– Zero party data should be collected when driving traffic to a website, regardless of revenue.
– The most valuable time to collect zero party data is during sign up, although it can also be collected through quizzes and post-purchase.
– Zero party data should be used to segment the audience and determine which segments drive the most revenue, rather than focusing on personalization.Start collecting zero party data if you’re driving traffic to your website and spending money. Revenue doesn’t matter.Frequent Q&A about zero-party data questions.
Q: When should we start collecting zero-party data? What about revenue?
A: If you’re driving traffic to your website and spending money, you should be collecting zero-party data. Revenue doesn’t matter.
Q: Where should I collect zero-party data?
A: Collection should occur during sign-up. You can add a quiz and post-purchase if you’d like, but realize that those two points are “pre” and “post” intent and, though valuable, not as valuable as during sign-up.
Q: What questions should I ask?
A: Frame questions around the buying journey. Do not ask for personally identifiable information, including zip codes, names, gender, or other information that doesn’t matter to the journey.
Q: How can I use the data?
A: Depending on the platform, there are several ways to use the data. While personalization is often mentioned, it is not the only option. Instead, use the data to segment your audience and understand which segment drives the most revenue and where they come from. It is more effective to look at cohorts of segments to determine the most valuable ones for your business, rather than focusing solely on personalization. Personalization via email is time-consuming and often limited. Hyper-personalization based on answers is often misunderstood and requires a lot of effort. A good platform (e.g., Formtoro) will provide insights on how data relates to revenue and the specific value of those combinations tied to revenue and ad spend.
Q: My agency wants to test ads and put together emails first. Is this the right approach?
A: Yes, start with emails, but keep them basic. You need something, so don’t overthink it. Once you have data, update the emails to make them more relevant. As for ads, the first ones may be a good starting point, but if you’re not collecting data, it’s all guesswork on the brand’s dime. Be ruthlessly efficient with your capital. If you already have emails and are driving traffic, prioritize collecting zero-party data first.
Q: What program should I use?
A: Capital allocation and budgeting are business decisions. You can start with free tools that have limited capabilities and only collect data, or you can choose tools that have teams that handle everything for you and provide data reporting and strategy. If you’re spending money on paid ads, I’d highly suggest that you look to those that can do this for you, it’s a massive difference.
Q: We don’t have the budget, what should we do?
A: Odds are you spend money on ads, on updating your website, on people to run your ads, on emails, etc. Zero party data with the proper partner improves your ads, emails, product pages, landing pages, website, and helps you to personalize communications to your audience. Saying you don’t have the budget just means that you don’t understand proper capital allocation.
Shift your budget to the ONLY thing that impacts all of your existing expenditures. It’s the most efficient allocation of capital you can make.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jivanco