1 White Paper | Webtrends® © 2015 Webtrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved

It’s a hot topic for today’s marketer: how to deliver a personalized customer experience.

We define personalization as the practice of providing a customer experience that aligns with the specific needs and preferences of an individual. Clearly, the ability to personalize effectively is highly dependent upon what you know about an individual. The more you know, the more relevant the delivered experience. A tailored experience can be delivered to an anonymous user, a more relevant experience is possible for a segment of known users (based upon a common set of traits) and a truly individualized experience occurs when you connect a visitor’s previous histories (from 3rd party data like CRM and DMP/DSP records, for example) with his or her current context.

But the topic has been met with a lot of confusion, mixed messages and grand promises, raising more questions than real answers. If this is the destination, the practical questions that are often left unanswered are, “where do I start?” and “what is my organization’s path to get there?”

Before we get started, it’s important to note that personalization may not be a near-term goal for every marketer or organization. They, too, are on a quest to advance their digital marketing but in an area that best meets their current needs – perhaps measurement or segmentation or testing, for instance. For most, it’s about making progress in one or more areas, experimenting, learning and delivering business and marketing results. And the key to progress is a purposeful data-driven marketing approach that allows you to reveal deeper insights to better understand your customers.

So why the focus on personalization?

Much of the framework for digital marketing advancement that we’ll share with you is based on a recent survey of our client base. We found that companies are planning to shift and invest more understanding in the customer journey and personalization in the next 12 to 18 months. They aspire to create websites that offer up engaging content customized for each individual, trigger-based messaging based on visitor profiles and behaviors and calls to action designed to encourage greater engagement, purchase and conversion.

Another important note is that there’s no one right path to personalization. You’ll determine your own path based upon specific business needs. That said, there are some common building blocks toward personalizing the customer experience.

White Paper

Your Path to Personalization:A Framework for Digital Marketing Advancement

+38%According to our survey, 38% more companies plan to increase investments in personalization in the next 12-18 months

2 White Paper | Webtrends® © 2015 Webtrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The framework for digital marketing advancement that we’ll present is based upon the following five areas of marketing:

1. Measurement

Analysis of aggregate behaviors on one or more digital properties used to inform marketing

2. Segmentation

Discovery and creation of high-value audience segments based upon visitor-level behaviors for target marketing

3. Digital Optimization

Testing and targeting around key success events to optimize digital experience within a channel

4. Customer Journey

Mapping of the cross-channel customer journey to optimize the end-to-end experience across digital touch points

5. Personalization

Application of historical and in-session behaviors to deliver a relevant and contextual customer experience

Within each of these five areas, we’ll outline four stages of advancement that can help you define your own path at a more granular level. While measurement lays the foundation to move forward within all of the other areas, some organizations will focus on the customer journey before advancing their digital optimization program or hone segmentation before doing anything else. The pace of advancement and the order in which you focus your investments will vary, but our goal is to share a framework so that you can set your own path to personalization by helping you assess, understand and accelerate your digital marketing success.

Five areas of digital marketing advancement

Measurement

Segmentation

Digital Optimization

Customer Journey

Personalization

Less Advanced 1Measurement

More Advanced

Characteristics

• Foundational

• Out-of-box technology

• Tactical

• Manual

• Re-active/Diagnostic

• Departmental/siloed

2Segmentation

Characteristics

• Comprehensive

• Strategic

• Automated/Continuous

• Predictive

• Programmatic/Institutionalized

• Process-driven

• Expertise-heavy

3Digital Optimization

4Customer Journey

5Personalization

3

How to Get to PersonalizationIn our framework for digital marketing advancement below, there are five key principals to keep in mind:

1. A solid data strategy is foundational

2. Digital marketing advancement is not linear

3. There is not a single, prescribed path to personalization

4. Technology will get you part way there, but expertise plays a pivotal role

5. Repeatable and tested processes are needed to make marketing success sustainable over the long term

The framework for digital marketing advancement is represented by the five areas of digital marketing and the spectrum of advancement shown in Figure 1 below. No marketing department will progress through the areas in a linear fashion starting at basic measurement and ending at highly advanced personalization. In reality, companies are doing a little of each of these at any given time.

However, within each area there are stages that marketing organizations typically progress through. Less advanced (the left side of the diagram) is categorized as being more tactical, manual and siloed. There are little to no processes established and the tactics are not aligned with a company’s strategic goals.

