????想象一下：你現(xiàn)在正在計劃外出度假，或是打算訂出差的機票和酒店，或是單純地想找本書來讀讀，那么首先你會在網(wǎng)上搜索相關(guān)信息。如果是打算出差，你可能要訪問20多個網(wǎng)站——當然在各個頁面上停留的時間會有長有短，然后匯總各個網(wǎng)站的評論和細節(jié)。這個過程既漫長又無聊，可能要花好幾個小時的時間來反復(fù)對比價格和用戶評論。

????為了找到符合要求的信息，可能必須得在成千上萬高度零散的搜索結(jié)果里進行篩選。如果有一種技術(shù)能夠根據(jù)用戶的個人喜好、地理位置或是歷史購買信息和搜索信息，將所有零散的搜索結(jié)果自動組織起來，讓最相關(guān)的選項自動排到最上面，豈不妙哉？

????這種相關(guān)性搜索代表著未來，而且它已經(jīng)開始在旅行和在線零售業(yè)嶄露頭角。

????對于個人來說，選擇相關(guān)性搜索的原因顯而易見。更相關(guān)、更個性化的搜索體驗?zāi)軌蚬?jié)省我們的時間，減少挫敗感，最終形成一種更智能、更輕松的網(wǎng)絡(luò)體驗。另外，相關(guān)性搜索不僅會對我們?nèi)粘５木W(wǎng)絡(luò)搜索造成影響，而且它還具有徹底改變商戶與顧客的互動方式、打造顧客長期忠誠度的能力。

????在最基本的層面上，企業(yè)可以增加廣告和信息對終端用戶的相關(guān)性，從而更有針對性地開展業(yè)務(wù)。Facebook便是一個簡單的例子，F(xiàn)acebook有意識地向不同的用戶群展示不同的廣告。Facebook的廣告戰(zhàn)略高度定向，它向人們展示的信息和廣告不是千篇一律的，而是先去分析用戶是誰、用戶的個人資料里填寫了什么內(nèi)容，再用高級算法分析用戶可能對什么內(nèi)容最感興趣，然后才向用戶呈現(xiàn)定向的信息和廣告。

????但相關(guān)性搜索的真正實力和潛力主要在于它能促進顧客持續(xù)參與，打造顧客忠誠度。有時企業(yè)只想把產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)賣給所有能接觸到的顧客。但更多時候，他們希望能接觸一些特定的顧客群。比方說，有一家高端餐廳想打廣告招徠新顧客，他們可能更想招攬的是那些坐著頭等艙來本市出差的商務(wù)人士，這些人更有可能在就餐時點上一瓶高檔的洋酒。因為這樣有助于餐廳盡可能地實現(xiàn)就餐人數(shù)的最大化，并且產(chǎn)生更多的利潤。但除此之外，這家餐廳可能還希望與那些有可能經(jīng)常前來就餐的人建立長久的聯(lián)系，或是希望顧客能把他們享受到的良好體驗告訴周圍的同事和朋友們。

????有些食客經(jīng)常在周末前來就餐。餐廳是否有能力為他們提供激勵，讓他們在平日里也前來就餐，這一點對于餐廳和消費者來說都非常重要。所以說企業(yè)不應(yīng)漫無目的地向顧客發(fā)垃圾郵件、寄促銷信、打促銷電話，而是需要根據(jù)每個顧客的實際情況提供獨特的促銷內(nèi)容。一旦了解了顧客需要什么、什么時候需要這些東西，那么他們就能在正確的時間向顧客提供很大的價值。

????Imagine you want to plan a vacation, book a business trip or find a new book to read. You start by searching the web. If you're planning a trip, you may visit 20 or more websites -- spending more time on some than others -- and piece together all of the different reviews and details that each site offers. The process is long and tedious, filled with hours of double-checking on prices and comparing user reviews.

????What if, instead of having to sift through thousands of highly unorganized search results for the information that meets your unique needs, the options were dynamically structured and organized for you so the most relevant options floated easily to the surface, based on your personal preferences, your location and your previous purchases or searches?

????Relevance-powered search is the future, and it's already taking hold in travel and online retail.

????For individuals, the reasons for this shift are quite simple. A more relevant and personalized search experience will save time, frustration and ultimately create a smarter and easier web experience. But the implications of relevance-powered search go well beyond impacting day-to-day web searches. Rather, relevance in search has the power to completely alter the way merchants go about interacting with their customers and building long-term customer loyalty.

????At the most basic level, businesses can be more targeted in their outreach by making advertisements and information more relevant to the end-user. A simple example of this is Facebook, where the platform intentionally presents different advertisements to different individuals. Facebook's ad strategy is highly targeted, and the information and offers you receive are based on who you are, what you have in your profile and advanced algorithms that determine what will be most interesting to you.

????But the real power and potential of relevance is around building enduring customer engagement and loyalty. At times, businesses just want to sell more of their goods and services to anyone they can reach. But more often, they want to reach specific, target audiences. For example, the high-end restaurant considering offering a "deal" to entice new customers might prefer to target the business traveller who has just flown into town first class and is more likely to buy an expensive bottle of wine during her meal. That would help the restaurant maximize capacity and yield profits but, beyond this, it might want to build an ongoing relationship with customers who are likely to visit regularly, or to tell their friends and colleagues about their great experience.

????For the diner who regularly visits on a weekend, the ability to offer an incentive to visit during the week might be highly valuable to both restaurant and consumer. Instead of spamming customers with irrelevant and unwanted emails, snail mail and sales calls, companies need to present offers unique to each of their customers. Once they learn what the customer needs and when they need it, they can deliver great value, at just the right time.