MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA A Guide to Responsible Data Collection and Application

   

   

MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA

Worldwide data is growing at 40% per year.

Over the past several years, consumers have shared more personal data across a wider breadth of channels and devices than ever before. Surrounded by terabytes of readily available data about their most valuable current and potential customers, brands have made a mad dash to collect as much of this “big data” as possible. Businesses are storing everything from consumers’ locations to music preferences in the hopes that they will enable more educated, data-driven decisions. However, while 99% of businesses consider data and analytics to be important to their organizations, 85% of executives are struggling to accurately analyze and interpret their existing data (KPMG). This is because many businesses are simply using the wrong data. 54% of professionals cite the biggest barrier to implementing a successful data and analytics strategy is the inability to identify what data to collect (KPMG). Many marketers are stuck focusing on event and page-level data in an effort to garner insights around consumers’ preferences and purchase behaviors. What they don’t realize is that these insights are useless without understanding who these customers are and what is driving their behaviors. Marketers must shift gears and implement an identity-centric customer strategy that enables a more purpose-driven understanding of consumers on an individual level.

Here are 3 keys to gaining an actionable view of consumer identity that facilitates data-driven decision making, provides measurable results and drives unique KPIs.

• Leverage 1st party data • Break down data silos • Tie data to existing KPIs

“Big data really is about having insights and making an impact on your business. If you aren’t taking advantage of the data you’re collecting, then you just have a pile of data, you don’t have big data.”

- Jay Parikh, VP of Infrastructure Engineering, Facebook

   

   

MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA

3 Reasons to Use the Right Data • Companies that centralize and operationalize

customer intelligence have 3.5X higher retention rates (Totango)

• Companies that are more data-driven are 5% more productive

• Data-driven businesses are 6% more profitable than other companies (HBR)

Leverage 1st Party Data Many brands are still relying solely on third-party data to understand and reach customers, but this strategy was hardly built for the era of the connected consumer. Data that has been aggregated by a variety of disparate sources fails to create a holistic view of consumer identity. As users connect with brands across a variety of channels and devices, third-party techniques like cookie retargeting are becoming obsolete as they fail to unify individual user identity across touch points. Not only do 65% of US consumers delete their cookies (MediaPost), but over 20% visit websites from 4 different devices each week (Experian). Brands looking to gain a more current, accurate and identity-centric view of consumers are placing increasing emphasis on collecting and analyzing their own first-party data. To accomplish this, brands are implementing social login, which allows consumers to register and login using their existing social media accounts. By doing this, brands gain permission-based access to users’ social data, which reveals such valuable insights as their interests, media preferences, relationships, and more.

   

   

MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA

These rich social insights give brands a comprehensive view of consumer identity and insight into the preferences driving consumer behaviors. By authenticating consumer identity in a permission-based manner, brands are able to create more relevant user experiences that foster authentic consumer relationships, influence desired actions and build brand loyalty.

Login Data vs. 3rd Party Data

Provided at user registration and collected as users interact with your site or app.

Data Sources Collected by multiple, often unknown and irrelevant data providers.

Completely transparent and permission based; users opt-in by registering for your website or app.

Collection Techniques

Users are often unknowingly “cookied” by certain sites and tracked across the Internet.

Brand owns all data and is solely responsible for security and compliance.

Privacy/Security Brand maintains no control over how user data is being used.

All user activity is attributed to a single identity, even across channels, and records are updated with users’ real-time social data and on-site actions.

Accuracy

Data is often stale and inaccurate due to different consumers using the same device and the inability to track user activity across channels.

Break Down Data Silos Consumer activity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Yet almost 65% of marketers agree that silos within their marketing departments prevent them from having a holistic view of campaigns across channels (Teradata), and research shows that the ability to measure marketing ROI is declining as channels continuously diversify (MediaPost). To truly understand consumer identity and influence desired behaviors, brands must have a complete picture of the triggers and touch points driving consumer activity. This requires an aggregate, 360 degree view of consumer connectivity across channels, devices and departments, including mobile, email, marketing, social media, sales, apps and websites, customer service and more.

