Whether you’re a pro or a beginner at gathering zero-party data or using the Cheetah Experiences platform, we’ve got a Signals session that will break down exactly how to get started with (or improve!) your experience.
Nick Watson, SVP of Global Experiences Solutions, and Nicholas Einstein, Senior Director of Product Marketing, share their top tips and examples of a zero-party data strategy in action.
“Zero-party data collection strategies are about enriching and acquiring data about your customers that’s built on trust, collected with consent, and is used to better power and personalize your marketing.”
1. Start small, start now
As the importance of the third-party cookie in today’s adtech and martech environments has waned, it’s important to have a sturdy first-party data strategy and to start investing in a zero-party data strategy — even if that means starting small and starting right now.
While it may feel overwhelming to undertake this big task, you don’t need to start doing everything at once. Just start small, with a campaign focused on collecting personal preferences and opt-ins, like Aéropostale did.
With COVID disrupting Aéropostale’s traditional back-to-school buying season, they wanted to engage their customers with an experience that generated detailed customer information to drive personalization efforts. Aéropostale’s “Fit Finder” gives the brand a ton of detailed customer information to drive ongoing campaigns and personalization efforts. It allows them to get extremely granular with their data without being creepy like happens when relying on inferred data. This small experience will help inform not just one, but many of Aéropostale’s ongoing campaigns.
2. Integrate data and use it across channels
This is a critical best practice that may sound simple, but that can still be challenging. Gathering zero-party data is just one part of the strategy, it’s essential to also know how to integrate it to use what you’ve collected effectively.
Marketers don’t typically struggle with getting data, they struggle to take action with it — which is why it’s essential to have first- and zero-party data collection efforts connected to a data platform where it can be integrated into all key systems.
Häagen-Dazs is a great example of integrating data and using it across channels. They’ve been able to merge their online and offline efforts into one with their Häagen-Dazs & Me loyalty program. They are able to engage customers through their loyalty program, bringing them into stores by scanning a QR code and getting a personalized offer in store.
3. Test, learn, optimize, and repeat
In almost any marketing effort, testing, learning, optimizing, and repeating are crucial for learning what works, and what doesn’t. However, many marketers use the “set it and forget it” method of marketing — and this won’t cut it with acquisition and enrichment efforts.
“Those who do have the tools and inclination to test and learn can make big strides. Testing formats, value propositions, copy elements, imagery, and number of fields, can all be really solid factors.”
With Cheetah Experiences, the tools needed to A/B test different elements to increase conversion and engagement are endless. It’s very easy to change things and clone things to test different versions against each other.
Kraft Heinz tested different versions in their Kraft Singles personalized pan campaign. Even after the campaign is live, elements of the campaign can be changed to see their different impacts on people interacting with the experience.
In their full Signals 20 session, Nick and Nick share two more essential best practices and tips, as well as plenty of real-world examples of a zero-party data strategy in action. Watch their video below to learn more.
