In this article you will find:

Visitor Targets Overview

Show your visitors the most relevant product and promotions based on channel, location, or marketing campaign.

Merchandisers use Visitor Targets to bucket visitors by demographic information, such as gender or user type.  For example, a search for jackets can display women’s jackets to female shoppers and men’s jackets to male shoppers. These rules are managed through the Hawksearch Workbench and can be based on any combination of parameters to identify visitors.

Once a Visitor Target is created, it can be used as a trigger through the Workbench. The display of any content item such as promotional banners and featured products through Campaigns is one example.  A Visitor Target can also be used to trigger boost and bury rules as well as landing pages.

Visitor Targets can be defined by:

• Source (email campaign, paid search, social media, etc.)
• Browser
• State
• Country
• Time of Day
• User
• Custom value (user-defined values, such as gender or email campaign) 

Feature Benefits

• Increased conversions as a result of targeted merchandising
• Tailored customer experience
• Hyper-relevant product placement
• And more

Examples

To help clients utilize this feature, our Hawksearch Team provides examples used by other clients.

The Geolocation Target

Summary: Using location to feature appropriate products

Targets: Customers in one geographic area

Details: When shoppers view the online store, they will see items tailored to their geographic needs.

In this example, when a shopper that is in the Midwest views the site, snow shovels could be featured in the winter months; goggles and swim towels could be featured during February and March when spring break trips are taking place. At the same time, a user that is California could be seeing lightweight jackets in the winter and snow goggles at spring break time.

The Weather Campaign

Summary:  Boost items that relate to weather-location combination

Target:  Visitors in a particular geographic area

Details: Build a custom merchandising experience for geographic areas experiencing a particular weather pattern

For example, a site that features recipes to its visitors might want to boost soup recipes to those in the Northeastern states when a snow storm is moving in.  At the same time, the same site could boost grilling recipes to the Southwestern states, who might be experiencing pleasant, warm weather.

Combing this sample target with a gender target, the same site could boost steak-grilling recipes to male visitors in the Southwestern states while boosting chicken-grilling recipes to female visitors.

The Gender Target

Summary: Use shopper’s gender to promote items of interest

Target: Male visitors

Details: Visitors see different items at top when visiting site.

If online store is a beauty/health retailer, when male visitors could see an ad for men’s shaving products where in the same place, a female visitor could see a new eye makeup product.

In this example, the e-commerce system would have to supply that someone is male or female.  Other attributes about the current site user could be used to create other Visitor Targets.

The Email Campaign

Summary: Customers who have received an email or a catalog that prompts them to visit online store

Target: Customers who have received a specific email or catalog

Details: Customer receives an email campaign or catalog featuring a specific product category.  When the customer clicks on the email or enters the catalog code on retailer’s website, the experience will feature the campaign that brought them to the site.

In this example, a landing page could be triggered that features the newest children’s apparel with a banner advertising a new line of shoes that is available.  In any searches that are performed while the customer is on the site, all items in the children’s category could be boosted to the top of the search results.

In the list of visitor targets, this target should be above any rules that do not stop processing after being fired.  This will ensure that the content is specific to the intended target and not influenced by other visitor targets in place.

The Social Media Visitor

Summary:  Merchandisers can capture the attention of visitors linking from a social media site

Target:  Visitors coming from a social media site

Details: Visitors see a promotion that causes them to stay and shop.

For example, a visitor that has arrived to the online store from a link on Facebook, could see a promotion that says “Facebook Visitors Receive 20% Off Purchase.”  This would give them a reason to stay and shop.  Visitor Targets from social media could be created individually, as shown below, or lumped together as a single Visitor Target coming from a list of URLs.

The Preferred Store Campaign

Summary: Using customer’s preferred store location to display store notices

Target: Customers who have a store location in their profile, or have selected their preferred store.

Details: When shoppers visit online store, they will see information pertaining to their local store.

The store id can be collected by a user login with a store assigned to the user profile or by having the user make a selection based on a store locator at the start of the session.

This can be utilized to display store information to the customers.  Shoppers without a store id associated with them could see a banner advertising a free-shipping promotion.

The Timely Campaign

Summary: Merchandiser can quickly react to a fleeting event

Target: Customers in affected area

Details: Shoppers see messages relevant to them and their location.

If a condition (like weather) are impacting a retailer’s delivery times, a message can be posted to customers visiting the website that are in the affected areas.  For example, if a tropical storm has impacted (or has the potential to impact) shipping to the southeastern states, a Visitor Target could be used to display a notice in the online store before visitors from that region place an order.

