The Power of Me

Back in 2006, when Time magazine named “You” as Person of the Year, there were mixed emotions across the board. Some thought the choice was a short-sighted gimmick which ignored other newsmakers that year while Peter Sagal from Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! ventured that “if we truly controlled the media, we should have picked a much better choice for the Person of the Year issue.” ☺

This aside, the simple fact is that We (You) are making choices that surpass the infamy of Time’s cover, and in fact are changing the market dynamics of branding and retailing forever. Today’s consumer – you, me – is complex, demanding, connected and in control of how, when and where we want to interact with brands and retailers. Furthermore, not only am I in charge, I may exhibit different personas based on my shopping intent. I may be a “shopper of workout gear and accessories” in the morning, a “shopper of office supplies” later in the day and then a “darn, I forgot the birthday gift shopper” in the evening.

This split personality shopper is a conundrum for many retailers, who still manually execute merchandising strategies in a way that doesn’t embrace all my personas. The ability for brands and retailers to recognize my intent makes all the difference between a loyal customer and a bounced opportunity. This is achieved through the introduction of dynamic personalization strategies to the e-commerce environment.

We’ll be tying all these elements together in a panel session today at the Shop.org Merchandising Workshop here in lovely Southern California, where I’ll be joined by Nathan Decker, Sr. Manager of E-Commerce for evo.com and one of our personalization partners in crime (customer) Karen Kobus, Lead Functional Analyst with OfficeDepot.com. Both Nathan and Karen have unique perspectives on personalization as a mandate, strategy and customer retention strategy for their respective brands. We hope to have a lively dialogue with our attendees, which include merchandisers from major retailers throughout the U.S.

All of this thinking around personalization has been published in a brand new white paper from RichRelevance called the “Power of Me.” It explores the power of personalization in branding and retailing, and shares some great examples and best practices. Be sure to download a copy today.

So, me, myself and I are looking forward to sharing and hearing your perspectives on this closing day of the Shop.org event. If you want to get to know us, download the Power of Me. Really!