Open Up Shoppers So You Can Personalize

People love to put their personal imprint on their purchases. Researchers at Colorado State University found that consumers choose to personalize even if it means accepting design quality inferior to what professional designers would produce.
     For you, as a retailer, to personalize, you need to open up the shopper enough to gather information. Personalizing goes beyond customizing, in that it requires you to spiral in on the shopper’s characteristics. There’s a series of exchanges about preferences, availability, substitutability, and more. Personalizing the shopping experience is an important way brick-and-mortar stores can surpass internet commerce.
     Some past consumer behavior research concluded that shoppers in a marketing atmosphere filled with fears of privacy being violated still will volunteer information about themselves to a retailer if they see the retailer using this to personalize the shopping experience. More recent research at Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard University hints that the candor is less than what we’d thought. People may be ashamed to reveal to you certain sorts of information that would help you know the shopper better.
     The research also suggests ways to increase the shopper’s candor with you. Here’s my translation of the findings into a five-step process:

• Start by establishing rapport with the shopper. Ask questions which aren’t sensitive.
• Next, give a few examples of the sensitive information shoppers have shared with you in the past. Be sure to protect the identity of the past customers. You certainly don’t want to leave this shopper with the impression that you’ll tell their secrets to others. Instead, your objective is to increase comfort in sharing sensitive information with you because you’ve heard it all before.
• Ask an intrusive question in the form, “May I ask you….?” This is a yes-no, closed-ended question. Your question should aim to gather information you’ll find useful in suggesting a personalized solution to the shopper.
• If the shopper answers yes, be ready to remember what you’re told. If the shopper seems uncomfortable with your question, follow up with a somewhat less intrusive question and then say, “Here’s why I’d find your answer helpful in giving you the products and services which will best fit you.”
• When the transaction is complete, thank the shopper for helping you by giving you the sensitive information, and assure the customer you will protect their confidentiality. You’ve now formed a bond with the person, transforming them from a customer into a client.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Personalize the Shopping Experience 
Limit Design Support for Personalized Gifts