Context is king: personalization is the key to customer loyalty
Egon Wilcsek
The buying experience has become a central element of the sales process. After all, it is no longer just rational aspects such as price and quality, but also emotions that bind customers to a company in the long term. A tailored approach to the situation, as enabled by a modern PIM system (Product Information Management System) due to contextualized content, improves the product experience and enables more sales in the end.
B2B buying decisions online: more heart, more connection
68% of B2B buyers today conduct self-directed research online before making a purchase decision. Additionally, they want to be able to access relevant information across all communication channels ¹. In the B2B sector, customers are no longer guided solely by rational criteria. They prefer to buy from companies that share their own values and evoke emotions. A personalized shopping experience across all digital touchpoints is therefore not only desirable, but necessary. However, very few customers really feel that the online experience is individual enough¹.
A digital world of experience: more than just a click in the online store
Because the buying experience plays a decisive role in the B2B environment, a reliable, central data source is needed as a basis. Here, it is important to maintain comprehensive, quality-assured, and consistent product content and to provide it in a channel-optimized manner at all touchpoints. A modern PIM system as a single source of truth provides the basis for breaking down data silos and eliminating Excel chaos. In order to offer an individualized product experience in the second step, a feedback loop from the analysis on channel and product performance, customer behavior and their recommendations is required. This allows product content to be prepared and offered appropriately for different situational contexts. PIM then becomes Product Experience Management (PXM). The aim here is to intelligently evaluate and combine data from different front-end systems and use it to create product content. AI solutions such as Cara (Contentserv Artificial Recommendation Agent) manage interfaces to other AI applications for this purpose- for example, for the automatic production of product descriptions and information, translation into different languages and the mapping of product data. In addition, the AI serves as an assistant for recommending text modules, images, and combinations - all with the goal of creating a "Total Customer Experience".
Context is king: tailored content
However, contextualization is not just about offering products or services, but presenting them in a way that best fits the consumer's individual context. By linking product and customer data in a meaningful way, companies can address the specific needs, interests, and emotions of each customer: For example, a sporting goods manufacturer may recommend a running shoe to a fashion-savvy customer (B2C end customer or B2B retail partner) based on its design, while emphasizing technical performance for a more performance-oriented impression. Contextualization encompasses the entire presentation of a product - from the name or headline to the descriptive formulation from appropriate text modules and the addition of specific images and videos.
PIM system as the basis for contextualization
Successful contextualization stands and falls with product maintenance in the PIM system. Even when a product is entered there, companies should take into account specific attributes of the target group, such as "beginner" or "competitive athlete". The responsible department creates specific product texts, images, and marketing materials based on the respective attributes.
For an even more precise customer approach, companies can incorporate the evaluation of user behavior in the store into the product presentation: Here, companies track and analyze the surfing and clicking behavior of their users on the website. Based on the browsing behavior, they can present targeted content that they have created specifically for the identified target group segment. The collected data should in turn flow back into the system to continuously optimize the offering. Retailers and brand manufacturers can therefore also react flexibly and quickly to trends or customer requirements and create a highly personalized customer experience.
Through customized contextualization and specific targeting, companies not only optimize the sales process, but also create an emotional connection to the customer with exceptional product experiences.
Conclusion: PXM as a plus for the customer experience
It is worthwhile for companies to generate variable content that addresses different target groups and personas individually. However, providing this content efficiently for the appropriate target group is a complex task. Modern PIM systems are the key to the solution. With its Product Experience Cloud, Contentserv is a leading technology provider in the PXM sector and supports brand manufacturers and retailers in playing out high-quality contextualized content in a targeted manner and constantly optimizing it. The result: a personalized product experience, stronger customer loyalty, and ultimately more sales.
¹ Source: https://t1p.de/source-forrester (2018)
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