Why Digital Targeting Is Important?
We all remember the times when internet was only synonymous to terms like email and chat. E-commerce and communication have been the greatest by products from the evolution of the internet in the past decade. Concepts like Digital Marketing and Customer segmentation were only theoretical in the late 1990s and e-commerce websites were the natural option for such concepts to get implemented and evolved. For a long time internet advertising/marketing model was focused around showing random ads to disinterested audience and it made money based on the sheer hope that the user would somehow click on the advertisement.
With the influx of internet users over the years, Digital Marketing progressed towards an intelligent model which uses customer attributes like behavior, demographics and browsing history to paint a customized experience for the customer. A typical example of this use case is a potential customer searching for a keyword like “High Speed Internet” on google and when this customers go to any webpage they would see advertisements related to High Speed Internet; clicking on this advertisement would take them to a targeted shopping experience. Another use case is that of existing customers who log in using their credentials and are presented with a customized experience based on what they purchased or the service they currently have.
E-commerce giants like Amazon created their own digital marketing solutions which were designed to fit their product catalogue and the range of services they offer. This gave them an early edge over their competition and helped them convert Clicks into Sales. While the amazons and the googles were busy with their custom designs, startups like Bluestar Technology Solutions were working towards standardizing and streamlining the Digital Targeting implementation model. They defined and standardized three major components to deliver a comprehensive Digital Targeting solution
- 1. WHO – Potential Customer
- 2. WHAT – Content to be displayed
- 3. Rules – WHO should see WHAT
The first and the most important component– ‘WHO’ defines the digital persona of the customer we intend to target. In layman terms, it is the process of grouping potential customers based on customer browsing history / demographics / existing services / previous purchases. Bluestar Technology Solutions specializes in building this component using billing data, cookie information for clients who want to stay away from huge infrastructure investments for Digital Targeting.
The second component is the content – ‘WHAT’ can be maintained in the existing Content Management Systems being used by the clients. Bluestar provides services to integrate in house CMS with the WHO. They have implemented similar solutions for various clients with different Content Management Systems; Site core and Documentum to name a few.
Last but not the least are the ‘RULES’ – WHO should see WHAT. Clients have specific requirements to build these rules based on what products they offer and the operational flexibility they want. Bluestar has successfully designed and integrated various versions of the rules engine (from simple to complex) at various client locations. Non-technical users prefer this component to be a simple interface for the more complex underlying components. Bluestar has implemented Samples of these rules engines that are available upon request.
The retail business has revolutionized in the past decade and the modern day shopping experience is going digital. The modern buyer is impatient and busier than ever. It is critical for websites to know their customers and offer them a customized experience and that is the best business strategy of all times.
