Last month for our Data-Driven Digital Community webinar, we talked about First-Party World Problems and how to Future-Proof Your Business with First-Party Data with our Head of Growth, Selina Gough.
Collecting and strategically activating first-party data has never been more important and it’s the businesses who are preparing for the change of cookies in their business decision-making processes that are winning today.
Watch the webinar recording below to learn:
- How businesses can formulate strategies to collect relevant data
- How to utilise first-party data to provide value to consumers
- How first-party data improves reporting, marketing budget utilisation and marketing decision making
First-Party World Problems: Future-Proof Your Business with First-Party Data
- Why first-party data matters
- Examples of first-party data
- How to collect first-party data
- How to use first-party data
Three Key Categories of Data
- First-party data is the data you have collected about your customers or audience, you own and manage.
- Second-party data is someone else’s first-party data that can be utilised for your own marketing, bought directly from the source.
- Third-party data is generally aggregated from many different sources and consists of rich behavioural or demographic data.
Why First-Party Data Matters
Data Compliance
You can use first-party data with minimal risks because you know the source of data and the way it was gathered. First-party data ensures your collection processes are in compliance with regulations. You can also try using third-party platforms with built-in compliance, like Emarsys, to collect customer insights.
Data Quality
First-party data is coming directly from your customers and audiences, making it as accurate and precise as possible. Compare that to third-party data which is collected from multiple platforms and combined into a larger dataset so marketers generally don’t know the exact sources of their data.
Data Accuracy
First-party data is typically very accurate because you gather data straight from the source. Minimising the distance between your company and the source of the data reduces the opportunities for error or obfuscation to occur.
Relevancy
First-party data is highly relevant to your organisation because it is coming directly from your audience. As such, you gain valuable insights into exactly how your customers and prospects behave on your site, which means you are better able to determine their preferences.
Cost-Effectiveness
Collecting first-party data is very cost-effective because you already have it in your systems — you just need to put it to use. Unlike second and third-party, you never have to pay for first-party data because you simply own it.
Future-Proofing from Third-Party Loss
The GDPR and CCPA are starting to prevent data collection without consent to promote equity in customer privacy, which means third-party cookies will be eliminated by 2022. Many companies have stopped incorporating third-party data into their digital marketing strategies and leveraging third-party cookies for tracking and purposes of customer identification.
So what does that look like for marketers? They will have to adapt and learn to leverage first-party data instead.
Still Need Convincing?
Q: Which categories of data does your organisation use regularly?
Source: https://econsultancy.com/what-are-first-second-and-third-party-data/
Q: Which of the following categories of data fit best with these statements?
Q: Please rate the importance of each following audience data types as it applies to your addressable/digital media strategy.
Source: Nielsen 2021 Annual Marketing Report: Era of Adaptation
Q: How will the change in support for third-party audience cookies affect the use of data for data professionals in North America?
Q: How do marketers worldwide rate their current utilization of their data assets?
Remember, this is data your brand captured and collected, so your competitors won’t have it (they’ll have to get their own!). But therein lies the difficulty. Since you can’t just go out and buy first-party data, you probably don’t have as much as you’d like, and what you do have may be underutilised.
Examples of First-Party Data
Behavioural data
Collect data about how people interact with your website through clicks, views, purchases, etc.
In-Store Purchase Data
Gain a comprehensive understanding of customers’ purchase behaviours, which products are the most popular, and which types of customers prefer which products.
Subscription Data
Users who subscribe to your content provide a more in-depth understanding of their interests.
Social Data
Followers of social media profiles volunteer interaction information as well as their interests, behaviours. and preferences.
CRM Data
Leverage customer information and demographics that are typically stored in CRM’s.
Survey Data
Asking for feedback via paper survey forms, online forms, emails, and other channels. Within that survey, you can ask about your customers’ demographics, opinions on a product or service, etc.
Cross-platform Data
Analyse behavioural data as users move across various platforms, such as the native app, your mobile site, and your desktop webpage.
Customer Feedback
Analyse direct customer feedback, such as comments on your website, phone calls to customer service, and direct messages on social media.
How to Collect First-Party Data
- What inventory? Identify potential data points across different platforms.
- What do you need? Analyse what available data points are actually needed to inform your strategy.
- House your data. Organise and unify customer data in a single source.
- Start collecting. Allow enough time to gather and collect your first-party data.
- Test, learn and refine. Test audiences and messaging to gauge the effectiveness of the first-party data.
Amount of data and means of collection vary by industry
Q: What sources does your organisation use for collecting first-party data?
Website Pixels
Collect first-party data by adding tracking pixels to your website, product, or social media profiles that gather information about consumer behaviours and actions.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms gather data through direct interactions customers have with your brand and store this information for future use. Interactions may be tracked by email, over the phone, on social media, website, or webchat. Types of data that CRM collects include contact information (name, email, title), purchase history, lead source, customer interaction record, and more.
Q: What are the main benefits your business hopes to achieve using CRM?
DMP (Data Management Platform)
A DMP can collect first-party data from a variety of sources and segments based on specific behaviours such as downloads, clicks, purchases, interests, or demographic information. DMP typically collects and categorises anonymous data from multiple sources, such as cookies, IP addresses, device IDs, to help marketers target ads to the right audience segments. All of your audience data can be stored and organised in a central data management platform for a quick understanding of your customers and how to reach them effectively.
Use Your Data for Good
For Your Consumers
Communicate a clear value proposition when requesting data.
- Convenience – Notifying them when a favourite item is in stock or their order status has changed
- Deal or Coupon – Offer a deal or coupon when people agree to provide their details
- Loyalty Programs – Invite people to register and sign in to an account or loyalty program
- Mobile App – Encourage customers to download your mobile app
For Your Business
Predict purchasing behaviour.
Audience Insights and Personalised (and Relevant) Content.
Where to Begin
