Enhancing and personalising the customer experience on the one hand, and progressively, though not definitively, overcoming third-party cookies on the other: in the era of data-driven marketing, it has never been more important than now to start again from consumers and the relationship established between them and the brand.
In this context, therefore, a new approach and a new marketing methodology is affirmed, which is called people-based marketing and which, as can easily be guessed, puts people at the centre.
People-based marketing: what it is
People-based marketing is about targeting an audience with relevant messages, wherever they are by collecting customer data from online and offline sources, we can say that it is a marketing methodology that aims to put people at the centre.
The value of first-party data
To fully understand what people-based marketing is, we must consider the importance of first-party data.
People-based marketing uses the collection of first-party data, such as but not limited to customer and transaction data, to better understand their behaviour, interests and desires.
First-party data is any information that is collected directly from the behaviour of the audience, usually via the website and proprietary channels and therefore does not come from a third party. This type of data ranges from a customer’s name and demographic information to the type of device they are using to browse.
This is data over which companies themselves have greater control and exclusivity, as it is information they acquire through direct interactions with users on their own channels.
People-based marketing and data-driven marketing
If the data-driven approach is mostly based on the analysis of big data, the people-based approach puts the customer relationship at the centre. While the former emphasises the collection and analysis of as much data as possible on the consumer, the latter focuses on an in-depth knowledge of the individual that also includes information and the collection of personal data.
A truly people-based marketing approach requires a holistic view of the customer.
The advantages of people-based marketing
There are many advantages to using first-party data in a people-based marketing strategy, but let’s see what they are:
Personalised browsing and purchasing experience
Through the collection and analysis of first-party data we improve our understanding of the target audience and the audience to which the message or campaign will then be addressed. We can learn about the behaviour, understand the interests and desires of the audience. how and where they are most engaged. All this then translates into the creation of highly customised messages and content tailored to each individual customer.
Higher ROI of Campaigns
Data collection and analysis, which puts the customer at the centre, according to a people-based approach, also improves all optimisation processes as well as the browsing experience.
Campaigns using customised messages created through first-party data analysis are able to increase ROI considerably.
More effective retargeting strategies
All digital marketing activities have always relied heavily on the use of third-party data, think for example of platforms such as Google, Facebook, for the analysis of user behaviour data to be used for campaign delivery. Increasingly restrictive privacy regulations and the phasing out of third party cookies and mobile advertising ids have made it more difficult for these players to collect and share data accurately. Today, to implement digital marketing and especially remarketing strategies that work and perform well in terms of results, it becomes increasingly important to use first-party data. It is important that data from different sources are integrated so as to avoid data silos and managed at the single customer view level.
Using first-party data for retargeting campaigns allows you to tailor your message and reach the right target audience, increasing performance and reducing budget waste.onalize your message and reach the right target audience, increasing performance and reducing budget dispersion.
The importance of content marketing in a people-based marketing strategy
In a people-based marketing strategy today, content marketing plays an ever more fundamental role.
The use of content for the acquisition and creation of valuable and lasting relationships must take place through content created to meet specific customer needs and requirements and not simply to promote the product.
For this reason, it becomes essential to create content of an informative nature, providing the user with a valuable resource and not simply a description of a product’s characteristics. Today, more and more, those who purchase and subsequently establish a relationship with a brand do so, not only for the product, but on the basis of the value that the brand represents and distinguishes it from its competitors.
If, on the one hand, content represents the first point of contact, in order to ensure that the customer establishes an initial relationship with the Brand and then builds loyalty, it becomes fundamental to set up a lead nurturing strategy to ‘nurture’ and maintain these acquired contacts.
In fact, it very often happens that not all leads are ready to buy at the time of the first contact with the brand, or in the worst case scenario they may never convert.
For these reasons, it becomes fundamental to reach these customers with content that is not only relevant, but above all personalised, created according to their profile, and in this the analysis of data as seen before plays a primary role.
People-Based Marketing: the importance of omnichannel
Compared to third-party data, first-party data gives us a more accurate and precise view of user behaviour, allowing us to understand their interests and desires, but also their preferences when interacting with the company’s channels.
This becomes even more important when using first-party data to structure and create omnichannel strategies so as to reach the customer on any channel and throughout the entire customer journey.
To do this, however, it is essential that all data from the different touch points and channels are collected and integrated, breaking down data silos and favouring a single customer view.
For this, companies must equip themselves with CDP tools such as Blendee.
Several times we have had the opportunity to discuss the subject of normalising data at the level of the single customer view as an enabling factor for strategies aimed at personalising the customer experience and omnichannel experience.
A unified view thus allows not only a complete and accurate representation of each customer and user, but also contributes to an improved customer experience across all channels and touchpoints, as well as having a positive impact on operational efficiency and streamlined decision-making processes.
Blendee is the first end-to-end solution that allows you to monitor and orchestrate the entire customer journey from first impression to post-purchase.
It is based on an effective identity resolution process (Blendee ID) that allows the unambiguous cross-domain recognition of each individual user, in real time thanks to the convergence and resolution of the different user IDs attributed during different interactions.
With the announced deprecation of third-party cookies in the world of advertising, in particular, a fundamental tool with which to identify users in a cross-platform perspective is missing.
Blendee’s Marketing Operating System provides marketers, publishers and advertisers with a unique solution that enables them effective cross-domain, cross-channel and cookieless customer experience personalisation strategies.
