thod to unlock first-party data strategy //

It can be daunting to create a data-driven strategy. My experience has shown that a marketing plan based on first-party information drives better results. I have helped clients at all stages of developing a data-driven strategy, from discovery to implementation and measurement to optimization. This article will cover a four-step process for creating a strategy for first-party data.

1. Discovery

The discovery phase involves phases of learning, documentation, and shared learning.

Learning phase

Discovery should not feel like stopping progress. However, it is a great time to reflect and reset. Step into the shoes of your customers as a first step. Find out the routes they take. Find out where they get stuck. When will they reach their “goals”?

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Documentation phase

Document your journey. This will help you determine the success metrics you are looking for (e.g., event attendance, order placement, or form submissions). These milestones are likely being used by existing campaigns. Start tracking and monitoring if not. Match these steps to where data is being collected and the systems that store it.

Does the company use a CRM to collect leads? What ecommerce system is being used and to what other systems are it sending leads? This can be used as a guide for documentation.

Finally, work with other departments in order to share your findings and make sure that the data can be used for marketing purposes. During this phase, we work with IT departments and product development teams.

You may be able to assist in ongoing workstreams, but you’ll most likely need help from other departments.

Learnings shared

It can take a long time to conduct a thorough discovery. A banking client’s discovery process involved interviewing seven different departments and auditing their five marketing systems.

The result was a variety of documentation including a 70 page document that included roadmaps, recommendations for processes, advice on how to set up a centre of excellence, and instructions for reporting. The CDP took several months to develop, but the client has successfully used it for the past two years.

We will often perform a maturity assessment to determine an area for focus (either an untapped marketing channel or a feature in an existing tool that they pay for). This includes auditing the marketing system, and working with our key stakeholders to determine goals.

One technology client underutilized the content features of their CDP. We created a taxonomy for their products so that they could create audiences based on content affinity and recommend relevant content to users.

Dig deep: Why data-driven marketing is important

2. Implementation

Planning

You can create a plan based on the components needed to reach your goals. Remember that the “goals”, found during discovery, should be your key performance indicators. During this phase, you should consider the following:

• Channel.
• Audience.
• Messaging.
• Timing.
• Goals.

Make sure your team is equipped with the necessary resources to size and plan audiences in order to make budget recommendations. Media buyers can take care of the rest, just as they do when buying addressable media. Ensure you fill in the gaps discovered during discovery.

Set-up

For example, this can include setting up the connection between systems for our clients and creating audience logic or rules within the systems. You can, for example:

• A CPG customer wanted to increase the number of members in their loyalty program. We created a solution that allowed them to import their loyalty data fields directly into their CDP, so they could create an audience seed for Facebook marketing.
• A client of a financial publisher wanted to run an abandonment campaign. We used data that was already available to them in their tools, and we helped set up the audiences and run an A/B testing.

Testing is a crucial consideration in the planning phase, whether it is A/B-testing multiple versions of the creative or using a holdout group to validate media spend.

A test will ensure that you set up your campaigns so they can be reported on. This step is important even if you don’t have a test.

Dig deep: Why the most powerful marketing tool is testing

3. Measurement

Measurement is the most data-driven part of any process. You should think of measurement in terms of both delivery and performance.

Delivering the message means making sure that it reaches the intended audience. Look at email deliverability metrics when the campaign launches. It is especially important when implementing a new ESP. It is important that your IP reputation and the rules of your new ESP are in sync.

In paid campaigns, you should look at the reach of the campaign and the budget pacing in relation to the remaining campaign days. You can spend less on channels that aren’t delivering.

4.

You can use benchmarks to understand the performance of your marketing efforts. These benchmarks allow you to optimize both within and across channels.

When a test has been implemented, set a point at which the results will be statistically meaningful. We were able to test the effectiveness of the incremental email by using a group that was not part of the campaign.

While low performance and stagnant results can be disappointing, you may learn the most from your failures. You can base your next data-driven campaign on the results of previous campaigns. Create feedback loops so you can easily repeat this process with every new plan.

Final Thoughts

You can use this approach to unlock strategies for first-party data across all your marketing channels. This process creates a valuable reference for your new employees and business partners. Update your strategies as your business changes.

Every planning cycle should include the implementation and measurement phases. This will lead to a cycle of “continuous improvements” if you continue doing it.

The original post Unlocking First-Party Data Strategies was published first on MarTech.