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A.M.C. MEMBER NEWS
With the increasingly urgent need to find ways to obtain first-party client data, loyalty apps and tailored data collection offer solutions.
AS AFRICAN MARKETERS ponder the eventual arrival of a digital world where the cookie is no longer king, one piece of advice from a US-based expert is to utilise loyalty apps to gather useful customer data.
Lawrence Edmonson, Chief Technology Officer of Barbarian, an advertising agency that is part of the Cheil Worldwide network of 55 agencies, wrote in the industry publication Ad Age that loyalty programmes and companion apps are becoming standard operating procedure for brands to engage with customers.
“As we enter the golden age of firstparty data – mined with consumers’ consent – loyalty apps can capture actionable intelligence, not just piles of data,” Edmonson noted.
›Loyalty programmes and companion apps are becoming standard operating procedure for brands to engage with customers
›Before accelerating customer-data collection, first evaluate your data and analytics organisational structure and capabilities
PHOTOS: CHRISTINA MORILLO AND TORSTEN DETTLAFF FROM PEXELS He gave several key strategies for optimising loyalty apps to provide useful marketing data. Among them:
l Make it personal. Customers will identify themselves because they are attracted to the possibility of accruing points for redemptions and special offers. Make the app feel like a personal profile, with easily accessible preferences, tailored communications and an interface that prioritises the functions a consumer uses. l Be clear about privacy policies.
One might think that consumers would choose the most restrictive privacy settings when downloading an app. But that is not the case.
So, with loyalty apps, brands should be very clear about what they’re offering without worrying about scaring people off. l Drive seamless experiences. A well-built loyalty app allows for seamless commerce, including shopping, payment and redemption.
The user experience should be well thought out and feel ‘contactless’ and intuitive, with a combination of transactional (commerce) and nontransactional (unexpected) benefits. l Incentivise frequent use. The more a customer returns to the app, the more benefits they should see. To further reward loyal users, brands should create special categories within apps that increase rewards for staying on the platform. l Keep it consistent. Some brands make the mistake of keeping loyalty programmes separate from their credit cards and other rewards programmes, which makes them harder to navigate. Other brands confuse customers with rewards points that just don’t add up.
GARTNER OFFERS DATAGATHERING OPTIONS
Meanwhile, global insights agency Gartner has its own suggestions as to how to capture first-party data.
“Ultimately, digital marketing leaders need to get customers to willingly share their preferences by building compelling touchpoints for data capture as consumers make their way to a purchase on owned channels,” Gartner says.
“Done right, first-party data can strengthen customer relationships, as it enables organisations to provide more personalised, relevant experiences. But how marketers gather and manage firstparty data will be key.”
Here are three things digital marketers should be focused on right now, Gartner believes:
No. 1: Establish a foundation Before accelerating customer-data collection, first evaluate your data and analytics (D&A) organisational structure and capabilities – and look to identify efficiencies and close gaps.
In the ‘Gartner 2020 Marketing Data and Analytics Survey’, which polled both producers and consumers of marketing analytics, 64% of respondents said that data management, data integration and data formatting were among their top three most time-consuming activities.
“The challenge of effectively integrating and utilising customer data will only become more pressing as regulations on third-party sources increase,” the company said.
Marketers will need to tackle technologies and capabilities, including the best use of customer data platforms vs. other technologies and the most effective processes for data acquisition, organisation and storage. They’ll also need to benchmark the maturity of their advanced analytics teams and learn what best practices are and how to follow them.
No. 2: Tailor data collection Consumers are increasingly concerned about who is collecting their data, how much of their behaviour is being tracked and what companies are doing with their information, so be prepared to tailor your approaches to data collection to ensure consumers are willing to share it.
“You’ll need to follow data privacy best practices and plot a strategy – perhaps using lessons learned by peers – to incentivise account signup and leverage first-party data to improve the customer experience across sites, apps and email,” Gartner advises.
No. 3: Create compelling touchpoints Getting consumers to volunteer information about themselves requires a compelling value proposition. Loyalty programmes that solicit data in exchange for transactional and experiential rewards are popular models, but opportunities exist for incentivising account creation or data capture outside of traditional loyalty programmes as well.
For instance, if you ask a customer why they want to return an item, you may be able to act upon that decision and improve the marketing communications, or even the product itself, over time. Retargeting efforts and 1:1 communication through email and social media continue to capture information that is valuable for marketers.
Stresses the company: “All marketers will need to get more sophisticated about how to use data from loyalty programmes to deepen engagement on owned channels in a way that strengthens customer retention efforts – and turn points of churn or friction within the post-purchase experience into an opportunity to collect valuable data and feedback.”
Editor’s Note: While there has been much focus on the removal of thirdparty cookies on Google Chrome, it is also worth noting that Apple’s blocking of tracking cookies across its approximately two-billion devices has already had an adverse impact on social media companies relying on this data for their advertisers. Apple’s decision to block ad-tracking by default on iPhones – rather than have users purposely opt-out – has downgraded growth expectations for social media adspend in 2022 and 2023.
