My 15 Minutes of Fame: Adobe Systems

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Consumers doubt the value of online personalisation: study

Personalisation is considered to be an extremely effective way of driving sales and conversions, with 94% of businesses stating that personalisation ‘is critical to current and future success.’

In fact data included in our Realities of Online Personalisation report shows that for two-thirds (66%) of client-side respondents, both improved business performance and customer experience are the main drivers for personalising the website experience.

However two new studies suggest that consumers aren’t blown away by personalised experiences online, or at least that’s their perception.

In a global consumer survey by Adobe 42% of respondents said they were ‘neutral’ about the value of personalised product and service recommendations online, which is as good as saying they either don’t care or aren’t aware of it.

A third of respondents (33%) said that they find personalisation somewhat or very valuable, while 26% claimed that it’s either not very or not at all valuable.

How valuable do you find it when a website makes personalised product and service recommendations to you?

But a separate study from Lyris suggests that consumers are quite receptive to certain elements of personalisation.

When asked which personalised features they preferred the most in the context of brand communications, 48% of respondents said they like to receive product recommendations based on their interests compared to 20% who gave a negative response.

Opinion was more closely split when it came to personalisation of webpages based on age and gender, with 37% saying they appreciate this kind of targeting compared to 31% who said they don’t.

The Lyris survey also asked about personalisation in regards to marketing messages, with 63% of respondents stating that they receive so many messages that use their name that it no longer makes any difference.

However a further 22% said they appreciate personalised offers as they are more likely to meet their needs than mass-market offers, while 20% said that they like getting messages that include details of their previous transactions or other personal details as it makes them feel that the company values their business.

Privacy

Much of the negative sentiment towards personalisation is driven by privacy concerns and a mistrust of business motives.

In the Adobe survey 84% of consumers agreed that there are too many technologies tracking and analysing their behaviour, while 68% said they find targeted advertising creepy.

Please rate each of the following statements based on whether you agree or disagree. (Agree)

(VIA)

Friday, June 14, 2013

Consumers believe traditional media trumps digital for ad effectiveness: study

In spite of ever-increasing digital ad budgets and declining newspaper revenues, people still think that traditional media outlets trump digital channels for advertising and credibility.

A new Adobe survey shows that global consumers still rely on family and friends (51%) and consumer forums (35%) if they want credible information on products and brands.

Traditional media, such as newspaper and TV, came in third with 28%, while company websites scored just 17% compared to 8% for blogs and just 3% for branded social media pages.

The fact that people trust recommendations from their peers above all else is to be expected as research has consistently shown the value of consumer reviews in ecommerce, however the disparity between traditional media and official company channels may come as a surprise.

The same trend is apparent looking the best source for marketing and advertising, with traditional media considered the most effective channel (47%), followed by family and friends (31%) and consumer forums (25%). Company websites scored just 18% while blogs came last with 8%.

What source is best for marketing and advertising?

TV is still king

Though digital media allows for more effective ad targeting it seems that consumers are still more impressed by the scattergun approach of TV advertising.

When asked which is the best advertising opportunity for companies to reach them 40% of consumers answered TV.

Coupon offers were deemed to be the second most effective channel (22%), reflecting the consumer hunger for freebies and discounts.

Digital channels such as social ads (5%), online video (4%) and mobile apps (1%) are thought to be far less effective in comparison.

What is the best advertising opportunity for companies to reach you?

It’s obviously important to point out that these results are based on consumer perceptions of ad effectiveness, so the truth may actually be quite different.

However it shows that digital advertising still has an image problem in the eye of the consumer.

This is reiterated by a question asking whether respondents agreed with the statement that online advertising is not effective. Almost a third (32%) of global consumers agreed with the sentiment, while half of respondents (49%) agreed that web banner ads don’t work.

Please rate each of the following statements based on whether you agree or disagree. Agree.