The Time of Day Campaign

Summary:  Products can be featured that relate to a time of day

Target:  Customers visiting at a specific time of day

Details: Shoppers see products, messages, promotions, etc that are relevant to the time of day the site is being viewed.

A Visitor Target for customers that are shopping between 4am and 7am, could display an advertisement for a sale on workout apparel.  In addition, workout apparel could be boosted to the top of the search results for that Target.  Customers in a Visitor Target for visits between 11am and 1pm, Monday to Friday, hour could see a promotion for free shipping that ends at 1 pm to incite a quick purchase.

The Search Engine Referral 

Summary:  Target Visitors linking from a Search Engine

Target:  Visitors coming from a search engine

Details: Visitors see products that cause them to stay and shop.

A Visitor Target can be created to identify visitors from a specific search engine. When a visitor has been identified as such, he/she could be shown a banner of best-selling sale items to spark their interest and keep them shopping on the site. 

Visitor Targets can also be combined when setting up merchandising efforts.  For example, a collection of products could be promoted to visitors from Google that live in a particular metropolitan area and that are visiting in the early-morning hours.  Each of those three Visitor Targets can be set up individually and then combined to create a custom experience for a set of visitors.

The Preferred Customer Catalog

Summary:  A group of users that can see different products

Target:  Customers that are logged into the site and are in a preferred customer group

Details: Preferred customers see different products than a public visitor.

A Visitor Target can be created to identify visitors that are logged in and belong to a particular group of customers.  For example, a plumbing supplier’s site can be used to sell to both builders/installers and the public.  The builders/installers log in to see the products that are flagged as wholesale items and have wholesale prices.  A public visitor would not see the wholesale items, but would see items sold at retail prices.

The Foreign Shipping Campaign

Summary:  Holiday shoppers see holiday promotions

Target:  Visitors that are not in a particular region

Details: Messages can be displayed to visitors that qualify for  international shipping.

If a retailer only ships within the United States, shoppers that are not in the U.S. could see a message displayed about shipping.  It could inform them that a U.S. shipping address is required (before they start shopping).

The Importing Campaign

Summary:  Products that cannot be sold in certain countries

Target:  Visitors in a particular country

Details: Shoppers only see products that are available to be sold in their country.

A country’s laws may prohibit a company from importing certain types of products.  In this case, those products can be hidden from a shopper’s view by using a Visitor Target.  The shoppers will simply not see these products and not be able to add them to their cart.  After the Visitor Target is created, a Visibility Rule would use the Target to hide the identified products.

The International Culture Campaign

Summary:  Boosting products that are driven by a country’s culture

Target:  Visitors in a particular country

Details: Products are boosted according to data about the culture and demand of a country’s shoppers.

A country’s culture or popular products can drive what products get boosted to a shopper.  For example, a sporting goods retailer finds that shoppers from Canada consistently purchase products from the hockey category after searching.  After creating a target for shoppers in Canada, a Boost Rule could use that target to boost any products that are within the hockey category. 

The Warehouse Campaign

Summary:  Protecting shipping costs by only displaying products in nearest warehouse

Target:  Visitors in a designated warehouse delivery radius

Details: Products are hidden if not in stock at shopper’s designated warehouse.

When online stores offer a flat-rate shipping price to their customers, they may want to keep their internal shipping costs as low as possible.  Using a Visitor Target, a shopper’s location can be used to limit the products seen to only the products that are in the warehouse closest to the shopper.

The Distributer Contract Campaign

Summary:  Restrict within which states certain products can be sold

Target:  Visitors not in certain states

Details: Products are hidden if shopper is not in certain states.

If an online retailer has an agreement with a company to sell their products, the agreement will have restrictions.  For example, an online retailer has contracted with Acme Company to sell their products can only sell them in six particular states.  Using a Visitor Target can identify shoppers in those states.  A Visibility Rule can use the Target to only show the Acme products to shoppers in those states.

The Flash Sale Campaign 

Summary:  Offer a 5-hour Flash Sale

Target:  Visitors to a site between certain hours

Details: Sale items boosted during hours of flash sale.

A Visitor Target can be created by using the time of day that the shopper is on the site.  This could be used to advertise a flash sale.  As an example, a photo printing retailer might have a flash sale where all canvas prints are 50% off for 5 hours.  When a shopper visits during those 5 hours, all canvas prints could be boosted using a Visitor Target.  The Target can also be used to display a banner informing the shopper of the flash sale and link them to a landing page with details about the sale.

The Job Title Campaign

Summary:  Advertise according to customer’s job title

Target:  Shoppers with a profile/account that has a specific job title as part of it

Details: Shopper is shown products of interest to them.

