Using Customer Segments to Target High-Value Markets


	BEA Home \| Events \| Solutions \| Partners \| Products \| Services \| Download \| Developer Center \| WebSUPPORT
	http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/index.html \| Search \| PDF Files \| Contact \| Glossary

WLCS Documentation \| E-Business Control Center \| Previous Topic \| Next Topic \| Contents \| Index

This topic contains basic information about customer segments as they are used in the BEA E-Business Control Center. This information includes a conceptual description of a customer segment, an explanation about how you might want to use customer segments, and step-by-step instructions for creating a new customer segment or modifying existing customer segments within the E-Business Control Center.

This topic includes the following sections:

What Is a Customer Segment?

To understand what a customer segment is, you must first learn about customer profiles. Therefore, this section contains the following subsections:

What Is a Customer Profile?

A customer profile is a collection of information that is gathered, saved, and updated as customers visit your Web site, or from other offline sources. Customer profiles are unique to each customer and can contain a variety of information, from product preferences to the demographic data customers provide on form pages. The information stored in customer profiles is increasingly seen as the true lifeblood of e-business. Effectively managing, analyzing, and using customer intelligence gives you a significant advantage over your competitors, because you can target your highest-value markets with your highest-value services, and do it cost-effectively.

Because the E-Business Control Center works with the BEA WebLogic Personalization Server and the BEA WebLogic Commerce Server, the E-Business Control Center already supports some customer profile information out-of-the-box. However, the system is extremely flexible about the customer data it can store, and thus can easily be extended. If you believe that extending the E-Business Control Center would be helpful to your organization, you will initially need to collaborate with a Commerce Business Engineer (CBE) or other technical resource who can make modifications to the tool. If possible, you should initiate this process before starting to use the E-Business Control Center.

Note: For technical information about how a Web site gathers customer profile information, see "Creating and Managing Users and Groups" in the Building Personalized Applications documentation at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13210_01/wlcs/docs35/p13ndev/users.htm.

Creating Customer Segments from Information Stored in Customer Profiles

The customer profile information you collect can be used to create customer segments within the E-Business Control Center. A customer segment is a grouping of customers based on common characteristics from their profile, such as product preferences or age. Each piece of information stored in a customer's profile (or any combination of that information) can be used to create a customer segment.

Using the sample customer profile information shown in Figure 4-1, there are a few customer segments you might create.

Figure 4-1 Example Customer Profile Information

Based on the Favorite Category profile information, you might create a customer segment named Office Supply Junkie, which would include the customers janedoe and asmith. Similarly, a customer segment named Over21 would include the customers janedoe and jblack, based on their Date of Birth profile information.

For step-by-step instructions on creating new customer segments in the E-Business Control Center, see Creating a New Customer Segment.

Uses of Customer Segments

This section is intended to provide you with an overview of how you can use customer segments once you create them. Since there are two ways to use customer segments, this section contains the following subsections:

Note: Depending upon the version of the E-Business Control Center you have, you may be able to use customer segments in one or both of the ways described in this section. For more information about the different versions of the E-Business Control Center that are packaged with the BEA Campaign Manager for WebLogic, the WebLogic Commerce Server, and the WebLogic Personalization Server, see About the E-Business Control Center or the Overview Tour documentation at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13210_01/wlcs/docs35/intro/index.htm.

Targeting Content to Online Customers

In all versions of the E-Business Control Center, customer segments can be utilized in conjunction with content selectors to personalize a customer's experience on your Web site.

A content selector is a mechanism used to retrieve documents from a content management system. A document is a graphic, a segment of HTML or plain text, or a file that must be viewed with a Web browser plug-in. Using content selectors, you can specify the conditions under which one or more documents are retrieved.

If you use a customer's membership in a segment as one of these conditions, you can specify that a particular piece of content be selected from the content management system and displayed to that customer. So, for example, customers who belong to an Office Supply Junkie segment may be shown an article titled: "Reducing Desk Clutter With Stackable Organizers."

