Personalized URLs is a popular ingredient in direct marketing mixes. The popularity is spawned by various benefits the medium offers marketers, primarily higher response rates. The list of benefits continues to grow as personalized URLs become more personalized and more robust, eventually evolving into a new breed of communication portals.

Simply attaching a name to the end of the URL and displaying minimal variable content is no longer sufficient. The true power of a personalized URL comes from creating a deep level of personal communication tailored to the customer’s needs. How well you understand and know your customers will determine how high the response and conversion rates will be.

The new breed of personalized URLs is far beyond displaying a name and images that “might” appeal to the customer. The following features will become more and more prominent in the new breed of personalized URLs…

Real Time Dynamic Content Generation:
Based on the customers interaction with the site, it can automatically generate more personalized content on the fly. For example, if you were on a clothing retail site and have clicked on links relevant to jeans and tops, the site will automatically display content on the trendiest uniforms (paring jeans and tops) when you return to the home page.

Geotagging:
Landing sites can display content based on geographic data. Franchises and chain stores can automatically recommend the “nearest location” without the customer having to search for it.

Viral/Referral Mechanisms:
More and more landing sites are equipped with “email a friend” or “share” functions to encourage viral behaviors. Customers may be asked to email a friend a coupon for other incentives in return. Once the site captures the new data on the friend, it will automatically generate a personalized URL and publish it on the coupon being sent to the friend.

Trigger-Based Collateral:
As a customer interacts with the landing site, web and print collateral may be automatically generated. For example, if a customer had viewed the page for a particular pet food for a pre-specified period of time, it will trigger a coupon for a free sample to be generated and email (or mailed) to the customer.

Variable Audio Content:
The music or pre-recorded audio tracks played on the site will vary depending on who is visiting the site. A music site will be playing a specific genre of music relevant to the customer’s taste. This is can be determined by aggregating data on the customer’s purchase history.

Smart Recommendation Features:
Based on past purchases and interest, the site will recommend relevant products. A good example would be the “those who purchased this also purchased…” feature on Amazon.com.

Analytics/Response Tracking
Landing sites are able to track and capture actions taken by the customer. Having an internal analytics tool (not external tools like google analytics) enables marketers to set rule-based triggers to further engage customers. Any customer who views a particular section on the site for over a two minutes will trigger the site to email them additional information or a follow up.

-Willv