Consumers are more aware than ever now that when they visit a website, use apps, and play games, their data is being harvested with minimal or no consent, increasing consumer distrust.
In fact, USA TODAY Blueprint recently reported that 84% of Americans are worried about their personal information’s security and privacy online. However, 60% said they are more inclined to share their data if businesses are more straightforward about how it will be used.
This signifies a shift in consumer attitudes; a call for brands to focus on collecting zero-party data — information willingly shared by consumers — to gain back consumer trust and deploy a more personalized digital marketing strategy that doesn’t only resonate but also drives sales.
Zero-party data is transforming how brands connect with their customers, leading to stronger loyalty and higher profits. Wyng’s Jennifer Sego discusses why this approach is essential for business leaders focused on long-term success.
Who Is Jennifer Sego?
Jennifer leads the marketing department at Wyng, a leading provider of SaaS solutions that helps brands build interactive digital experiences. With over a decade of experience in marketing, she brings a wealth of knowledge and passion for technology, data, and stellar customer experiences to Wyng.
If you want to know what your customers prefer, personalize your marketing efforts, and drive sales more effectively, zero-party data is your best bet.
So, what exactly is zero-party data (ZPD) and how exactly does it change conversion marketing?
“ZPD is personal information a consumer willingly shares with a brand. With a ZPD strategy in place, brands are not trying to infer what their consumers want by tracking their behavior online or purchasing information about them.
Instead, brands are asking consumers directly for the information they want to know — favorite products, household values, budget, needs, wants. This is the data that REALLY drives someone to make a purchase,” Jennifer says.
The best part about zero-party data is that you collect it with consumers’ full consent, giving them more information about what it will be used for while providing extra benefits, largely dispelling consumer distrust about security and privacy concerns.
“As we all know, data is fuel for delivering relevant messages to the right audiences, but data is being disrupted. New privacy regulations, OS updates, and consumer sentiment are forcing brands to rethink their data strategies.
Zero-party data, in conjunction with traditional first-party data sources, is really the best answer for brands looking to deliver personalized experiences in a more privacy-focused world. The next wave of personalization is preference-based,” Jennifer reveals.
Knowing What Your Consumers Prefer to Influence Purchase Decision
According to Jennifer, preference-based personalization involves “customer attributes that influence a purchase decision” like values, interests, needs, and likes/dislikes.
On the other hand, traditional personalization is drawing assumptions or inferences based on the following:
- Demographic: 'Women between the ages of 20-30 who live in coastal cities should be served ads about XYZ product.'
- Behavioral: 'This site visitor clicked on the category page for men’s shirts. The next time they visit the site, show a banner of men’s shirts on the homepage.'
- Transactional: 'Joe purchased concert tickets to a country music concert. Send Joe emails about future country concerts.'
“All these types of personalization are fine, and many times — they work. But all these personalization methods work off assumptions, not known, declared preferences. Making assumptions can lead to wasted spend and also broken customer relationships,” she points out.
DesignRush also spoke with Living Corporate CEO Zach Nunn to discuss how brands can build audience trust. Watch our podcast below to learn more:
Jennifer advises businesses to complement their traditional first-party and third-party data strategies with zero-party data - to reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) and enhance engagement.
“Zero-party data is accurate, requires no human analysis or AI to interpret, and is immediately actionable.
With the zero-party data brands collect, they can create very specific segments to target audiences across ads, email, SMS, or any other marketing channel. The more relevant the message and offer, the higher the engagement and conversion rates.
Imagine being a marketer for a beauty brand and knowing exactly which customers have oily skin vs. dry skin, or which customers spend five minutes in the morning on their skincare routine, or 30 — that sort of information is gold, and can really only be captured using zero-party data practices,” she explains.
The most important part, Jennifer says, is that all these lead to building consumer trust and brand affinity, ultimately propelling business growth.
Big Brands Benefit from Zero-Party Data
It’s not enough to just explain the benefits of using zero-party data without demonstrating real results.
Jennifer cites Wyng’s work for three of L’Oréal’s brands, La Roche-Posay, SkinCeuticals, and Decléor, to prove that zero-party data strategies produce real results with a 134% increase in average order value and 21% higher conversion rates.
“L’Oréal’s main reason for using Wyng is to drive more sales. Their brands create product advisors for their sites and mobile applications that recommend products while also capturing valuable zero-party data,” she shares.
Jennifer adds that while zero-party data is usually used to drive sales to increase business revenue, brands also use it to better understand what their target audience is looking for.
“LĒVO Oil came to Wyng with a very different use case. Their goal wasn’t to drive sales, but to better understand who was visiting their site so they could provide site visitors with a more personalized browsing experience and direct them to the appropriate content for their needs.
They implemented a few different Wyng-powered data collection experiences on their site - next best questions, contextual preferences, and a customer preference center.
In the first month, they doubled their website engagement and created almost 6,000 customer profiles. With the data LĒVO Oil learns about their customers, they are surfacing more relevant content, products, and offers via the website, emails, and SMS,” she reveals.
Key Considerations When Collecting Zero-Party Data
Of course, collecting zero-party data isn’t easy.
The process needs to be well thought out and adhere to best practices, considering the most effective ways to get consumers to share their data.
“You always want these interactions to be user-friendly, well-timed, and relevant. So, consider what sort of experiences make sense in the context of what you are asking, and then also make sure the experience is simple and fun to participate in.
Very few people want to fill out a lengthy survey, but many people would enjoy participating in a swipe right/left product advisor, a gamified promotion with a couple of form fields, or an interactive voting poll,” Jennifer discloses.
She also shares these four main rules for zero-party data collection:
- Ensure that data collection methods are as frictionless as possible.
- Earn the data. Deliver something of value in return like a coupon, free sample, personalized product recommendation, or loyalty points.
- Use the data as quickly as possible. For example, immediately return a content piece or product recommendation that relates to data that was shared.
- Put customers in control of the data they share.
Jennifer stresses that it’s important for brand marketing strategies to be based on current data and ask customers for updates because preferences change over time.
Integrating customer preference centers within an app or website is one of the best ways to manage zero-party data.
“A customer preference center is a customer-facing hub that includes all pertinent information about a customer — their personal profile, communication preferences, personal preferences, and product wishlists.
The customer has access via a secure login to this portal at any time, allowing them to update (or remove) the preferences they share with a brand,” she explains.
At the base of every successful brand is consumer trust, and zero-party data gives businesses a chance to earn that trust back by allowing customers to willingly share their personal data.
It’s a win-win situation.
Brands get valuable data they can use to increase conversions and grow their business, while consumers benefit with freebies or insights they’re actually interested in.