More advanced (the right side of the diagram) aligns with a strategic, process-driven and institutionalized approach that is not just about technology. It is often centralized within an organization, always has executive buy-in and incorporates a solid data-driven foundation that has rigorous governance in place. Companies that are more advanced in more areas are most likely to be able to deliver the most personalized customer experience.

Figure 1 : Each area has a spectrum from less advanced to more advanced

4

#1: MeasurementWeb analytics technologies that provide trending reports are available out of the box (and 90 percent of companies have some type of analytics solution in place to do this). Most marketers are well skilled at tagging and measuring the success of campaigns.

Basic trend reporting is more diagnostic in nature and is typically distributed on a periodic basis to stakeholders. Basic KPIs are in place with an understanding of the general business requirements that they map to. Basic measurement starts on your website providing reports on well-established key metrics such as visits, views, unique visitors, etc.

From here, we progress on to the tracking of campaign performance on different channels, implementing pathing and funnel/scenario reporting and establishing benchmarks for key metrics. The distribution of reports within the organization is more proactive and aligned with decision making and for the purpose of answering business questions.

More advanced measurement provides an integrated view of data across all digital channels, including social and mobile, with data granularity down to the individual level. At this level, marketers can start to monetize site activities enabling a clearer understanding of their return on investments, such as ad spend. Key change management and data governance processes are now in place.

With an emphasis on the customer, the most advanced measurement practices connect online interactions with offline behaviors. Effective analysis of the data using predictive algorithms enables marketers to inform next best actions. The capture of real-time data at an individual level is an important part of advanced measurement practices. This level of sophistication relies on a comprehensive and corporate data strategy to be in place that is agile in nature and managed by well-structured change processes.

Within this area, companies advance from basic trend reporting to

connecting offline and online intelligence based upon a corporate

data strategy.

Measurement in ActionWorking with Webtrends, The Telegraph UK was able to monetize mobile through measurement. The company’s

business goals were clear: to commercialize mobile publications and reach younger users. Telegraph UK released

iterative versions of its iPad app with mobile measurement built in from the start. By measuring the metrics that

matter and that aligned to business goals, it was able to evolve the mobile experience over time. Among many

innovations, the publisher introduced a night-reading mode, turning the iPad into a lean-back device users read in

bed. The Telegraph UK said it would not have invented that without using analytics.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

STAGE 1Basic trend reporting

STAGE 2Campaign measurement

STAGE 3Multi-channel

measurement strategy at the visitor level

STAGE 4 Connecting online

with offline to predict customer actions

5

Segmentation in ActionWebtrends works closely with Kimberly-Clark, the company behind iconic global personal care brands such as

Huggies®, Kleenex® and Depend®. Through analytics, testing and targeting, Kimberly-Clark was able to deliver

more relevant content specifically to Huggies.com visitors and significantly improved its brand experience for that

segment. As a result, the company increased sign-in rates by 17 percent.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

#2: SegmentationSegmentation has been part of the marketing strategy long before the world became digital, but digital has provided a wealth of new intelligence to drive more effective segmentation schemes. At the very basic level, segmentation schemes are centered on traffic sources, geography, new versus returning visitors or different device types.

The path to more advanced segmentation introduces additional criteria aligned to the business, such as point-in-time-events, product holdings or a customer’s life stage. Often, these attributes are housed in other databases, typically CRM, that require some level of integration and consolidation.

Advanced companies that have successfully broken down these siloes are now applying automated segment discovery techniques to find clusters of customers that exhibit similar behaviors on their path to a defined business goal. Audience segmentation strategies are in place that fully automate the manual processes for defining these highly targeted business segments.

Within this area, companies advance from defining basic segments,

such as new versus returning visitors and geographical segments,

to a comprehensive customer segmentation strategy utilizing

automated segment discovery techniques.

STAGE 1Basic segmentation

using common market-defined criteria

STAGE 2Advanced segmentation aligned around unique

business criteria

STAGE 3Segmentation driven from integrated CRM

STAGE 4 Algorithmic, automated

& science-based segmentation

6

#3: Digital OptimizationIn its simplest form, website optimization can be done through intuitive A/B testing, optimizing specific observed interactions. Marketers may not have an optimization product in place and may utilize analytics reports to help define manual, ad-hoc tests. But even with these basic tests, effective results are only possible with thoughtful hypotheses.

