A rich harvest of first-party customer data is provided by seasonal promotions like Black Friday. Even if it means a change in approach, Sean Popen says it has never been more important to maximize the impact of third party cookies.
As Black Friday gets earlier each year, marketing leaders will spend more time considering whether they are doing enough with the customer insights they gather over the holiday season. Both are inevitable and sensible. When it comes to delivering personalized experiences customers have come to expect, first-party data center stage will be put to use. If brands are not prepared for a first-party-centered future, they will be outpaced and outperformed by competitors.
Many brands are trying to get more first-party data. The job was done well. Don't give up, keep doing it. Continue to do it. There are huge opportunities and the stakes are high. High-definition personalization, enhanced customer experience, and maximum return on investment can all be unlocked by brands who take stock and think hard about maximizing their first-party data.
Here's the thing. There is more to the story than getting the data. It needs to be done. You can make the most of the customer data gains you made during the holidays by adding three new approaches.
Your approach to data generation needs to be reorganized.
Enhancing your data is something that can be done.
Data activation requires six plays.
A change in approach: never stop generating data
Don't stop doing it if you find what works for you. First-party data is generated by seasonal sales. You can use holiday promotions all year if you want.
A series of targeted promotional tent pole events throughout the year can keep the customer information flowing, even if Black Friday is not a desirable strategy for any brand. It is a shift from sporadic activity to regular building of databases. The approach gives the opportunity for multi-channel PR activities with all of the associated engagement benefits.
Activating your data starts with enhancing your data
So, after generating a large amount of first-party data from your tent pole event, you want to maximize its value and impact, what are you going to do? It is time to build your understanding of your new customers so you can meet their needs while being aware of their privacy and just enough to maintain a strong value exchange for them.
Your first-party data should be expunged with other data elements. Third-party data sources and a range of modeling and measurement tactics are making a comeback Use polls, surveys, browsing statistics, offsite statistics, psychographic and demographic profiles, buyer behaviors, and any other information you can think of to build out customer profiles and customer segments. You are ready to start using your data.
Set data impact to maximum – six plays to consider
There are many ways to get value from first-party data.
This is the first thing. Co-marketing with partner brands can extend the reach of your message. Your newly enhanced customer data is highly valuable and closely guarded but cloud-based clean rooms offer an excellent opportunity to share data reach with other suitable brands.
There are two Consider a longer-term customer communication play if you have gathered new customer data from promotional activity. The hard sell doesn't keep the customer engaged. Be it email, addressable direct mail, display, social, cross- programmatic, essentially whatever works for you, take the opportunity to organize some multi-channel messaging. First party data can be used to boost customer relationships.
There are three. It is possible to identify customer segments and tailor messaging to their preferences and buyer behaviors with the help of segment and HVAs analysis. You can use this method to build out your high value audience segments and engage them with personalized communications. Pricing strategies for individual segments can be tested.
There are four. Customers who respond to price-based promotions often do so to take advantage of deals and have little or no engagement with a brand itself. There is a chance to build a relationship with these one-time redeemers. It's a price-sensitive segment, but it's also an audience to which cross-sell and upsell opportunities are possible with tailored communications.
There are five. Performance isn't just about conversions, there are other metrics as well. As you build on your data identity backbone with enhanced first-party data, you are essentially bringing these customers back through the funnel. They can be analyzed against a number of metrics such as returning website visits, form completions, abandonment rates or content performance. The more you learn, the better you can improve their experience.
There are six. If you want to improve A/B testing, try running an audience program on your first-party data to find other customers with the same name. It's a chance to see how they respond to different messaging tactics or pricing tactics This can give you valuable insight into your engagement strategies.
There is little doubt that a solid first-party data strategy will form the basis for success in the future. A holiday promotion is a gift. The opportunity to enhance understanding, build more effective nurture journeys, and deliver hyper-personalized engagement is provided by every scrap of customer data returned. You can drive customer loyalty and conversions through this method.