   

   

MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA

As we discussed, tying consumer activity to a single identity via 1st party social login data is the first ingredient to gaining actionable consumer insights. The next step is implementing a database infrastructure that eliminates data silos by storing and organizing customer data in a centralized location. Selecting a database that can automatically reconcile both schema (name, email, etc.) and schemaless (unstructured data like social connections, interests, etc.) data is key in gaining a complete and immediately actionable view of consumer identity.

Did You Know…

Businesses cite the inability to automate structured and unstructured data quickly and effectively among their biggest challenges, with 60% noting that big data projects typically take at least 18 months to complete (Kapow Software).

Tie Data to Existing KPIs Despite the availability of 1st party data and identity management solutions, many brands still struggle to make data-driven decisions. In fact, only 6% of B2B marketers say they frequently calculate ROI (Demand Gen Report), while 25% of B2C marketers list measuring ROI as their greatest challenge (Webmarketing123).

   

   

MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA

Without the ability to tie aggregate 1st party identity data to key performance indicators, businesses will be unable to effectively measure ROI and make data-driven decisions. Brands must leverage a flexible database that allows them to pour consumer identity and behavior data directly into existing third-party analytics platforms to measure its impact on traditional KPIs. Marketers and IT need to work together to ensure that these insights are captured and displayed in an accessible manner that empowers those on the frontlines of the business to take action quickly. Providing a seamless view of the ways consumer identity and behavior both directly and indirectly impact business goals helps isolate the factors driving or disrupting performance, resulting in a smarter, data-driven organization.

Disorderly Data:

• 26% of marketers don’t know which channel delivers the best leads (1to1 Media)

• Only 18% routinely have a single view of customers (Teradata)

• 33% are unsure as to which channel generates the most revenue (1to1Media)

   

   

MAKING SENSE OF CONSUMER DATA

The connected consumer revolution calls for businesses to reevaluate their data strategies. Marketers who discover that they’re using the wrong data can take the steps outlined in this white paper to effectively transition to an identity-focused and data-driven strategy that unlocks the value of their audiences. Sources - http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/02/cmos-and-cios-need-to-get-along-to-make-big-data-work/

- http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kpmg-capital-study-reveals-96-percent-of-businesses-say-they-are-not-managing-data-effectively-240759191. html

- http://blog.totango.com/2012/06/suffering-from-siloed-customer-data-time-to-get-that-business-in-order/

- http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/191809/study-44of-adults-opt-out-of-targeted-ads-66-d.html

- http://www.experian.com/marketing-services/2013-digital-marketer-report.html

- http://www.teradata.com/News-Releases/2013/Data-Driven-Marketing-Delivers-Enterprise-Wide-Value-Global-Teradata-Survey-Says/

- http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/218791/

- http://kapowsoftware.com/company/news/press-releases/IDG-RESEARCH-SURVEY-EXPOSES-PENT-UP-DEMAND-FOR-CONSUMABLE-BIG-DATA-TO-MAKE-IT-RAPIDLY-ACTIONABLE

- http://www.demandgenreport.com/industry-topics/demanding-views/2353-3-reasons-marketers-dont-measure-roi.html#.UzDwwK1dVGF

- http://go.webmarketing123.com/2014DMRInfographicLP-VerB-HP.html

- https://www.1to1media.com/view.aspx?docid=34663

About Gigya Gigya provides clients with the rich data, intelligence, and tools needed to reach consumers with the right messages, on the right platforms at the right time. Gigya drives user acquisition and engagement for 700 enterprises and reaches 1.5 billion unique users per month, ensuring that today’s businesses stay relevant in the age of the connected consumer.

For more resources on accessing and managing consumer data, visit Gigya.com. To get started right away, you can speak with a product expert by calling: 888-920-1702