Advancement in this area comes from utilizing automated testing tools and running tests based upon defined segments using more scientific approaches like control groups. Organizations then progress beyond testing for single conversion events and incorporate more complex testing that spans multiple steps in an online flow.

The more advanced companies build Center of Excellences to manage more complex testing programs that span domains, organizations and geographies. These teams manage testing programs utilizing multi-variate and adaptive testing techniques that enable continuous and dynamic optimization. The ability to utilize both historical and real-time behaviors to influence testing/targeting decisions is highly effective for these organizations. Ultimately, optimization is a cyclical process of observing, hypothesizing, running tests and learning.

Within this area, clients advance from simple A/B testing to a

programmatic optimization program utilizing multivariate testing

and adaptive targeting.

Digital Optimization in ActionWorking with Alitalia, the main passenger transport group in Italy, Webtrends helped to optimize key booking

pages on the company’s website. With a solid measurement baseline in place, Webtrends managed a testing

program that identified and targeted the most valuable customer segments with the most relevant content.

As a result, Alitalia increased online bookings by 7 percent in three months.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

STAGE 1Basic or manual A/B testing

STAGE 2Scientific & programmatic

A/B testing

STAGE 3Advanced testing on defined

segments

STAGE 4 Automated & programmatic

testing across multiple platforms

7

#4: Customer JourneyThe emphasis for marketing in a digital world has moved from improving the performance of a specific channel to optimizing the cross-channel customer journey. Understanding the customer journey is often isolated to online channels because that is where most of our data comes. Initially, this understanding is at an aggregate level. The most rudimentary form of a customer journey is analytics pathing reports, but these are typically limited to a single online session.

The process of customer journey mapping needs to incorporate all customer touch points – online plus offline. The difference between low and high advancement is dependent on what you do with the data and what processes are in place to act on it, monitor it and keep it updated. To make the customer journey actionable, advanced practices bring together a unified view of the customer and is typically done within a purpose-built customer datamart. These advanced companies can then drive their segmentation, testing and targeting strategies based upon a complete customer journey. The optimization that is possible with this level of understanding is not limited to online, but can influence the offline interactions a brand has with its customers.

Within this area, companies advance from understanding the visitor’s

digital path to incorporating offline behaviors into a complete

customer journey. Sophisticated marketers make the customer

journey actionable applying the insights and intelligence gained to

improving the end-to-end customer experience.

Customer Journey in ActionWebtrends worked with a large financial services institution to connect its web behavioral data with its

customers’ product holdings and offline transactions in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the

customer journey. One success was the ability to identify incomplete loan applications on its website, and

quickly deliver those valuable “leads” to the branches for proactive follow-up. The result has been a three-fold

increase in in-branch loan applications that originated online.

STAGE 1Cross-channel pathing

STAGE 2Multi-touch attribution

STAGE 3Connecting offline &

online journeys

STAGE 4 Insights drive action to

improve all touch points in the customer journey

8

Personalization in ActionAfter using A/B testing to prove that using exit intent technology to trigger an overlay was an extremely

effective way of salvaging abandoning visitors, one of our airline clients leveraged a combination of offline

customer-centric data, real-time in-session data and historical browsing/purchase behavior in order to only

target high-value, high-loyalty segments with discounts. This resulted in a very focused exit intent offering

that generated lifts in bookings of 16 to 20 percent across three individual segments.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

#5: PersonalizationSimple personalization utilizes basic in-session attributes like geo, mobile device type or new versus returning user status to enable simple targeting and personalization. For example, if a visitor is on an Apple iPhone, you provide them an pop-up page that promotes your company’s new iOS app.

Augmenting these basic in-session attributes with more customer-specific behaviors increases the ability to refine the messages and the experience for that individual. Another example is if you know a visitor is exhibiting behaviors that are consistent with someone who is about to exit a page, you can present them with an offer or specific message to incent them to stay.

Personalizing the experience based upon your audience segments is common today. An individual is assigned to an audience segment based upon their historical behaviors and when they return to your site, the content and messages they receive is based upon the attributes of the segment they are in. For a marketer in financial services, for instance, this could be the identification of an individual who already has an auto loan with the company who is then presented with auto insurance messaging in the hero banner on the home page when they return.

Highly personalized experiences result when you can combine both the historical behaviors, such as the segments visitors are in, with what they are doing in their sessions at that particular moment. Incorporating real-time with historical behaviors to influence the experience is powerful. Coupling that with the use of predictive analytics enables marketers to not only present the next best offer, but to influence a visitor’s path through the website.

