Strategic Planning

Effective strategic planning includes a better understanding of social media, creating an online
presence and responding to potential customer issues in an efficient manner. Separating your company
from the others is the key to creating new business. You can present business plans with the interests
and personality of the individual buyer in mind. This increases the chance of the customer returning.
Knowing the interests and habits of the people who prefer your product makes you more aware of their
preferences. To further plan your strategy, certain questions should be answered. What are the ultimate
goals? Is it repeat business or increased trust? What is the message you want to send about your
business? What technical resources do you have available to help the customer? Do you have the
resources to implement the strategic solution? Is this a short term or a long term project?

The next step is to decide how to personalize the plan through a customized approach. There are basic approaches to web-based personalization using traditional retail marketing strategies. The two main categories are rules-based filtering and collaborative filtering. Rules-based personalization generates a profile of each customer, and stores it in a database used to identify patterns of behavior. The patterns are interpreted as typical results, which are used to predict future trends. One of the more common strategies you see today is the use of click streams, which track the path that people take through a Web site. Companies track the number of times viewers click on advertising banners, which gives them an idea how to customize advertising campaigns to their viewers and preferences.

Another strategy growing in popularity is the use of if/then scenarios, where the retailers
attempt to direct the movements of users by what they’ve done in the past. Collaborative Filtering is the process by which e-retailers track customers preferences and look for patterns similar to other
customers. Planning is important with function and personalization on the Web to avoid wasting a retail
customer’s time with poor features. Set up your personalization tools with the mindset of a typical
salesperson and use your sales approach when creating the program. These steps will help your
business with strategic planning.