Third party data, when and how to use it.

For companies who have already begun implementing a customer centric, data driven marketing plan, first party data is about as far as most have gotten. Yet to be tackled are the issues of scale, augmenting audiences, finding good quality third party data to use to create scale and also finding the right segments and consumers to target. Dealing with first party data and making sense of it enough to tell a story, and then making it useful, is enough to send may marketers searching for the “easy button”. Stories of millennial marketers with freshly printed degrees in hand, being tasked to build data-driven strategies with the data on hand and whatever else they can find, have many of the questioning their career choices. Third party data providers have stories of seeing their eyes glaze over at the prospect of listening to another third party data provider, and what they have to offer, then remembering which segments each is strongest in. But this is where the real value in data lies.

Getting the right data for the best ROI; No one promised this data driven, customer centric omnichannel marketing strategy stuff would be easy. Those that will see the most ROI will be the ones who abandon the lazy route and the easy button and see it more as a quest. Finding the right data to add scale and growth to the bottom line is hard enough the way data is in silos. But then add to it data providers are all good at different things. Some third-party data providers may have the most up to date, accurate, e-mail lists. While others may have the best consumer information, and yet others may have the best online or mobile data. Unfortunately, marketers in search of the quickest, easiest solution, may be missing profits and ROI by glazing over and repeating “we have a trusted data partner”, before ever A/B testing other providers. Having a strategic plan and knowing what data is needed, then beginning the collection process for that data by vetting data providers is the only way to ensure success. While there are simple seemingly “one stop” large data providers out there, chances are good you are leaving data and money on the table due to some inherent drawbacks to the larger providers.

Have a strategy, and work the strategy; Making sure you have a data-driven strategy, are clear about the audience you want to reach, and then having a data collection strategy, while it may be a time-consuming process, in the beginning, is the ultimate way to ensure success. A/B testing as many data providers as possible is the best way to make sure you get the highest volume of data and the best quality. While many of the data providers have the same data as each other, often times it is not the same quality or type. Having a clear strategy on the data points that will most likely help you identify the right audiences for your campaigns and discussing this with the data provider as well as how the data is collected and verified, will sift the pool of data providers quickly. Once this is done, testing the data is the next step to determine if there are any gaps left.

Vet and A/B test often; While having a “trusted data provider” is great, often times it is good to “trust but verify”. Sources change, partnerships fall apart and anything can happen in these early days of data. Industry consolidation and shrinkage may mean your trusted data provider today, may no longer have the same sources or access to the same content tomorrow. It is always good to double check the data you get before deployment and have a base file for validation use to match that data against for consistency sake. While this may seem like “big budget” thinking, in the end, the ROI and potential lift generally prove out. If you find a DMP already doing this process in the background then you are already one step ahead.

The bottom line; The “easy button” and taking the lazy route will not help nor advance your customer-centric, data-driven strategy. If you aren’t taking the steps and going the extra mile to make sure you have the most complete, accurate and up to date set of data to run your campaigns with, you can bet your competitors do. Taking the steps to build the right audience and getting the most complete data set, at scale, is not and easy job, but in the end, it will get you where you need to be for your campaigns and ensure their success.

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Datastream’s OneDB records are all opted in, and consumers can be targeted offline by postal and telemarketing efforts, and online by keyword, interest, and intent. Audiences can be targeted by intent to purchase categories, IP Address (B2B & B2C), and by a device (desktop, tablet, and smartphone). Data can be licensed for append purposes, marketing purposes, and hygiene & verification uses. Datastream will also enhance and enrich a company’s existing records through their OneDB platform.

Datastream has a competitive edge licensing their data because there is a large appetite in the current market for a marriage of digital identities to households. The Consumer Master File is built from active online consumer and business audiences and can be traced back to a postal address. We specialize in that. ([email protected])