First-Party Data Marketing: Use What You Have!

This IS part of “The OTT Advertiser’s Guide to Second and First-Party Data,” click here to learn more.

By 2022, Google will get rid of third-party cookies in Chrome, forcing digital marketing strategists to adapt. While some marketers are trying to get the most out of the last third-party information days, others are reinventing their tactics with first-party data in mind.

First-party data is the most valuable asset for any marketing expert. Right now is an excellent time to take control of the opportunities in front of us to create an actionable marketing campaign.

By collecting, analyzing, and implementing first-party data into your strategy, you can improve your marketing ROI. At the same time, it’s important for marketers to understand the beauty of second-party data when first-party data is unavailable

The Utter Importance of Proprietary Data 

About 85% of marketers in the United States believe that increasing first-party data use has a high priority. The biggest advantage of this data is ownership. It’s collected directly from your target audience, thus helping implement highly efficient marketing tactics.

First-party data is detailed, accurate, and reliable. It’s a unique asset, which your company can use according to its niche needs. In many cases, first-party data collection is free, which allows you to reroute the marketing budget to other aspects of your campaign.

The main benefits of using first-party data include:

• Reliability — since you collect the data yourself, you know that it’s accurate and up-to-date
• Ownership — when you own the data, you can do with it what you please without having to receive permission from other sources
• Higher ROI/Better Performance — first-party data can help you understand what inspires your customers to take action on different devices, channels, and platforms.
• Compliance — by using first-party data and not sharing it, you comply with numerous privacy laws, the number of which seems to be growing every day.

Data Privacy Revolution

The main reason why Google is phasing out third-party cookies is user privacy. Many companies face the exact same problem. When sharing data with others, they risk running into privacy issues with users. With more than 1,800 privacy laws already in place around the world, some companies are choosing the “privacy to design” model, keeping data to themselves.

For marketers who rely solely on third-party data, this shift could lead to a disaster. If they don’t find a way to acquire first-party or second-party data, their companies could be left without the foundation of the marketing strategy.

Using Proprietary Data

Proprietary data allows you to create a unique marketing strategy, providing a significant competitive advantage. By implementing this data into your tactics, you are focusing on your specific audience and improving your relationship with it.

With proprietary data, you can:

Improve Personalization Efforts

By tracking your audience through different channels, devices, and platforms, you can gain valuable insight into their behavior and adjust your campaign accordingly.

According to Accenture’s survey, 83% of consumers are willing to share their data to get a more personalized experience. You can take full advantage of this willingness and collect valuable proprietary information.

This data can help you create a highly personalized experience for your clients, thus keeping them with the company and driving sales.

Drive Retention

Since 80% of your future profits are likely to come from 20% of your existing customers, the ability to improve retention efforts is priceless. By collecting first-party data, you can learn customer preferences, purchasing behavior, website use patterns, and much more.

This information can help you provide personalized offers to existing clients, thus driving retention and improving marketing ROI.

Streamline Segmentation

Segmentation is the key to a personalized marketing effort. With third-party data, segmentation isn’t always accurate. This usually reflects on the marketing ROI.

With first-party data, you can create clear segments of your audience to streamline your marketing message. This can help improve conversions and contribute to retention efforts.

Predict Future Patterns

First-party data doesn’t just assist with creating a current marketing strategy, it can help you predict future buying patterns.

This data gives you an immense opportunity for analysis. Thanks to its accuracy, you can gain valuable insights into the future behavior of your customers and adjust your sales and marketing strategy accordingly.

What if I Can’t Collect First-Party Data?

What happens if you don’t have first-party data? 

Thankfully, first-party data isn’t the only source of proprietary information. You can obtain second-party data and customize it to suit your purposes.

While other people also have access to second-party data, you can still gain a competitive advantage by customizing it. Customization will make this data proprietary. All further actions you take with it are similar to what you would do with first-party data.

Think about it this way. Second-party data is a collection of ingredients. Each company can use them uniquely to create a different meal. The more you analyze and customize the second-party data, the more proprietary it becomes.

Customized second-party data is another form of proprietary information. The major advantage it has over first-party data is that you can start working with it immediately. While it will take some time to customize this information, it’s still a big step toward tweaking your campaign.

Read more on SWOT analysis for smart advertising strategies here

The Takeaway

The only way to future-proof your marketing tactics is to move away from reliance on third-party data. Otherwise, the data privacy revolution can pause the majority of your marketing efforts.

First-party and second-party data are quickly becoming the only way to move forward. If you are still in the process of setting up a first-party data collection strategy, take advantage of what second-party data has to offer by enriching your collection efforts.

Both forms of data are highly efficient tools. They are vital to keeping your marketing tactics updated and improving your marketing ROI. Would you like to learn more about using first-party and second-party data? Contact us at any convenient time. At Strategus, we don’t just help you capitalize on first-party data, we assist with customizing second-party data and keeping you on top of the latest marketing game.