Marketing today is all about being data-driven – using data to understand consumers, provide better experiences and personalize offers along the journey. There are many different types of data and classifications of data such as third-party data that can be purchased and data that is inherent to every organization – the first-party data every business has on its own customer base.
Interested in seeing how your first-party data and our third-party data can work together to engage your target audience and boost your customer acquisition goals?
What is First-Party Data?
First-party data is information a company owns and collects directly from its audience, which is comprised of customers, website visitors, and social media followers. First-party data is collected from data in your CRM, customer surveys, customer feedback, social media profiles, and actions taken on your website or app. Collection of this data is made possible by adding a pixel to your digital platforms that records your audience’s behaviors and actions in your CRM or CDP.
What is Third-Party Data?
Unlike first-party data, third-party data is collected by an organization that doesn’t have a direct relationship with your audience. Third-party provides deeper insights into your target audience that first-party data is unable to collect, such as a person’s browsing activity on various websites and apps, geo-demographic data, lifestyle, interests, household income, marital status, home address, whether someone has just moved or plans on moving soon, and much more.
The Power of First-Party Data
While every business may have data, not every company understands how to use it. Data is moving faster, comes from any number of channels, and it can be overwhelming to know what to collect and what is just noise.
However, every marketing data strategy must begin with an organization’s first-party data before adding other elements into the mix such as second- or third-party data insights.
In research by Invoca, marketers said they are mostly confident in their first-party data.
Marketers also stated they have access to the following types of data:
- 73% – Company websites
- 66% – Mobile apps
- 66% – In-store transactions
- 62% – Purchase history
- 56% – Phone call
When using data to optimize ad performance, marketers cited several challenges. Data quality and accuracy followed by privacy and security concerns were the areas marketers found most challenging.
Related Reading: How Customer Acquisition, Omnichannel Marketing, and Data Quality Work Together
Another area of interest for marketers is AI and analytics, with many marketers expressing an interest in doing more with these disciplines to draw better conclusions from their data. Only about half of survey respondents were using AI in their data-driven strategies.
How to Use Third Party Data to Reach Your Target Audience
Third-party data continues to thrive despite concerns over privacy and speculations that it will become obsolete. Much of these criticisms of third-party data are regarding its unreliability. Unfortunately, third-party data can get a bad rap when it is unethically sourced or compiled from unknown sources. Brands must always ensure they are using data from a reputable, third-party vendor.
While first-party data is without a doubt the most valuable place to start, marketers can’t rely on their first-party data alone. Often, these records are missing important contact details such as email address, phone, or home address. Or the records become outdated when consumers move and don’t provide their current information. A third-party data vendor can easily update records with correct contact information to ensure brands can continue to communicate and retain their customer base.
Third-party data is extremely valuable for segmenting and personalization. Adding insights such as lifestyle information, demographics, firmographics, hobbies, interests, and more can ensure marketers are relating to their target audience with personalized messaging.
With technology advancements and the proliferation of so much data, third-party insights into purchase intent are increasingly available. For example, Porch Group Media’s product, Signals, can connect brands with consumers who are shopping for products and services based on their browsing and shopping activity, identification of visitors browsing websites, and life event triggers.
When first and third-party data are used together, marketers can develop rich customer insights to improve the effectiveness and ROI of marketing campaigns.
Third-Party Data Management & Integration Solutions
Learn more about Porch Group Media’s first and third-party data management and integration solutions. Click below to request more information.
