Week 4 • Winter 2021 • Ahmed Sagarwala

Paper

• Due: January 31st
• Should cover customization
• 2+ academic sources
• 4-6 pages
• Some ideas...

Paper

• Statistics on response rates, revenue, loyalty
• Best practices for implementing personalization
• Data management considerations
• Unique approaches and opportunities
• Challenges with integrating and leveraging technology
• How many choices is too much, too little, just right?
• Personalization in a digital space
• The ethics of personalization
• ...

Source: FlashBay

Canvas Discussion

• Provide an example of personalization you've encountered
• Print is preferred
• Add to the discussion and see peer examples

Timelines

1

2

3

4

5

6

• Consider each step
• What needs to be done?
• How much time will it take?

1

2

3

4

5

6

• Form design
• Test form
• Send email campaign
• Await responses

1

2

3

4

5

6

• Review responses
• Sanitize
• Segmentation

1

2

3

4

5

6

• Design promotion
• Test PURLS
• Deliver offers

How long?

• Designing an email / postcard / letter
  • Page count
  • Change requests
  • Sourcing images
  • Branding provided or not?
• Writing copy
  • Proofreading
  • Change requests
  • Previous content available?

How long?

• Data work
  • Reviewing records
  • Normalizing
  • Sanitizing
  • Segmentation
• Personalization
  • Logic
  • Alternative layouts
  • Spot checks
  • Output test
• 5/50/500 rule

Source: US Global Mail

Response expectations

• 1-5 days to receive
• Average 2 week response
  • Could be 1 day
  • Sometimes over 60 days
• 1-5 days to return

Tip: Define a campaign window or deadline and allow for online responses. Provide a paid response card for ease of return.*

Pitches

• Well done overall!
• Use of big buckets, but we could do better.
• More research
  • Industry needs
  • Personalization opportunities
• Remixes of Fake Travel?

Personas & Profiling

Image: Wil Stewart

Learning Objectives

• Create connections between verticals to plan a personalized campaign.
• Understand the influence of personas on segmentation.
• Determine the ideal number of questions to create a personalized experience.
• Determine how many personalized fields are needed to created highly targeted messages.

Behavioral Science Unit

• 1880's: Jack the Ripper's personality (Philips & Bond)
• 1974: BSU created to investigate serial cases
  • Antecedent
  • Method & Manner
  • Body Disposal
  • Post-Offensive Behvior
• 1990: Investigative Psychology (Canter)

Several staged studies showed mixed results in accuracy.

Several staged studies showed
mixed results in accuracy...

Response Rates

Unaddressed Admail: 0.5%

Direct Mail: 2.5-10%

Personalized Direct Mail: 5-25%

P. Sorce (2009) Personalization

OKCupid

• 3 simple questions
• Do you like horror movies?
• Have you ever traveled around another country alone?
• Wouldn't it be fun to chuck it all and go live on a sailboat?

What do you notice about the questions?
(think about form design)

Questions vs Segmentation

• OKCupid: 3 questions with 2 options
  • 2³ = 8
  • 8 general personas
• FBI: 4 questions with 2-4 options
  • 3 x 4 x 2 x 2 = 48
  • ~48 personas for serial offenders