Use your company’s loyalty apps to gather important customer data

“As we enter the golden age of first-party data – mined with consumers’ consent – loyalty apps can capture actionable intelligence, not just piles of data,” Edmonson noted.

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.

More personalised and relevant experiences

“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 first-party data will be key.” 

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. 

For more on the move from third-party data to first-party data for marketers, go to pg 22 of the latest issue (Issue 3 2022) of Strategic Marketing for Africa, the magazine of the African Marketing Confederation. You can access the Digital Edition here. Print Edition copies are available via the various national member associations of the AMC.