Data Privacy & Data Quality Driving Success in Direct Marketing
Data quality and privacy-consciousness can help drive your campaigns’ success.
As marketers search for new ways to gain consumer attention, they need ever-more relevant, fine-tuned messages to engage an individual’s interest – preferably when interest is at its peak. Stefanie Cortes of RRD shares the role of data quality and data privacy in making your direct marketing campaigns more engaging and effective.
Marketing professionals face a challenging paradox these days: consumers are increasingly concerned about how their personal data is collected, how it’s being used, and where it might end up. Yet, on the other hand, as BCG found in a recent survey, two-thirds of respondents want customized interactions when interacting with a brand. On top of that, there aren’t enough skilled data scientists to handle the amount of data that’s out there.
With 79% of Americans concerned about the way companies are using their data and distrust continuing to grow, marketers must now pivot away from traditional data tactics and evaluate new privacy-oriented strategies. This will enable brands to create targeted strategies to reach consumers while maintaining the personalized experiences they expect. Placing consumer privacy at the forefront of data management strategies has thus become crucial.
Shift Priorities to Focus On Zero- and First-party Data
One approach brands are taking is backing away from reliance on third-party cookies and other data-gathering tactics consumers perceive as invasive. But if consumers want customized interactions, this leaves privacy-conscious brands in a quandary: How can they offer finely tuned customer engagement without gaining access to strong data and insights about an individual’s preferences and behaviors? The solution lies in zero-party and first-party data.
The phrase ‘zero-party data’ refers to first-party data that a consumer intentionally shares with a brand. Marketers are increasingly viewing zero-party data as the gold standard of their industry, offering a non-intrusive alternative to gathering reliable and trusted data on consumers.
Considering the numerous touchpoints consumers use when interacting with a brand, it’s not unusual for zero-party data to reside in dozens of different places within an organization. By revisiting key channels – loyalty programs, preference centers, surveys and the like – marketers can glean useful insights on their customers. These and similar channels can become primary sources of new and more reliable consumer data – which also builds trust with consumers because they’ve willingly given up this information in exchange for more personal interactions.
Act on the Personal Data You’ve Collected
Customers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations. To make this happen, marketers need to find and operationalize zero- and first-party data and look for creative ways to leverage audience insights to acquire and retain customers. By uncovering previously untouched information through data mining, they can design a more tailored customer experience. Step one of a consumer-centric data management strategy includes awareness of every interaction your brand has with every consumer in order to retrieve, retain and maximize data.
But keep in mind, by asking consumers directly for data, you’ve implied that you will act on it – so it’s important to follow through. After all, with so many choices in today’s digital world, consumer loyalty waxes and wanes. By analyzing zero- and first-party data to understand what consumers value most in their interactions with your brand, you can create a personalized experience while delivering differentiated value.
In order to best act on the personal data you’ve collected, it’s important to find talent with both marketing savvy and data science skills who can not only assess data, but also support creative and multi-channel delivery. For this reason, soft skills such as data storytelling and data visualization, as well as hard skills like data literacy and commercial understanding, are integral when it comes to hiring and developing talent.
See More: 5 Best Practices To Implement for Data Privacy And Protection
Direct Mail Helps Break Through the Digital Noise
The direct mail channel is undergoing a notable resurgence, according to the findings of our Macro Marketing Report. In fact, nearly three out of four (73%) surveyed U.S. marketers agree that consumers are showing a growing interest in direct mail. Data privacy concerns are also contributing to the continued interest in direct mail campaigns. A vast majority (85%) of marketers surveyed are adjusting their digital marketing strategy due to data privacy concerns. Of this group, three out of four (76%) have opted to reallocate the budget to direct mail.
Even amid the proliferation of digitized channels, marketers are finding that direct mail excels in specific use cases, with the unique ability to offer a hyper-personalized and targeted audience experience. When asked which purposes are best suited to a direct mail campaign as opposed to other channels, the largest number (47%) of respondents said direct mail is best for providing personalized offers and messaging. Almost as many (45%) cited campaigns that relate to and complement a digital marketing strategy. In fact, triggered and retargeted direct mail – for example, sending out a personalized letter, flier, or postcard to a recent website visitor that didn’t convert – are rapidly growing segments.
When consumers were asked whether they prefer direct physical mail or email based on the nature of the information presented, a solid majority (57%) said they’d rather receive a catalog of products or services as physical mail that they could thumb through at their leisure at home or on a train or plane. A slight majority (51%) said they would rather receive localized messaging and offers – such as the opening of a new store near them – as direct mail than as email.
A Novelty for Digital Natives
Some marketers are turning to direct mail to engage with today’s digitally-fatigued consumers. Our data also suggests that digital natives – those who’d been exposed to computers and the internet from an early age – find physical brand communications novel and thus more intriguing than the social and email messages they’d grown up with. Analysts speculate that these younger consumers perceive direct mail as more authentic, personally connective, and tactile than the familiar digital channels.
While four in 10 surveyed consumers across all age brackets said they’re more excited about direct mail, this percentage runs notably higher among younger generations – 63% of Gen Z respondents and 62% of Millennials. Marketers find these numbers compelling in light of current trends in purchasing power – which is shifting into the hands of Gen Z. In fact, these younger consumers – born between the late 1990s and early 2010s – today wield $360 billion in discretionary spending potential. A resounding majority (91%) of surveyed marketers said they have adjusted their overall strategy to better engage these buyers.
A Way Forward for Privacy-conscious Direct Mail Marketing
Showing customers that your brand can be trusted to protect their privacy has evolved from a nice gesture to an imperative for success. You can build trust by communicating what data you’re collecting, how you use it, and how this practice benefits them. Yet surprisingly, our research has found that only one in three brands currently communicate with customers about their data security policies.
It’s easier for brands to responsibly steward zero- and first-party data – and to vouch for its reliability. As they launch a direct mail campaign – where accurate targeting and personalization are critical – marketers can feel more confident about hitting the mark with higher-quality data.
What steps are you taking to ensure data quality standards and privacy consciousness in your direct marketing campaigns? Share with us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
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