An office supply online retailer can use this to help their shoppers find what they need quicker.  For example, a teacher logs in to purchase items for her classroom and she has a job title or industry category in her profile.  If the online store knows that she is in the education field, that information can be used to display a banner that says “Great Organizing Ideas for the Classroom.” That banner could link to a landing page with content listings of organization ideas and/or a product list of organization tools.  In addition, certain categories of items, such as pencils sold in bulk, could be boosted when the user sees a product listing or search results.

The Employee Vs. Customer Catalog Campaign

Summary:  Employees can see different products

Target:  Employees that use the same site in-store as shoppers use at home

Details: Employees see more products and can process purchases than customers.

If a retailer has an online store and a brick-and-mortar store, the same site can be used because employees can be set up to see more products than shoppers visiting the website.  For example, a home décor retailer has some products that are only sold in stores.  These products would not appear on the public website for shoppers.  If a customer is in a store, but the store is out of one of these in-store-only products, the employees can order it through the website for the customer and have it shipped to their home free-of-charge.  When the employee logs into the website, products that are hidden to the public would appear, using a Visitor Target set up for store employees.

The Rewards Member Campaign

Summary:  Rewards members get special deals

Target:  Customers that are part of the retailer’s rewards program

Details: Free shipping code offered to reward members.

When a user is logged into a retailer and they are members of the retailer’s rewards, a Visitor Target could be used to display a banner to the customers that might say something like “All Rewards Members get FREE SHIPPING!  Use code SHIPM123 at check out”.

The Wish List Campaign

Summary:  Promote the building of a wish list to shoppers

Target:  Shoppers in various stages of their wish list creation

Details: Shoppers are prompted to take action with a wish list.

For an online retailer that utilizes a wish list for its customers, Visitor Targets can be used to display banners or messages that will prompt customers to create, grow or share their wish list. 

For example, a target could be created for shoppers that have zero items on their wish list. That target could be used to display a banner about creating a wish list.  When the banner is clicked, users are taken to a directional page to learn how to create a wish list and the benefits of it.  If a customer has a wish list with a few items on it, a banner could be displayed to remind them to add more items.  If a customer has a large wish list (above a specified number), a banner could be displayed encouraging them to share their wish list with their spouse, parents, children, etc. Clicking the banner could take them to a directional page to explain how to do it.

The Returning Customer Campaign

Summary:  Returning customers are rewarded

Target:  Customers that log in after being gone for a certain period

Details: Returning customer are welcomed back with a promotion.

When a customer logs into their account after not logging in for a certain period of time, a Visitor Target could be used to display a welcome back message and maybe a promo code for 20% off to thank them.

The Bargain Hunter Campaign

Summary:  Promotional ad click to site boosts sale items

Target:  Shoppers that arrive at site through a promotional ad

Details: Sales items are boosted to encourage purchase by bargain hunter.

When a shopper clicks a promotional ad that takes them to the online store, they can be identified by a Visitor Target.  That Target can be used to boost products that are on sale when they view product listing or search results.

The Gold Member Campaign

Summary:  Qualifying members can see items with additional discounts

Target:  Customers of a certain membership level

Details: Facets are only displayed to members who qualify.

For an online retailer that has a paid membership base, those members might get an additional discount on some items or maybe free shipping on some items.  It is a nice feature to have a facet so that members can filter their search results to only display items that have the additional discount.  For example, a Visitor Target can be created for shoppers who are logged in and are Gold Members.  This Target can be used to display the “Gold Discount” filter only when a user is a Gold Member.  When selected, the search results would be filtered to only display the items that have an additional discount for Gold Members.

The Point Redemption Campaign

Summary:  Loyalty points can drive a filter to display or not

Target:  Customers with loyalty points

Details: Customers with loyalty points can filter results in different ways.

When loyalty points are used to make purchases, a customer may want to filter the search results to see only items that can be purchased with their points. 

For example, a hotel company has customers that accumulate loyalty points for staying at the company’s hotels.  When a customer, who is a member of the loyalty program, searches for a hotel in Chicago, IL, they could see a facet on the left side of the website that allows them to filter their results to only show hotels that are able to be reserved using points.  To do this, a Visitor Target would be created that would identify these customers.

The Language Campaign

Summary:  Using Language Visitor Target to display content for multilanguage site through a single engine

Target:  Customers who search in other languages

Details: Content is displayed to customers based on the language they searched in.  

Let's say you are running a multilingual site where English, Spanish and French are offered through a single Hawksearch engine. Using Language visitor target option allows you to create a separate visitor target for each of the languages you offer on your site. These visitor targets can be then used as a trigger to display content in different languages to corresponding audience.