These e-commerce brands have moved far beyond the one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, they’re all about delivering personal and emotional value to their audience, tailoring their services to match with their interests and needs. This e-commerce mindset isn't limited to just these brands; it can open doors for brands in diverse industries, as shown by our partnership with ADE. Through this, we’ve helped ADE toward long-term growth and digital transformation. Stay with us to grasp the importance of having your own platform and why it's vital for your brand.

Platforms will play a more significant role
In today’s landscape, consumers increasingly crave personalized experiences. On the other hand, due to the new privacy measures in place, first-party data (= owned data) will become even more vital. Meaning brands need to step up their game and adapt.

Forget about relying on other platforms for your user data; soon, you won’t have access to it anymore. Your own platform should become the go-to place for this. It’s the key to truly understanding your visitors, how they behave across your channels, and how to engage with them effectively.

Often we still see clients struggling with this. Laurien: “For many companies, data collection is still rooted in traditional data collection methods, missing out on a comprehensive view of their customers’ behavior across all channels. As a result, they can’t cater to their needs effectively. Getting this right is the first essential step to succeeding in digital transformation."

Unlocking opportunities with a personalized platform
One way to do this is by starting a “My Account” (in Dutch ‘Mijn Omgeving’). This personalized digital private environment on a website, app, or platform allows users to log in and access features, services, and info relevant to them. Environments like these offer brands far more than just practicality; they open doors to endless opportunities, making them a smart investment for the future. Just like we’ve seen with ADE - they were able to gain tons of valuable insights, offer personalized experiences and boost their brand and revenue. Curious about the details? Let’s dive in.

The “My Account” helps you grasp your visitors’ behavior based on their actions. When a user creates an account, it grants permission to gather valuable information and understand them better. What do they click on? What are they interested in? For instance, if someone keeps visiting a techno artist's page or saves it as their favorite, they are probably into that genre.

The goal is to really get to know your users. Laurien: "Take Airbnb, for example. They’ve nailed it with their step-by-step onboarding - a simple way to learn about someone's interests, age, and more. Armed with this information, you can serve up personalized content and offer better assistance. At ADE, we pioneered personalized artist and program recommendations based on user preferences, similar to Airbnb's approach."

The data you collect provides valuable insights into who someone is and what they want to see. This allows you to fine-tune your communication accordingly, enabling smarter personalization based on their input and providing deeper engagement for your target audience(s).

Laurien: "The personalized digital environment we set up for ADE, made it possible to push unique content and experiences to all its different audiences - 400,000 visitors across 146 countries. Here, we offer exclusive ADE livestreams, a social network environment for the industry professionals, personalized agendas, and artist and program recommendations.

This positions ADE as the platform that bridges the gap between supply and demand within the global music scene and initiates conversations. By this, we have transformed ADE from being solely an annual festival into something greater: a year-round music platform that unites the global music community, ensuring continuous value beyond the annual event. The outcome? Notable growth, including a 12% increase in transactions and +2.3 million website visitors, all in the year 2020."

Having a My Account isn’t just about providing functional and personalized services to your customers; it’s also a ticket to exploring new revenue streams and driving sales. Beyond the basic functionalities, such as tracking ticket history and managing newsletter preferences, the potential lies in creative ways to deliver extra value to your target audience.

"Rather than sticking solely to your old core business, you now have the opportunity to brainstorm new ideas to upsell. Transitioning towards a subscription-based service, for instance, like we did for ADE. We started with a free account option for industry professionals, leaving the door open for a potential premium account down the line.

The key here is to identify specific audience segments for which you can develop unique features that can generate revenue. This might remind you of LinkedIn: started as an open community platform to cast a wide net, they later introduced paid services for various professional niches, such as LinkedIn for recruiters and LinkedIn for sales."

"The possibility to build a loyal online community is another big plus of platforms like these. You can connect directly with your customers and facilitate connections among them, fostering year-round value and engagement without much brand effort. This is a valuable asset for ADE, as it aims for year-round connections beyond the annual festival.

In ADE’s digital environment for delegates, users can connect and chat with each other before or after the conference. They also have a personal feed to share inspiration and knowledge."

Altogether, adopting an e-commerce mindset is not just an option anymore; it has now become a necessity. Time to start your own data-driven platform– the bridge to many opportunities for flourishing in the digital age. So, ready to let your brand rise?