Maximizing conversions: 7 expert tips for crafting product recommendation quizzes

Shopping can be a chore. From narrowing down a brand to trying to decide which product in a lineup is just the right one, even finding a new pair of sunglasses can require hours of research for a potential customer. But brands have a supertool to cut down on all the noise—the mighty product recommendation quiz.

A few quick questions and intentional design can help site visitors bypass the endless browsing and find a product they'll love right away. Skillfully embed them in your emails, landing pages, and more, to reach potential customers when it counts most.

Before you launch your quiz, connect the quiz to your CRM so emails and other zero-party data sync there automatically. Once you've gathered your responses, segment them and make future marketing campaigns more personal.

Product recommendation quizzes unlock personalized experiences for customers and are a treasure trove of zero-party data for businesses.

What is an e-commerce product recommendation quiz?

Think of a product recommendation quiz as you playing matchmaker between your product and your audience. It's an opportunity to hand-select from your lineup to meet their exact needs. So what is a product recommendation quiz? It's a survey you design which leads a customer to a product based on their preferences, needs, or taste.

Examples of questions you might ask or data you might look to collect could be:

• What's more important to you, style or durability?

• Would you say your skin is more oily, dry, or acne-prone?

• How much would you ideally spend on this purchase?

Why use an e-commerce product recommendation quiz?

Well, for starters, product recommendation quizzes are a wildly effective way to personalize the shopping experience for your customers. An expertly-crafted product recommendation quiz is a win-win. They offer brands a chance to show they're relevant and can listen, while leading customers to find the exact item they've been searching for. It's time for the perfect pair of Barbie-inspired hot pink spectacles to shine.

According to Salesforce research, 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and 52% expect all offers to be personalized. At the surface, this is a tall order. Not only do e-commerce brands need to stay on top of changing trends, shifting markets, and unpredictable supply chains, but now they need to cater to each customer individually? Product recommendation quizzes are the key to personalizing the shopping experience for your customer. They're also likely to increase your sales and increase customer loyalty.

Besides providing a stellar experience for customers, product recommendation quizzes can be an important pillar in your zero-party data strategy. The end of cookies means it'll be even more difficult to track consumer behavior and attribute that behavior to needs and wants. Product recommendation quizzes allow you to ask important questions directly to your audience and keep that data to mine for insights later.

So, now we understand why product recommendation quizzes make sense for B2C brands, let's cover our seven key tips for making an engaging quiz.

Our 7 tips for making a great product recommendation quiz

1. Know your audience

Showing your quiz takers that you understand them at a basic level is the first step to building trust with them. You'll want to consider any information you already have about your audience and incorporate that knowledge into the quiz experience. The more you know about your target audience, the better you can tailor your quiz to their preferences.

2. Keep it concise

Short and simple quizzes are more likely to be completed. Stick to essential, relevant questions that help you make accurate recommendations. Our research shows that typeforms with more than 6 questions had less than a 50% completion rate.

3. Incorporate visual elements

Use images, product photos, and visuals in your quiz to make it more engaging. Visuals can help customers better understand the options and make the experience more enjoyable.

4. Stay on-brand

Provide a seamless experience for your customer from discovery to purchase. Bring your brand colors, logos, and images to your form so customers know exactly who has their attention. Plus, for customers that don't convert, a branded experience will help them find you again later.

5. Optimize for mobile devices

Over 60% of all e-commerce sales are made on mobile devices. A responsive design is essential to provide a seamless experience for shoppers on a variety of screen-sizes and devices.

6. Make purchasing easy

A good recommendation quiz should make it simple for a customer to buy the very product you've just recommended. The good news is, most quiz makers feature e-commerce integrations. With Typeform, you can connect your quiz with Square, Stripe, and more to make the purchase process seamless.

7. Test and refine

Continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your quiz. Collect feedback from customers and use analytics to fine-tune the questions and recommendations. Use their feedback to make sure your recommendations are relevant. Regularly update the quiz to keep it effective.

How to promote your product recommendation quiz

Now that you've built a beautiful, conversational product recommendation quiz, it's time to get it in front of your target audience. How? The short answer is to put it everywhere. Add it to your homepage navigation, feature it in email campaigns, and leverage social media. They're an excellent opportunity to reach customers at all levels of your funnel.

It's also important to remember that you can (and probably should) have different variations of your product recommendation quizzes for different customer segments. For example, your audience demographics on social media might skew younger than the average age of your email list. If this were the case, you'd likely have more success by tailoring the recommendations to mirror the purchasing habits of your current customers in each of those segments.

Product recommendation quizzes can set you apart

A well-crafted product recommendation tool can be a stellar tool. From building trust and collecting data, to being an important part of your e-commerce sales strategy, quizzes can make all the difference. But a bland, confusing, or plainly inaccurate recommendation quiz can have the opposite effect.

Take your marketing personalization to the next level—check out our guide on e-commerce personalization in the cookieless future.