It’s all about the customer.Recommendations ● Engagement ● Personalization

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In the old daysEcommerce software empowered the store.

In the old days pretty much every store was about the store. It sold what it wanted to sell and it displayed it however it wanted to. The customer took what they could get. Everybody got the same experience good or bad.

May 1, 1937, New York. Grocery at 1028 Third Avenue and 61st Street with Salvatore Campanelli far right. John J. Campanelli Collection

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We sold software based on features and treated ecommerce like a physical store.

Modern e-commerce software until recently has been sold and marketed to replicate the store experience of old. Even when it aspires to create a more custom experience, it’s still a very anonymous one. This is a slide showing how Endeca used to be presented.

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In the new daysEcommerce software empowers the customer

The center of gravity for any ecomm site should be a personal dashboard – what I want, what I bought, what I looked at, who I am. It's where I design my lifestyle with regard to the store's product set. This works in apparel, automotive, gaming, food, you name it. It can work too with B2B pharmaceuticals, or health services, or electrical engineering components. 

But to get there the following needs to happen:

• First time visitor sees X• Returning (anonymous) sees Y• Logged in sees Z• One purchase sees A• Ongoing purchases see B

It's as simple as one and two:

1. If you (the customer) don't know me, and I (the store) don't know you, then I'll show you my best face

2. If we know each other then I'll treat you like a friend or colleague and I will:• Pay attention• Think ahead• Look out for you - find you the stuff you will like, get you a good deal, make sure you are

happy afterward

My Dashboard is the new black

First Visit ReturningAnonymous

Logged in

First Purchase

My Dashboard: Engagement

&Purchases

ONE TIME EXPERIENCE

First meet and first purchase only happen once. And as store owners we want it to happen as quickly as possible.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR AN ONGOING JOURNEY

ONGOING EXPERIENCE

We are friends now! I am going to:

• Pay attention• Think ahead• Look out for you

Give you insight

Example: AmazonNot quite there yet but moving in the right direction.

This is how Amazon inspires customers to move down the funnel for the first time.

THIS IS MY BEST FACEIf you (the customer) don't know me, and I (the store) don't know you, then I'll show you my best face

My best promotion.

Call to action: The thing I really want you to do - Sign in for the best experience.

Other cool stuff:• Movies• Wine• Clothes (BTW, this is a video

of the model walking on the runway wearing this dress).

AND… NOW WE ARE FRIENDSAnd I am:

• paying attention• thinking ahead• looking out for you - finding

you the stuff you will like, getting you a good deal, making sure you are happy afterward

• giving you insights?

DemoDashboards are already everywhere for everything.

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These are mostly examples of mobile interfaces because by necessity and function they are the furthest along in developing the dashboard metaphor. Daily Beast is an example of a dashboard for content. It shows where the consumer is with regard to what they have read and what not. And also shows insights about what they consume, which further reinforces or inspires course correction.

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So what's next?

The Customer Dashboard

The software is available to do this today.

It’s called Oracle Commerce 11.2 - Endeca & ATG.

All of this is leading to the notion of a customer dashboard. It can be done today. Who will do it first? Who will do it best?

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GenderAgeLocationAffinity

Here is why: each segment needs a message that resonatesBut first you need content

ProfessionMarital statusHobbies / interestsTravel frequency

First time visitorReturn visitorLogged in visitorFirst time customerReturning customer

Let’s back up though. In order to get to the dashboard we need to get the customer into a relationship. To do this we need to build a site that recognizes the customer no matter where they are in the funnel and feeds relevant content.

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HeadlinesBody CopyImagerySegment Analysis and Understanding

Copywriters, image makers, analystsAnd you are going to need talent.

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Categories they viewProducts they like / wish-list / purchaseContent they watchRelationships between the customers themselvesRelationships between customers and productsRelationships between the products themselves

Based on things like:But once you have them, customers will create their own experience

The goal of the initial relationship however is to get the customer into a relationship with themselves. The more you can offer this through a central dashboard, the stronger the connection to your brand and product set.

Dashboard Design?An art and a science ready to happen.

This is where it get’s good! We are just getting started on the visual language and user experience of customer dashboard design.

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May 1, 1937, New York. Grocery at 1028 Third Avenue and 61st Street with Salvatore Campanelli far right. John J. Campanelli Collection.

Photography: Ron Thompson + Matt Titone: Surfer Owen Wright

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Daily Beast mobile app

Nike Plus mobile app and nikeplus.com

Loseit.com

Tripadvisor mobile app

Uber mobile app

Amazon mobile app

Tobia Crivellari http://www.sketchappsources.com/free-source/1821-filson-ios-app-concept-sketch-freebie-resource.html

http://webdesign-freebies.tumblr.com/image/72662141394

http://www.teamrippetoerealty.com/

References