Carmella Marketing
First-Party Data Strategies - Why Do They Matter?
Twitter jokes have abounded recently, with people claiming they have “won” email, showing off their 15-gigabyte inbox full to the brim of sales offers, membership requests, limited-time offers. There is no way around it: we are living in the era of junk mail.
In response to the flood of scattershot marketing, browsers are taking notice of consumer trends in the direction of privacy protection. With Third-Party Cookies (a discrete line of code that quietly tracks user data across multiple sites) slated to disappear from the Google Chrome browser by late 2023 as they already have from Mozilla’s Firefox browser and Apple’s Safari, it’s clear that more than ever, customers are conscious of the data that is being harvested and for what purposes. For advertisers, this is a big deal.
While this move is a win for digital privacy advocates, it signals an inevitable shift in the digital advertising landscape that brands will have to navigate in the coming months and years.
Since Third-Party Cookies are aggregated across a series of websites and user inputs, accurate data concerning demographics and interests can be discerned and sold to advertisers on platforms such as Facebook and Google. Third-Party Cookies have been an essential tool in connecting advertisers with potential consumers through relevance.
By removing the cross-platform functionality of Third-Party Cookies, advertisers will have to re-examine their procedures for collecting leads and valuable demographic information from present and future clients.
Luckily, this new challenge doesn’t mean that your marketing campaigns are sunk. First-Party Data—that is collected by your own site and services—is still a viable tool for recurring business and driving new leads.
What is First-Party Data?
First-Party Data is nothing new—in fact, most websites collect names and contact information through the most fundamental signup processes. This differs from Third-Party Data because you are not paying for it from a company in the business of mass data harvesting.
Customers enter data regularly for website functions through their searches, age filters, profile customization, and other filters. If you host a website or online service, it’s likely that you have had the opportunity to collect meaningful information through the functionality of your site!
Doesn’t This Translate to Fewer Leads?
The truth is that, yes, by limiting the amount of cross-site data that can be harvested, the lead pool will shrink. But like many things in life, there is a silver lining.
New leads cost more to generate than reaching out to past clients or those already accessing your site. Rather than focusing efforts on the quantity of leads you reach out to, there is an opportunity to improve your outreach and brand quality. If you can get ahead of the changing market, a pivot in your strategy will put you in a much stronger position to communicate with your customers, and repeat business can become a cost-effective sales driver.
What Can I Do to Maximize My First-Party Data Strategy?
A First-Person Data Strategy goes hand in hand with improved Customer Experience. Improved site functionality, such as profile data, user-chosen filters for relevant content, and lead-generation forms can each turn user access to your site into valuable sources of potential leads. Furthermore, taking stock of your current data resources may be as simple as cross-referencing user birthdays with an LTO marketing campaign to deliver time-sensitive deals to user devices.
In the age of junk mail, customers respond best to personalized “VIP” marketing. Tailoring your outreach to them with any of the data collected from your service can be a great way of keeping out of the junk folder and staying at the top of their minds. Segment users into demographics with the data you can collect, and tailor email advertisements to them accordingly.
Increasing revenue through improving customer experience is especially true of past clients. Checking in through a request for reviews turns your sale into further gains through free positive feedback you can display. It also reminds them that you appreciate their business and see them as more than just another user tracked across their device history.
Lastly, taking the time to develop your brand further may fill in the gaps left behind by the absence of Third-Party marketing strategies. Why should customers choose your product or service? Is your marketing strategy compelling enough to turn those fewer looks into more clicks? And are you exploring all options for advertising platforms such as Snapchat or Instagram?
Some of the best answers aren’t obvious, and that’s okay. But when you can optimize your First-Party funnelling for demographic segments and articulate the advantages of your brand to match them, any outreach you do will see immediate improvements.
Your customer experience and data strategies should be an exchange of value—after all, this is the driving factor behind changes to browsers and customer habits online. The removal of Third-Party Cookies means change, but it also leaves open the opportunity for purposeful data acquisition through your funnel process and closer client relations as a result.
The future doesn’t need to be unsettling. For those times that it is, consider Carmella Marketing for consultation on your next digital marketing strategy. We are experts in assessing, pivoting, and maximizing marketing strategies through proven methods. Give us a shout, and let’s get to work on tomorrow’s sales, today!
Partnering with brands we believe in from the mountain peaks to the city streets.
Want to work with us?
USE THIS EMAIL
Want to say hi?
GENERAL INQUIRIES
Find us on social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA