Amadesa

Segmentation (targeting specific messages to pre-defined segments) is a powerful, widely used personalization methodology. In fact, a recent Forrester report indicated that 95% of marketers surveyed either currently use or plan to use segmentation within the next twelve months to deliver targeted content to their customers.

"Personalization" is an oft-used term that generates plenty of buzz but leaves website owners struggling to succinctly define it. As a normal course of my day, I enjoy the opportunity to discuss these concepts with customers and listen to their responses, of which are varied and typically include 'Amazon-ish' or 'Netflix-ish' as a descriptor. Here at Amadesa, we provide a suite of personalization products and I would like to take a few minutes of your time to outline how we see the personalization landscape.

You are successful. You have the software that enables you and your team. You have a “culture of optimization” that allows you to make calculated, strategic decisions about your website. You have the dedication and drive to succeed in testing, optimization and continual improvement.

We all know the story of Dorothy and the yellow brick road… all she had to do was “follow, follow, follow, follow” right? Wrong. Dorothy ran into a lot of obstacles trying to get to the emerald city. That can be the case for users on your Web site. All they want to do is follow along and get the information they are seeking, but often times we as designers/marketers put obstacles in their way.

Segmentation is no doubt a vital next step in your optimization effort, if you are not doing it already. By far, this can be one of your best strategies, by helping you focus on visitors that are more important to your business and creating content that is more directly relevant to them. Everybody is recommending it, and it makes sense – dividing your visitors into groups by interest and creating and delivering the information to best suit their needs. But damn, why does it have to be so hard? Did all the people recommending it and talking about it ever think of what it takes to segment traffic on a site?