BY KAT MORGAN – DATA SCIENTIST
Personalization is more than including someone’s name in an email. It’s leveraging the data you have to create an experience that leaves the customer feeling like their interests and preferences are actually being taken into account.
A great example of personalization is Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix is an online retailer that lets women create a style profile that a stylist then uses to hand-select clothing and accessories. I recently got my first “fix” and it was one of the best customer experiences ever! Here are three lessons in personalization we can learn from Stitch Fix.
1. GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS
When you join Stitch Fix, you start by taking a quiz to create a style profile that your personal stylist uses to get to know you. The profile includes your measurements and preferred sizes and fits for clothes. You rate how much you like/don’t like certain clothing styles (e.g., preppy, edgy, romantic, etc.) and let them know if there are any items you want to avoid (no fur or critter prints please and thank you). The stylist then selects pieces customized to your spending preferences. Want to spend more than $500 for jeans? Go for it. Only have $50 to spend? That’s okay, too.
If you want to learn more about your customers, just ask. For example, you could send an email asking customers to provide their email preference in an online “user profile.” If you can’t ask, then use the data you have to make inferences. As another example, maybe you are interested in knowing which customers should receive a “deal of the day” email. An option could be to look at existing customer data to see how responsive they were historically to your “deal of the day” emails. If they never opened them, you might want to consider sending a “deal of the week” or monthly email instead.
2. SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS YOU ARE LISTENING
When you create your style profile, you have the option to leave a message for your stylist. I was curious if someone actually read those, so as a test I said I was looking for something to wear to my mom’s Air Force promotion. Much to my surprise I got a note back:
“I pulled a few items that are easy to travel with for work and would give you some good options for your mother’s Air Force promotion ceremony (how wonderful by the way!) –Sanya”
If your customers take the time to share information with you, let them know you’ve heard them. It’s super frustrating to feel like you’ve been ignored and could discourage future shopping behavior.
3. DON’T FORGET TO CLOSE THE LOOP AND INCORPORATE WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED
It can take time to really get to know your customers. Don’t let any insights you learn collect dust in some folder on your shared drive. Be sure to keep incorporating any learnings to help fine-tune the customer experience. Finally, don’t make customers provide the same information more than once.
At Stitch Fix, your “fix” is delivered right to your door and you keep what you love and send the rest back. You have the option to log into your account and leave feedback on what you liked/didn’t like about each of the items sent to you. There were a couple items I returned that weren’t quite right for me. I went online and left a detailed note to my stylist knowing the more feedback I give, the better she gets to know me, making my next fix even better!
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
BY KAT MORGAN – DATA SCIENTIST
Personalization is more than including someone’s name in an email. It’s leveraging the data you have to create an experience that leaves the customer feeling like their interests and preferences are actually being taken into account.
A great example of personalization is Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix is an online retailer that lets women create a style profile that a stylist then uses to hand-select clothing and accessories. I recently got my first “fix” and it was one of the best customer experiences ever! Here are three lessons in personalization we can learn from Stitch Fix.
1. GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS
When you join Stitch Fix, you start by taking a quiz to create a style profile that your personal stylist uses to get to know you. The profile includes your measurements and preferred sizes and fits for clothes. You rate how much you like/don’t like certain clothing styles (e.g., preppy, edgy, romantic, etc.) and let them know if there are any items you want to avoid (no fur or critter prints please and thank you). The stylist then selects pieces customized to your spending preferences. Want to spend more than $500 for jeans? Go for it. Only have $50 to spend? That’s okay, too.
If you want to learn more about your customers, just ask. For example, you could send an email asking customers to provide their email preference in an online “user profile.” If you can’t ask, then use the data you have to make inferences. As another example, maybe you are interested in knowing which customers should receive a “deal of the day” email. An option could be to look at existing customer data to see how responsive they were historically to your “deal of the day” emails. If they never opened them, you might want to consider sending a “deal of the week” or monthly email instead.
2. SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS YOU ARE LISTENING
When you create your style profile, you have the option to leave a message for your stylist. I was curious if someone actually read those, so as a test I said I was looking for something to wear to my mom’s Air Force promotion. Much to my surprise I got a note back:
If your customers take the time to share information with you, let them know you’ve heard them. It’s super frustrating to feel like you’ve been ignored and could discourage future shopping behavior.
3. DON’T FORGET TO CLOSE THE LOOP AND INCORPORATE WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED
It can take time to really get to know your customers. Don’t let any insights you learn collect dust in some folder on your shared drive. Be sure to keep incorporating any learnings to help fine-tune the customer experience. Finally, don’t make customers provide the same information more than once.
At Stitch Fix, your “fix” is delivered right to your door and you keep what you love and send the rest back. You have the option to log into your account and leave feedback on what you liked/didn’t like about each of the items sent to you. There were a couple items I returned that weren’t quite right for me. I went online and left a detailed note to my stylist knowing the more feedback I give, the better she gets to know me, making my next fix even better!
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