Re: ONLINE ADS>> Is personalization really personal?

From: Leo Sheiner <leo_at_netcomuk.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 11:26:14 -0500 (CDT)

TIM LEE WROTE:
>Let me use Amazon.com's book recommendation system -- a well
>known example of personalization -- to answer this question.
>Basically this famous recommendation system works in this
>way: when you bought a book, it tells you what other books
>the other people, who bought the same book as you just
>bought, have also bought. People call this system as
>personalization.
>
>Is this system really personal?
>
>The fundamental assumption behind one to one marketing and
>personalization is: every customer is different. Therefore,
>you should treat them differently. Or in other words,
>personally.

Well Tim, this is some sort of progress. This has to be one
of your favourite topics and I follow your endless stream of
messages on the topic in many lists. I have finally caught
up on reading all my back copies of discussion lists (I was
knee deep in getting our new product launch ready). So, I
can take the time to try once again to explain this to you.

We have exchanged messages on this topic before. You have
never understood one to one marketing because you insisted
on treating it as a targeting mechanism and looking at it
from the vantage of conventional and outdated statistical
marketing models. Now you have finally made the leap that
one to one marketing is about the users experience when
interacting with the seller. Well great. But you still do
not believe it. Why do you think Amazon (whom you mention as
your example) has fought off the big latecomer Barnes and
Noble?

It is because of one to one marketing. You make light of the
fact that in buying a book on Amazon, they segment you by
assuming that you will buy the same books as others who have
bought the one you have. That you opine isn't personal,
therefore not one to one. But you miss the point. Amazon
are NOT assuming that you will buy the same books. They are
not advertising. They are providing a useful service. I am a
buyer of books on Amazon and I love the fact that I can with
one click buy all the books I have chosen because they
already have all my details on file. That is one service.
But, say I m looking for a book on Internet marketing and I
come across a book on the subject of one to one marketing.
It is great that I can see opinions expressed by others who
have read it. That helps me decide whether or not it is for
me. And if I can see what other books on the same topic
were purchased by the same people, that offers me a further
perspective. I love that, and I usually end up buying a
selection of 3/4 books which I know have the approval of
others who were deeply interested in that particular
subject.

Now you can call it segmentation or personal. That is only
words. I call it successful. It is a useful service that
makes me feel very comfortable about visiting Amazon when I
am looking to buy a book. That strategy also encourages me
to buy more books but I do not feel pressured, nor do I
feel I have been pigeonholed by my actions. On the contrary,
I am grateful to Amazon to help me find those other books.

Service is a key strategy for building community. Service is
about anticipating what my needs might be, and that is what
the web is all about. Pretty simple really, it doesn't take
any statistical model to figure it all out either.

Leo Sheiner
leo_at_netcomuk.co.uk

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Received on Thu Jul 22 1999 - 12:00:43 CDT