According to a poll conducted by Ipsos back in 2022, 70% of Americans believe that “limiting who can and can’t access their data has become tougher.” The same poll found that “34% of Americans think that companies adequately safeguard consumer data.”
Similarly, Axway, an information technology company, found that 90% of respondents “wanted more transparency around what data companies collect on them” from a 2022 Global Consumer Survey.
With that being said, it’s important for businesses to develop methods for customers to actively volunteer to give their data to a brand directly, which can come in various forms.
This is much different than a brand making marketing decisions based on how a customer behaves on their website, it’s more so about making decisions and/or pivots after receiving direct feedback from a customer. Some examples of this include brands asking their customers about how often they’d like to receive marketing emails, what types of content they prefer to receive information about, or if they have any general feedback in regards to their shopping experience.
Another phrase for this is zero-party data, which was created by Forrester Research back in 2018. Many marketing experts believe that zero-party data is the key to creating a better experience for consumers, thanks to its transparent nature and ability to develop a more honest rapport between brands and their customers.
In order to fully grasp the importance of Zero-Party Data, it’s important to understand how it’s different from First-Party, Second-Party, and Third-Party Data.
First-Party Data
First-party data consists of information that a company corrects from its own channels, including apps, websites, social media, and more. It’s important to understand that first-party data has a unique edge to its usefulness: your company collected it, which means your company owns it. You can also rely on its accuracy since it came directly from the source.
However, like most things, there are certainly cons to collecting this process as well. It takes a very long time and effort to collect, and there needs to be a large amount of it to be useful.
Second-Party Data
Second-party data is information on a customer base from another company, which can be sold to a business from a trusted partner. However, it’s important to note that a business must trust the supplier of second-party data in order for it to be worth the time, effort, and money spent on collecting it.
Third-Party Data
Third-party data is sold on a data exchange platform and comes from many different sources, making it (usually) extremely large in quantity.
However, quantity does not always equal quality. This data is likely being sold to multiple companies, and yours will not have exclusive rights to it. It’s also crucial to propose the same question that arises in regards to second-party data: do you fully trust the source?
The Best Choice
With all of that being said, we revert back to the benefits of Zero-Party Data and why it is the best route to take when it comes to a business accumulating more information on its customers. It’s not only being given voluntarily, but it’s coming straight from the source: benefiting the brand and the consumer. Brands are able to get a better idea of what their target demographic is, and consumers get to express what types of content they’re interested in receiving and why.
It’s easy to start collecting this sort of information via SMS campaigns: all you have to do is send a follow-up message to your subscribers after they’ve received a purchase to ask questions or for feedback on their shopping experience. Now, you’ve started collecting your very own Zero-Party Data!
Need help setting your SMS campaigns up for success? Get in touch with the Voxie team today!