization and leverage first-party data.
And another great thing about Rokt? You don’t have to build it yourself! The Rokt team already exists for the express purpose of improving experiences for consumers while increasing value per transaction for ecommerce businesses, all while protecting both your brand and your customers’ data. Or if you are on Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce, you can launch with one click. And as the Wallstreet Journal wrote about, Rokt recently closed our Series E funding of $325 million, putting us at a valuation of $1.95 billion. With an algorithm has been honed by more than 5 billion transactions, and there’s no reason you should continue to miss out on the benefits it provides! Talk to an expert at Rokt.
Sources: Forbes
