The world of digital marketing is constantly changing in an effort to satisfy ever evolving consumer expectations. In the past few years, one expectation that has clearly come into focus is consumer privacy; however, advertising agencies and their clients cannot address privacy without addressing marketing measurement too.
Improving consumer privacy by adopting new approaches to marketing measurement is not without its challenges. Nevertheless, adopting the latest in measurement solutions can help companies better understand which marketing strategies are/aren’t working for them and adapt accordingly. Long-term, this helps them meet their KPIs and other benchmarks.
So, the question remains: Do your marketing measurement solutions measure up? If they are lacking, here are five essential parts of a marketing measurement plan that will help set you up for success this year:
1. Use first-party data to your advantage.
Direct customer interactions reveal a lot about their preferences and needs. Utilize these insights to make business decisions that have transformative digital results.
For example, when you examine the purchase histories of repeat customers, can you identify specific purchase patterns? Identifying these patterns can help you determine when to promote specific products and/or services.
For Your Consideration:
- Is there any first-party data you’ve never analyzed?
- How might analyzing that data impact future marketing decisions?
2. Synthesize first-party data using cross-platform tools.
Many companies engage with consumers across multiple platforms. That’s great, but it makes aggregating data difficult. The solution rests in cross-platform analytics, which help companies develop a more complete understanding of the customer experience, start to finish.
For Your Consideration:
- Are you analyzing data from different platforms separately? If so, how can you develop a cross-platform solution to help you integrate data and analyze results comprehensively?
3. Be upfront with customers about data usage.
It goes without saying that respect for customer privacy is a must. Customers are more likely to share their data if they understand how you plan to use it. Asking customers what type of data they consent to sharing and explaining how you will use their data enables you to learn what type of information customers are most willing to share and, consequently, helps you better predict where you may have lapses in certain types of data.
First, ensure your privacy policies align with current regulations associated with site users’ rights to control how their data is collected and used. Second, conduct a comprehensive review of all associated communications and policies to ensure the language is easy for your customers to understand. This goes a long way in establishing trust.
Talk with members of your team who have direct customer interaction. They can provide great insight to how language can be adapted to better suit your customers’ way of communicating. Also consider putting a positive spin on data collection; for example, Unilever begins its cookie policy with “…we respect your concerns about privacy and value the relationship we have with you. Like many companies, we use technology on our website to collect information that helps us enhance your experience and our products and services.”
At the end of the day, it is possible to make (most) everyone happy: You can continue tracking conversions while respecting user consent preferences by controlling how your site utilizes ads and cookies.
For Your Consideration:
- Is the language used in your privacy policies easy for consumers to understand?
- Do you ask customers for consent to use their data and do you clearly communicate how their data will be used?
- Have you conducted an internal review of the way user data will be used?
- Have you conducted A/B testing to determine what type of language is most effective in communicating with your core audience?
4. Use conversion modeling to compensate for measurement lapses.
Increasing privacy regulations and cookie restrictions have made traditional ways of measuring conversions more difficult. The result is lapses in data which might otherwise provide a more complete picture of the customer journey.
The solution rests in conversion modeling, which relies on machine learning to assist in “filling in the blanks” created by measurement lapses. Some of the most important examples of available modeling for online conversions include (but are not limited to): modeling for third-party cookie limitations, modeling for first-party cookie limitations, impact of iOS14, and cross-device conversions.
For Your Consideration:
- Are lapses in data measurement leaving you with an incomplete picture of the customer journey?
- In what ways can conversion modeling give you and your team greater insight to the customer experience and help you to optimize it?
5. Optimize the customer experience using secure, cloud-based solutions.
By identifying consumer trends you can better predict their behavior and consequently, provide them with a better user experience.
To accomplish this, you can amalgamate first-party data in a cloud solution. bringing their first-party data together in a cloud solution. Access to centralized data and automated customer analysis allows you to make more calculated business decisions. Furthermore, the identification and analysis of specific algorithms can make customer data more secure while providing you with advanced insights like customer lifetime value (CLV), which can help you make better investments, build loyalty programs, and boost revenue and growth.
While you may think it’s to your advantage to use a third-party company to measure the success of digital campaigns or track the customer journey, these companies add third-party tags to your website which can erode data security. By moving third-party tags to a cloud-based solution, the third-party can no longer access customer data from your site.
For Your Consideration:
- How could a cloud-based solution improve data security on your website or provide other benefits to your company?