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Making It Personal
But do not be confused. Personalization is not just another way to push more product out the door. Kasanoff clearly explains why personalization is not just a marketing tool, but instead an effective approach for all business relationships. Partners, shareholders, employees, and customers can all benefit from increased personalization. The purpose of implementing one-to-one personalization strategies is to benefit these stakeholders, not just the company. This is a fundamental concept that too many businesses just don't understand.
When customers give out their personal information they are taking a risk. If customers consistently feel as though their privacy is being violated, then it won't be long before they stop using the services. Companies will not be able to regain their trust easily, and worse yet the information they do receive is more likely to be false. This is a lose-lose situation for everyone involved. Making It Personal shows businesses how to make personalization a win-win situation for everyone involved.
The reality is that not all personalization "is the result of a massive computer sifting through dozens of databases to automatically deliver a certain type of treatment to a person. Most initiatives start with employees who have a good idea." Personalization starts with remembering someone's address so they don't have to retype it 50 times. Personalization starts when you remember whether someone prefers a window or an aisle seat. Personalization starts when you remember whether someone prefers charts and graphs or cold hard numbers.
Kasanoff explains how just remembering basic information about stakeholders is just the beginning of personalization. The key is to then use that information to "deliver unique benefits" to those stakeholders. That's when personalization has the power to influence behaviors and retain loyalty. But just in case this isn't crystal clear then think of it this way: Using personal information for purposes other than delivering unique benefits is exactly what scares the hell out of both stakeholders and legislators. So knock it off.
Your customers are ready and willing to use personalization, but is your company? The good news is that you already have a lot of information about stakeholders that can be used for personalization. In additional, personalization features are now appearing in software applications from companies like Oracle and Microsoft. What is missing is the "need to make personalization a central part of [your] corporate strategy, as opposed to something that simply requires awareness and sensitivity." That's because personalization says "let us learn better what a customer needs and then do something about it."
Making It Personal explains how to implement meaningful personalization strategies, but the book also covers some potential unintended consequences. While you may be dealing with mountains of information don't forget that it's comprised of individuals. We have all seen the newspaper headlines that resulted from just a few individuals having their privacy violated by companies. Now is the time to put policies and practices in place to avoid tarnishing your reputation with stakeholders.
Bruce Kasanoff does a great job of breaking down personalization into easy to understand terminology and realistic approaches. He shows that it really is possible to balance privacy concerns with profit motives. Making It Personal is worth more than a casual glance because personalization isn't just about getting the local weather forecast when you visit your favorite web site. Personalization is about delivering unique benefits to stakeholders and a means to preserve their loyalty. Violate their privacy and you risk losing them to your competitors forever.
Making It Personal will help you to understand that "personalization is about people, and the things that matter to them most." Kasanoff knows what he's talking about, and so do the numerous business and technology leaders he cites throughout the book. They confront the real issues and the real challenges facing personalization even in its infancy. Making It Personal will prepare you and your company for a world where your customers demand that you get personal. Don't disappoint them.
You can purchase Making it Personal at Fatbrain. Want to see your own review here? Read the review guidelines first, then use Slashdot's webform.
I don't know whether that protocol died or not, maybe some one else who reads /. will know.
I think this boils down to the issue of whether a company is thinking long-term or short-term. If the former, the company will logically be led to the strategy from the book, because the idea will be to create a loyal customer relationship. A short-term get-rich-quick strategy will often lead to the misuse of personal information because it's a way to make a one-time buck. I think we already see this in much of the corporate world. Big serious companies who know we can take our business elsewhere (which doesn't include nice monopolists like Qwest) are far less fragrant violators of our privacy than fly-by-night immature 'net businesses, whose basic revenue model is often dependent upon that misuse.
Am I the only one who thinks it's creepy that salescritters would use this sort of personalization tactic (for lack of a better term) in order to increase sales? My personality type (INTP) does not allow me to form personal bonds easily, and this holds true in business and personal situations.
;-) )
If I have to deal with someone on the phone, whether it's to follow up on a sales call or to correct an error at the bank, I want it to be as impersonal and as efficient as possible. The more I feel like the salesdroid or CSR is trying to "get to know me", the more irritated and introverted I get, and the more likely I am not to continue using the services.
I have this weird feeling that a lot of sales/CSR tactics are designed with "older" people in mind; these are the types of people who most value and favour personal interaction with someone while performing some sort of transaction. I, on the other hand, being younger and more tech-savvy than many older folks, want things to be automated and efficient. (I go nuts when people in front of me at the store write checks, especially for smaller purchases. Have you heard of the ATM and debit cards yet, people?
Anyway, what I guess I'm trying to say is that I know quite a few people who would not find this technique effective on them at all, and I suppose I'm kinda shocked to see that it might be applied more universally if one were to follow the advice of this book.
Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
If one accepts the proposition that the best use of a computer is as a 'tool for the mind' or an extension of the brain, then it seems that optimal use of this technology is really just an updating of having the owner of the corner bookstore remember that you are, say, a Terry Pratchett fan and letting you know that a new book of his is out, or the local butcher letting you know they got a fresh slab of Mortadella ...
IMHO it does come down to trust. Once I trust your integrity, the rest is just details, if I don't trust your integrity then ANY information you have about me is too much.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts."
I very firmly beleive this.
I *want* sites to remember who I am and tailor their content to suit my needs and want, but for every company who goes under and sells a database to a data-mining company or a spamco, I grow a little more uncomfortable. I just don't feel comfortable giving information that personally identifies me and allows them to track me when I know that the only thing that stands between that information and the wolves is that given dot-com's bottom line.
Let's be honest here... Who expected any of the dot-coms to fail? Even VA-Linux is in chapter 11, aren't they? If they do go under, won't Slashdot's entire database full of opinions, email addresses, etc, be up for grab at the asset auction? I hope this never happens, but it's a possibility.
Until spamming is a thing of the past and data-mining is illegal or so uncommon that nobody does it any more, then personalization just won't work in a big way.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
If they do go under, won't Slashdot's entire database full of opinions, email addresses, etc, be up for grab at the asset auction?
But any company purchasing this information will be unable to use it to trade in most European countries.
eg. The UK data protection act says that personal data must be "lawfuly and fairly obtained"
To use personal details bought at an asset aution (therefore without the individuals consent) would be very illegal. They would not be allowed to use that information to trade in the UK /. previously about this
If memory serves, there have been articles on
Why don't US'ians get together and fight for a law like this?
Anyone quoted by a reporter knows how little they understand
Don't believe what you read is the truth.
Ideally, one of the pieces of info the salesdrone would get is "This guy doesn't make friends easy; just the facts". If that pops up on the computer screen the second you call, the person on the other end of the line can be fast and efficient in a way that, perhaps, others would consider rude and cold. Then you get what you want, they get what they want (long, slow, talkative, etc), and everyone is happy (except you while you wait on hold for them to finish).
Visit me on #weirdness on the Galaxynet.
"They aren't interested in you. They are interested in your money."
I'm not the original poster, but this does not shock me one bit. Of course they are interested in my money. British Airways isn't a social club, it's a business.
But to keep getting their money they have to keep their customers happy. Keeping customers as happy as possible is the duty of every successful business (though lots of them seem to forget that.) Enlightened self-interest is a very strong incentive to behave in ways that don't offend your source of income.