Effective ways to use Zero Party Data

Zero party data can be a goldmine of insights for businesses looking to improve customer engagement and drive revenue growth. The fact that customers are explicitly stating their interests and preferences when using your business would be a mistake to ignore.

But some businesses still aren’t putting enough emphasis on using it to inform their campaigns or other customer engagement methods.

Collecting and having access to zero party data is a great start. Customers are generally happy to give up their data as long as there is a fair return for them. Having quizzes, polls, feedback forms, preference forms, and other zero party data collection methods across your channels is ideal. 

However, all of it is pointless if you’re not using it effectively. Once the data is collected, you need to start analysing and using it.

When it comes to leveraging the data, you won’t be short of ways to apply it to your business activities.

Develop Retention Strategies 

Retaining customers effectively means understanding them and their preferences. And that requires having high quality customer data in order to identify what it is that makes them tick. Collecting and analysing zero party data from your customers will help you form successful retention strategies.

The more targeted your retention strategies are, the better. Using zero party data to create personalised loyalty programs, exclusive offers based on preferences, and personalised customer support will create the best possible experience for your customers.

You shouldn’t rely on a single retention strategy to keep all your customers engaged all of the time. It would be unmanageably complex and not every strategy or message is relevant to every customer. Instead, each of your strategies should focus on a particular outcome as part of an overarching customer engagement strategy.

Onboarding your customers at an early stage is a good place to start. Regardless of whether they create an account with you or not, their first purchase is the perfect opportunity for you to introduce them to your community. Keep them up to date with their order, come up with engaging email sequences, and create a seamless, enjoyable experience. They are more likely to engage again in the future if spending with you is easy.

Customers want their voices to be heard. So give them the opportunity to give their opinions and feedback. Getting customer feedback has two main advantages. Firstly, it gives you insights into what is actually working and what is not. Secondly, acting on the feedback that is given makes customers feel like they are not just with you to spend money. They will feel as though they are part of something and stay loyal to you. Ensure you close the feedback loop and explain how their feedback has been implemented. 

A lot of your competitors will be doing the same thing as you. What makes you stand out and helps to retain customers is to provide a really good process with incredible service. But top quality service is more than just purchase and dispatch on the same day with next day delivery. It’s all about putting the customer first in every situation. If you make a mistake, send an apology and then do something about it. Something as simple as this can do wonders for retention rates.

Make Product Recommendations

More cross sell and upsell opportunities are opened up with the use of zero party data. Of course, their purchase history, general activity, and time spent on certain pages can all give you indications as to what products your customers might be interested in.

However when it comes to zero party data, your customers are essentially expressing their interests and content preferences. It’s a far more explicit way of sharing what they want from you.

Use that information to identify the products, content and offers to put in front of them, and then do so. 

Knowing what they want to see from your website and why they shop with you means you can make recommendations that actually interest them. Plus, they are much more likely to complete a purchase or other goal that you set out.

Deepen your Customer Profiles

The vast majority of customer data that is collected is done through tracking and observing how customers behave on your app or website.

Not to say that first party data isn’t good or useful, it is. But zero party data can be more accurate, up-to-date, and reflective of the customer’s true interests and preferences. Mostly down to the fact that it is given to businesses directly from the customer. It adds an extra layer to your customer profiles.

The major problem with first party data is you always need more of it to stay current. Zero party data is a customer telling you, precisely, what they like.

Enhanced demographics, interests, preferences, and feedback directly from the customer are all useful pieces of information that deepen the customer profile. Zero party data can also provide insights into a customer’s behaviour and habits.

For example, a customer might provide information about the frequency with which they purchase certain types of products. Or even the times of day when they are most likely to engage with a particular brand. That information can be applied to their profile and used to create more effective marketing strategies and customer interactions.

A good customer profile is one that paints a detailed picture of the customer. If first party data adds the colour, zero party data adds the depth.

Personalise the Customer Experience

Having a detailed customer profile helps you to understand both your customers’ interests and their behaviours. This includes how they connect with you across different channels, what they’ve purchased, and even what they’ve searched for.

Your ability to provide a rewarding and engaging customer experience is dependent on how personalised you make it for each customer. Customers want unique experiences with businesses and they’re savvy enough to know when they’re not getting one.

Your capacity to get personal with your customers is dependent on your ability to ingest, analyse, and segment your data.

You should be using zero party data to ensure that every customer interaction is as personalised as possible. Everything that goes out in front of a customer should be demonstrating how much you know them.

The more relevant the experience, the more engaging it becomes. Your marketing activities will become more efficient and successful, often leading to an increase in click-through and conversion rates.

Predict Customer Behaviour

Retaining your customers and turning them into loyal ones is the silver bullet of business. However, it’s almost impossible to execute a retention strategy without insights into your audience.

Purely because you have no idea why they spend with you in the first place.

Predictive analytics can help you understand what makes your customers act in a certain way and apply that in the future.

Zero party data, and the way you collect and use it, will affect your ability to make predictions on customer behaviour. It’s all about getting the best possible insights into your customers that will allow you to make accurate behavioural predictions.

First party data can help you identify patterns and trends that can help them anticipate future needs and preferences, allowing them to better tailor their marketing and product development strategies. Zero party data serves as a sense check, confirming predictions based on stated preferences or desired outcomes.

However, it is important to not apply too much data as individual insights can get lost in the amount you use. Finding the balance is very important.

Continue to Collect

Zero party data is one of the most useful tools when it comes to customer understanding and engagement. But like with any other data source you need to make sure it is up to date.

Customer interests and preferences change over time. It’s important to keep zero party data up to date in order to ensure that marketing communications and product recommendations remain relevant. By collecting new information on a regular basis, businesses can ensure that they are delivering personalised experiences that align with the customer’s current interests and needs.

Because zero party data is voluntarily provided by customers, it’s important to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. Outdated or inaccurate data can lead to incorrect assumptions about a customer’s interests, preferences, and needs, resulting in ineffective marketing campaigns or customer interactions.

It’s important to realise that data collection is never finished. The more you collect, and the more often you do it means that your marketing campaigns will perform at a much higher level.

If you want to know more about how to collect and store zero party data, request a demo with the team today.