Digital Profiles Part J: Personalization And Marketing Plans

Let's say that you are the Merchandise Executive for Merchandise Division #8. It is your job to grow sales within your Merchandise Division, period. Nobody is going to give you credit for creating high-value, multi-channel, multi-merchandise customers, are they?

When we look at all sixteen Digital Profiles, we immediately observe that there are eight Digital Profiles that are pre-disposed to your Merchandise Division.

• Gold Mine!
• Multi-Channel Mavens.
• Shop Online, Buy In Store.
• Direct Newbies Looking For Eight.
• Retail Fanatics.
• Retail 4/5/6.
• Retail 1/2/3.
• Retail Newbies Looking For Eight.

So here's a fun analysis to do. In the 30 days after we determine the Digital Profile that a customer belongs to, I calculated the percentage of customers in each Digital Profile who purchased from Merchandise Division #8 online (website, e-mail, search, mobile, social).

• Gold Mine! = 1.15% purchase rate.
  
• Multi-Channel Mavens = 1.06% purchase rate.
  
• The Digerati = 0.46% purchase rate.
  
• A Long Drive = 0.33% purchase rate.
  
• Shop Online, Buy In Store = 0.72% purchase rate.
  
• Direct Newbies Looking For Eight = 0.51% purchase rate.
• Online One/Twos = 0.30% purchase rate.
  
• Ship It To Me = 0.22% purchase rate.
  
• Retail Fanatics = 0.15% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 4/5/6 = 0.05% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2/4 = 0.09% purchase rate.
  
• In And Out = 0.05% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2/3 = 0.07% purchase rate.
  
• Retail Newbies Looking For Eight = 0.05% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2 = 0.01% purchase rate.
  
• Rotary Phone = 0.12% purchase rate.

Well, clearly, there are a handful of Digital Profiles that you'd target online if a visitor arrived at your website, correct? Heck, even "The Digerati" and "A Long Drive", two profiles that weren't really fond of this merchandise, they are more productive because of their online disposition than are any of the retail segments.

Now, let's turn the tables here. What are the purchase rates at retail during this timeframe?

• Gold Mine! = 4.06% purchase rate.
  
• Multi-Channel Mavens = 1.75% purchase rate.
  
• The Digerati = 0.29% purchase rate.
  
• A Long Drive = 0.32% purchase rate.
  
• Shop Online, Buy In Store = 1.85% purchase rate.
  
• Direct Newbies Looking For Eight = 0.33% purchase rate.
• Online One/Twos = 0.16% purchase rate.
  
• Ship It To Me = 0.12% purchase rate.
  
• Retail Fanatics = 3.38% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 4/5/6 = 1.80% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2/4 = 0.88% purchase rate.
  
• In And Out = 0.71% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2/3 = 1.54% purchase rate.
  
• Retail Newbies Looking For Eight = 0.98% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2 = 0.50% purchase rate.
  
• Rotary Phone = 0.36% purchase rate.

Can you see why those "Gold Mine!" customers are who they are? They buy and buy and buy, regardless of channel! Also, pay attention to "Shop Online, Buy In Store" ... a high rate within retail, a not-so-good purchase rate online ... clearly, these customers are pre-disposed to shop a certain way, so when that customer visits online, don't expect to convert that customer on that visit. Instead, present merchandise to that customer that is congruent with what that customer will buy when the customer visits the store.

Finally, we'll look at total purchase rates (web, stores, phone) during the next thirty days:

• Gold Mine! = 5.22% purchase rate.
  
• Multi-Channel Mavens = 2.94% purchase rate.
  
• The Digerati = 0.88% purchase rate.
  
• A Long Drive = 0.74% purchase rate.
  
• Shop Online, Buy In Store = 2.57% purchase rate.
  
• Direct Newbies Looking For Eight = 0.89% purchase rate.
• Online One/Twos = 0.51% purchase rate.
  
• Ship It To Me = 0.38% purchase rate.
  
• Retail Fanatics = 3.58% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 4/5/6 = 1.89% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2/4 = 1.02% purchase rate.
  
• In And Out = 0.79% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2/3 = 1.62% purchase rate.
  
• Retail Newbies Looking For Eight = 1.05% purchase rate.
  
• Retail 1/2 = 0.57% purchase rate.
  
• Rotary Phone = 0.66% purchase rate.

Clearly, there are a set of Digital Profiles that are responsive to Merchandise Division #8. And within the Digital Profiles that are responsive, several are responsive online, several are responsive in stores, and two ("Gold Mine!" and "Multi-Channel Mavens") that are responsive in both the online and store channel.

So, what should the Executive responsible for Merchandise Division #8 ask of the marketing department?

• A marketing plan for "Gold Mine!" and "Multi-Channel Mavens" that is channel-agnostic.
• A marketing plan for "Shop Online, Buy In Store" that is research-based online and is commerce-based in stores.
• A marketing plan for "The Digerati", "A Long Drive", and "Direct Newbies Looking For Eight" that is focused on online channels, including personalization opportunities across the home page and key landing pages for visitors with these Digital Profiles. E-mail campaigns might be fruitful for this audience as well.
• A marketing plan for "Retail Fanatics" and "Retail Newbies Looking For Eight" that encourages additional purchases within this merchandise division.
  
• A marketing plan for "Retail 4/5/6", "Retail 1/2/4", "In And Out", and "Retail 1/2/3" that seeks to cross the customer into a new merchandise division.
  

The marketer (that's you) creates a marketing plan that helps the Merchandising Executive achieve her vision of global domination.

You can do this, using Digital Profiles to help guide the process!