Personalization — Explain it Like I’m Five

“If you can’t explain it to a five year old, you don’t understand it well enough” said 50% Einstein, 40% Feynman, and 10% my need to make it #ELI5 compliant.

When helping companies with their personalization strategy, I often reach for simple and intuitive ways to describe the personalization spectrum. It sets up a common language and lays the foundation for a shared vision across business and technology. It also helps build a strong intuition around personalization for execs and sponsors, which reduces ambiguity and builds confidence.

Not surprisingly, I found that “in the field,” explaining personalization using food-based examples has good traction. As a silly challenge, I thought I’d take my food metaphor one step further and … explain it like I’m five.

Here is my #ELI5, ice cream-centric doodle of the personalization spectrum.

Gut Feel: I wonder what ice cream flavor people like. Give me your best guess. Strawberry you say? Ok, from now on people can only have strawberry ice cream!

— Many people are happy, many are not happy. It is easy to pick a flavor.

A/B Testing: I wonder what ice cream flavor people like. Give me your three best guesses. Chocolate, strawberry, or durian you say? Ok, let’s try them out on a few people.They ones who got chocolate seem a bit happier. Ok, from now on people can only have chocolate ice cream!

— Many people are happy, some are not happy. It takes a while to pick the best flavor.

Coarse Personalization: I wonder what ice cream flavor people like. Give me your three best guesses! Chocolate, strawberry, or durian you say? Our robot, Bender, watches people try out these flavors. After a while, he starts to guess which of the three flavors each person likes. He becomes a good guesser. From now on, if anybody wants ice cream, Bender will decide what flavor they get: chocolate, strawberry, or durian.

— Most people are happy, a few are not happy. It takes a while for Bender to become a good guesser.

Deep Personalization: People like ice cream in different flavors, in different sizes, and with different toppings. In a cup, in a cone, or on a stick. Our robot, Bender, watches many people trying out many different kinds of ice cream. After a while, he starts to guess what kind of ice cream is each person’s favorite. From now on, if anybody wants ice cream, Bender will come up with the best ice cream, just for them.

— Many people are very happy, a few are not happy. It takes a long time and it’s hard for Bender to become a good guesser.

Author’s note: without data, your product may end up durian-flavored.

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