Note: To use customer segments with content selectors, you should collaborate with your organization's Commerce Business Engineer (CBE) or other technical resource. This is a more complex task that does require some degree of technical expertise. For more technical information about content selectors, see Retrieving Documents with Content Selectors.

Displaying Personalized Content Within Promotional Campaigns

If you have the version of the E-Business Control Center that comes with the Campaign Manager for WebLogic, you can also use customer segments within your promotional campaigns.

As part of a promotional campaign, a customer's membership in a particular segment may be used as a condition to trigger a specific action, such as sending an e-mail, offering a discount, or displaying an ad. For example, if janedoe is a member of the Office Supply Junkie customer segment, you might want to display an ad about an upcoming sale on office supplies to Jane when she logs in. Because such actions are only triggered under certain conditions, you can use customer segments to target only the appropriate audience(s) with your campaign content.

The flowchart shown in Figure 4-2 illustrates how customer segments can be used as conditions to trigger specific, campaign-related actions.

Figure 4-2 Condition Based on Membership in a Customer Segment

Note: If you have the version of the E-Business Control Center that comes with the Campaign Manager for WebLogic and want detailed instructions about how to use customer segments within promotional campaigns, see the "Add Scenarios to the Campaign" section in the Working With Campaigns documentation.

Creating a New Customer Segment

Initially, you will probably want to spend some time creating new customer segments for use in the E-Business Control Center. This section provides step-by-step instructions you can follow to accomplish this task. If you have already created customer segments and need to edit them, see Modifying an Existing Customer Segment.

Note: Before you can create a new customer segment, you must connect the E-Business Control Center to a server. For more information on connecting to a server, see Connecting the BEA E-Business Control Center to a Server.

To create a new customer segment, follow these steps:

From the BEA E-Business Control Center File menu, select New —> Segment. The Customer Segment Editor window opens, as shown in Figure 4-3.
Figure 4-3 Customer Segment Editor Window

Tip: You can also click the New icon in the Explorer window and then select Segment to open the Customer Segment Editor window, as shown in Figure 4-4.

Figure 4-4 New Icon, Segment Selection
In the Customer Segment Editor window, follow these steps:
Click the check boxes shown in the Conditions portion of the Customer Segment details window to select the condition(s) under which a visitor should be considered a member of the segment. Text describing the conditions you selected appears in the Action portion of the window.
Note: You must add at least one condition, or you will not be able to save the customer segment. For an explanation of the possible conditions, see Listing of the Available Conditions.

Tip: You can use conditions in ways that always evaluate to true. For example, you can select the It Is After A Given Date condition and then specify the date as January 1, 1970.

For each condition you selected in step 3, you must specify values for any hyperlinked text that appears in the Action portion of the window.

For example, if you selected The Visitor Has Specific Characteristics condition as shown in Figure 4-5, you must specify a value for the hyperlinked [characteristics] text in The Visitor Has These [Characteristics] statement.

To specify values for hyperlinked text, just click the text. Depending upon the condition and the hyperlink, a window or a dialog box opens. Table 4-1 provides a consolidated listing of the conditions and indicates where to look if you need detailed instructions for any of the corresponding windows/dialog boxes.

Note: Table 4-1 shows all the conditions that may be used within the E-Business Control Center. Therefore, not all conditions shown here may apply.

Table 4-1 Instructions for Building Conditions

Condition(s)	Relevant Instructions
The visitor is a member of a predefined customer segment	Using the Select Customer Segments Window.
A visitor, HTTP session, HTTP request, or an event has specific characteristics	Using the Properties and Property Values Windows.
An event (such as login or click) has occurred.	Using the Select Events Window.
Dates and times	Using the Date/Time Entry Dialog Boxes.
There is a specific item in the shopping cart, there is an item from a given category in the shopping cart, the value of items in the cart is a certain amount	Using the Quantity Selector or Currency Selector Dialog Boxes. Using the Select Operator Dialog Box. Using the Enter SKU Numbers or Enter Categories Windows.
A random number falls within a given range	Using the Enter a Range Dialog Box.

