| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Web related initiatives are a viable method for many companies seeking to enhance their customer focus. Web personalization is a technique that can be used by firms to develop and foster relationships with their customers. Web personalization may not be suitable for all types of businesses. Web personalization is used to generate individualized content for each visitor. Personalization techniques include content filtering, collaborative filtering, and a rules-based engine approach. The scope and technique chosen for the personalization initiative determine the resources required for successful implementation. This paper presents a framework to help firms ascertain the value of web personalization. The components of the framework include the ability to classify the popular features of the website, the degree the product is considered personal, the competitiveness of the market, and the value customers place on personalization. A survey was conducted and results of the survey are presented to help determine factors that influence an individual's value for personalization. The factors we found that influence the value an individual places on personalization include: sites that belong to an established brick and mortar company, sites that let visitors download music, and sites that offer the possibility of winning something. The first two factors were found to positively impact the value an individual places on personalization, while the ability to win something was found to have a negative impact on personalization. We also found that education played a part in determining whether an individual values personalization. Other characteristics such as age group and gender were found not to influence an individual's value for personalization. |