Within this area, companies advance from delivering a tailored

experience using basic in-session attributes to combining historical

and in-the-moment behaviors to deliver a highly personalized

experience. The application of predictive analytics is a critical

element in this quest for 1:1 personalization.

STAGE 1Applying basic context to influence personalization

STAGE 2Using specific in-session

behaviors to influence content

STAGE 3Leveraging in-session

behaviors coupled with historical behaviors

STAGE 4 1:1 personalization utilizing

predictive analysis

9 White Paper | Webtrends® © 2015 Webtrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Assessing Where You AreDoing an assessment of where you are within all of the areas will help define your unique path to personalization. Take time to map your current state and then ask yourself where you want to be in 12-18 months. This will help you set your priorities around where to focus your efforts. Assess your barriers to success in terms of technology, people and process and develop a plan to address each of these.

Figure 2: Example illustration of a self assessment comparing where you are today versus your goal for 12-18 months

Less Advanced Stages More Advanced

MeasurementBasic trend reporting

MeasurementConnecting online with offline to

predict customer actions

SegmentationBasic segmentation using

common market-defined

criteria

SegmentationAlgorithmic, automated &

science-based segmentation

Digital OptimizationBasic or manual A/B testing

Digital OptimizationAutomated & programmatic

testing across multiple platforms

Customer JourneyCross-channel pathing

Customer JourneyInsights drive action to improve

all touch points in the customer

journey

PersonalizationApplying basic context to

influence personalization

Personalization1:1 personalization utilizing

predictive analysis

1 2 3 4

12-18 monthsToday

10 White Paper | Webtrends® © 2015 Webtrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved

What Can You Do to Advance Your Digital Marketing? Our research indicates that companies feel relatively advanced in how they measure their marketing today, and are investing more in segmentation, but lack experience in the other areas, such as digital optimization, customer journey and personalization.

In order to advance your digital marketing in these areas, there are some things you can do:

1. Start thinking about personalization as a set of building blocks as outlined in the five different areas of this paper. Breaking it down this way helps you understand where you are and what you need to do to set your own path.

2. Self assess your position within each of the five areas. Remember that you will be more advanced in some areas and this will be dependent on many factors.

3. Consider how you measure marketing success today and how you think this will change in the next 12-18 months. Your success measures need to be aligned with you overall business goals.

4. Identify the barriers that stand in your way to advancing in each area. Think beyond technology and assess your people and processes – those are often the bigger barriers to advancement.

5. Use this framework to set quarterly and yearly goals within each of the five areas. This defines where you want to get to relative to where you are today (step #2). These incremental improvements will be specific to your own business goals and will help prioritize where you focus your marketing investments.

6. Use quarterly checkpoints to review your progress against your goals. Re-assess where you are just as you did in step #2 and how you have made progress in each of the five areas. Validate and re-state your next set of goals.

To learn more about how Webtrends can help you advance your digital marketing visit:webtrends.com/solutions

Critical success factors in determining your path to personalization

• Think beyond the technology to assess your expertise and processes.

• Get the data right in order to develop a foundational data strategy and establish a set of data governance processes.

• Gain buy-in from other departments and key stakeholders – they are your partners.

• Develop a culture of measurement. Think measurement in everything you do (before you do it) and make your analytics actionable.

• Start small, get a few wins, and build on that. Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.

• Migrate to a “customer-first “mindset — think cross-channel customer experience.

11 White Paper | Webtrends® © 2015 Webtrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved

ContactNorth America

1 888 932 8736

sales@webtrends.com

Europe, Middle East, Africa

+44 (0) 1784 415 700

emea@webtrends.com

Australia, Asia

+61 (0) 3 9935 2939

australasia@webtrends.com

webtrends.com

About Webtrends Inc.

For more than 20 years, Webtrends has helped companies make sense of their customer data to drive digital marketing success. By combining innovative technology with our team of trusted and creative advisors, our solutions are designed to provide actionable insights, increase customer engagement and boost revenue.

We partner with companies at all levels of digital maturity and offer solutions in measurement and optimization. We work closely with approximately 2,000 global brands including Microsoft, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kimberly-Clark, HSBC, Marks & Spencer, npower, BMW, Toyota, The Telegraph, Lastminute.com and many more.