If you selected more than one condition in step 3, you may want to click the All hyperlink in the When All Of These Conditions Apply phrase to change All to Any.
Note: The Any/All link acts as a toggle. Clicking Any will change it to All, and visa versa.
Click OK. The Customer Segment details window closes. The conditions and corresponding actions you specified appear in the Customer Segment Editor window's Characteristics list, as shown in Figure 4-6.
Figure 4-6 Customer Segment Editor Window: Characteristics List
From the BEA E-Business Control Center File menu, select Save to save the customer segment, then close the Customer Segment Editor window.
Tip: You can also click the Save icon ( ) shown on the BEA E-Business Control Center toolbar to save the customer segment.

The name of the new customer segment appears in the Segments list of the Explorer window, as shown in Figure 4-7.

Note: If you do not see the segments, click (located on the left side of the Explorer window) to enable the Segments view.

Figure 4-7 Explorer Window: Segments View

Now, single-clicking the segment name will cause its description to appear at the bottom of the Explorer window.

Tip: Holding the mouse over the segment name will also show you the segment description.

Locating an Existing Customer Segment

If you have defined many customer segments, it can be time consuming to locate a particular segment by simply looking in the Segments list. Therefore, the E-Business Control Center provides you with a mechanism to filter existing customer segments by name.

To locate an existing customer segment using the name filter, follow these steps:

Click (located on the left side of the Explorer window) to enable the Segments view. A list of segments appears in the Segments list.
In the Name Filter field (shown in Figure 4-8), type the name of the customer segment you want to locate.
Figure 4-8 Name Filter Field

Note: You can type full or partial names into the Name Filter field. Customer segment names are case sensitive. Therefore, filtering based on the text "Married" will not locate segments with names that start with "married."
Click the Filter icon ( ) to filter the segments shown in the Segments list. The segments that have names beginning with the text you entered appear in the Segments list.

Note: To return to the full list of customer segments, click the Show All Objects icon ( ).

Modifying an Existing Customer Segment

The E-Business Control Center also allows you to view and modify existing customer segments.

To open an existing customer segment for modification, follow these steps:

If necessary, click (located on the left side of the Explorer window) to enable the Segments view. A list of segments appears in the Segments list.
Click the name of the segment you want to modify. The customer segment is highlighted.
Tip: If there is a long list of segment names, you might want to use the name filter to locate the segment you want to modify. For more information about the name filter, see Locating an Existing Customer Segment.
Click the Open icon ( ) shown on the Explorer toolbar. The Customer Segment Editor window opens.
Tip: You can also open the segment by double-clicking on the segment name.
You can now modify any part of the segment, except for the segment name. Follow the same instructions for creating a new segment, discussed in Creating a New Customer Segment.
Be sure to save your modifications by selecting Save from the BEA E-Business Control Center File menu.
Tip: You can also click the Save icon ( ) shown on the BEA E-Business Control Center toolbar to save the customer segment.

Warning: If the customer segment you modify is in use by content selectors, promotional campaigns, or other objects, saving modifications to the segment will affect every object that refers to that segment. Be certain that the modifications you make are in line with your organization's established policies and that you entered the modifications correctly in the E-Business Control Center.

Deleting an Existing Customer Segment

You can also delete existing customer segments using the E-Business Control Center.

Warning: As with any deletion you make, be absolutely certain that you select the correct customer segment and that you are sure you want to delete it. Deleted segments cannot be retrieved. If you delete a customer segment, anything that refers to it (content selectors, promotional campaigns, or other objects) will effectively be broken until the segment is dereferenced or a segment with the same name is created.

To delete an existing customer segment, follow these steps:

If necessary, click (located on the left side of the Explorer window) to enable the Segments view. A list of segments appears in the Segments list.
Click the name of the customer segment you want to delete. The customer segment is highlighted.
Tip: If there is a long list of segment names, you might want to use the name filter to locate the segment you want to modify. For more information about the name filter, see Locating an Existing Customer Segment.
To delete the segment, click the Delete icon ( ) shown on the Explorer toolbar.