Lessons learned in personalisation - a member's call with Alex Net

Summary

Alex Net from Infinum Digital discusses the importance of personalization in digital projects, emphasizing the need for proper positioning, preconditions, and risk analysis. He shares 10 key takeaways from three years of experience, including the significance of frameworks, stakeholder readiness, and defining success metrics. Alex also highlights the importance of creating personalization scenarios and having a long-term strategy for continuous improvement.

Takeaways

• 😀 Positioning is key to understanding your possibilities with a customer and can be a barrier to personalization projects if not established correctly.
• 📈 Pre-conditions like clear personas and journeys, and a solid information architecture are crucial before embarking on personalization.
• 🛠️ Technical frameworks are important for a methodological approach to personalization rather than just relying on tools provided by vendors.
• 💡 Risk analysis is key to understanding the potential pitfalls and necessary support for a successful personalization project.
• 👥 Understanding stakeholders and their readiness for a complex project like personalization is essential.
• 🔧 The technical stack for personalization is becoming increasingly complex and requires careful assessment and orchestration.
• 📝 Creating scenarios and defining success metrics are vital for guiding the personalization project and measuring its effectiveness.
• 🔄 Personalization is a continuous loop of learning and experimentation; it requires constant iteration and improvement.
• 🔑 Context is important in personalization; it must help reduce friction and information overload in the customer journey.
• 🔗 Achieving goals is central to personalization; making it easier for customers to accomplish what they set out to do will strengthen their relationship with your brand.

Q & A

What is the role of Alex in the presentation?

Alex is leading Infinum Digital, a consultancy and implementation services provider based in Barcelona, and is presenting on the topic of personalization.

What are the main markets Infinum Digital works with?

Infinum Digital primarily works with the tourism and education sectors.

What does Alex consider important when starting a personalization project?

Alex emphasizes the importance of positioning, preconditions, using frameworks, risk analysis, understanding stakeholders, readiness of the team, technical stack considerations, creating scenarios, defining success, and having a midterm plan.

Why is positioning crucial in personalization projects?

Positioning is key because it can limit or expand the possibilities with a customer. It's important to be perceived as a personalization enabler by decision-makers.

What preconditions should be in place before embarking on personalization?

Preconditions such as clear user personas, journey maps, and a well-defined information architecture should be in place before starting personalization projects.

How does Alex suggest approaching personalization from a technical standpoint?

Alex advises not to focus solely on the technical aspect but to use frameworks and methodologies to guide the personalization process.

What is the significance of risk analysis in personalization projects?

Risk analysis is key to understanding the potential challenges and ensuring the project has the necessary support, control over the tech stack, and collaboration from different providers.

Why is it important to know your stakeholders before starting a personalization project?

Knowing your stakeholders helps understand their position and commitment to the project, which is crucial for success, especially considering the potential overwhelm and time constraints they might have.

What does Alex mean by personalization scenarios?

Personalization scenarios are models created to demonstrate how personalization can work for specific targets or personas, involving defining hypotheses, personalization signals, and triggers.

How does Alex recommend defining success in a personalization project?

Alex suggests defining success by setting clear objectives and KPAs with the customer, which helps guide the team and ensures a shared understanding of the project goals.

What is the advice Alex gives regarding the timeline for personalization projects?

Alex advises working in an agile mode, iterating quickly, and allowing enough time to assess the effectiveness of personalization attempts before deciding on the next steps.

How does Alex address the issue of personalization going wrong?

Alex stresses the importance of setting clear objectives, educating the customer about the experimental nature of personalization, and iterating to improve based on feedback and results.