When it comes to creating effective business and marketing strategies, brands need the right tools and information to accelerate their growth and surpass their competition. Companies should invest in data-driven marketing technology to better understand and connect with their customers. Data helps marketers learn what audiences are out there, what they’re looking for, and what motivates them to engage with brands. Which data-driven marketing innovations do companies need to know about?

Marketing relies heavily on automation, from email campaigns to social media to customer relationship management. Brands should take advantage of automation to simplify the task of capturing, organizing, and leveraging consumer data. It makes it easier for marketers to collect contact information, analyze campaign results, and so on. Brands can also use automation to connect processes across different platforms and build frictionless workflows, reducing the amount of resources needed and eliminating the risk of human error.

Brands should also consider investing in artificial intelligence to better serve their customers’ needs. Artificial intelligence helps identify and segment audiences, optimize marketing campaigns, and develop data-driven insights. For example, marketers can use artificial intelligence to track website activity and send personalized recommendations, or predict future sales performance and adjust their strategies accordingly. Automation and artificial intelligence decreases the need for guesswork and increases a brand’s efficiency, giving marketers time to work on more complex tasks.

Marketers often combine artificial intelligence with machine learning to create bots for different data-related purposes. Crawlers help fetch publicly available data, transactional bots help move data between systems, and informational bots send data via push notifications, emails, and text messages. Lastly, chatbots utilize natural language processing (NLP) to drive conversational marketing efforts and collect user data. They help customers book appointments and make reservations, view product information and personalized recommendations, and receive discounts and special offers. For example, Sephora customers can receive makeup tips and recommendations, read product reviews, and book in-store appointments without needing to talk to a human. Global consumer retail spend via chatbot is expected to reach $142 billion by 2024.

As data-driven marketing technology evolves, more brands are moving towards a hybrid business model to blur the lines between physical and digital retail. Customers want omnichannel shopping experiences that allow them to seamlessly move between a brand’s online and offline marketing channels. For example, consumers want to be able to order food or book appointments without making a call or waiting in line. They want physical locations to have access to their online purchase history so they can receive in-store recommendations. Omnichannel marketing is powered by zero-party and first-party data, which gives brands insights into their audience’s preferences and behaviors. Data creates cohesive, personalized experiences that foster user retention and cutomer loyalty.

In addition to omnichannel marketing, consumers are also looking for more ways to directly connect with brands at their own convenience. Two alternative retail models currently growing in popularity are subscription box services and direct-to-consumer (D2C), both of which allows brands to simplify shoppers’ path to purchase and gain access to more user first-party data.

In a subscription box business model, consumers sign up to receive products on a recurring basis. Brands can collect data about their audience’s preferences and motivations by asking them to answer a quiz or complete a form to receive curated boxes based on their responses. They can also ask subscribers for feedback to improve their product offerings over time. For example, Bark Box is a subscription service for dog owners. When creating an account, subscribers provide information about their dog’s size, breed, and allergies to receive a curated selection of toys and treats. Data-driven subscription services help brands retain users, reduce churn, and drive customer loyalty.

In a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy, consumers purchase products directly from brands, rather than through an intermediary retailer. This gives brands more control over the buyer’s journey from start to finish and allows them to capture data at every user touchpoint, strengthening their relationships with their customers. In D2C, marketers can look at their data to quickly identify opportunities and issues without outside interference. Some of the best-known D2C brands include Dollar Shave Club, Glossier, Everlane, and Casper.

Brands can also use data to reduce friction within their existing retail model. For example, self-checkout and same-day delivery relies on automation to help customers complete their purchase as quickly as possible. Click-and-collect, or curbside pickup, helps brands correlate users’ online activity with their preferred store locations and improve their shopping experience.

Checkout-free shopping uses data-driven technology like machine learning, smart shopping carts, QR codes, and RFID tags to simplify the shopping process. In this cashierless retail model, consumers download an app on their phone that automatically connects to the store and processes their payment in the background. This eliminates waiting times, improves inventory management, and provides detailed information about how products are moved, handled, and purchased. One of the best known examples of checkout-free shopping is Amazon Go, which utilizes computer vision, sensors, and machine learning algorithms.

Brands leverage mobile commerce strategies to drive brand awareness, increase customer engagement, and collect user data. In SMS marketing, customers text a brand’s keyword to a short code phone number to opt in as a subscriber. From there, brands can send messages about product launches, upcoming sales, and special events. They can also capture consumer first-party data about which messages they've opened, which offers they’ve redeemed, and so on. For example, Stonyfield Farm, a yogurt and dairy manufacturer, asked customers to text the word ‘STONYFIELD’ for a chance to win 1 of 8 behind-the-scenes zoo experiences.

Mobile commerce has also evolved to allow customers to directly make purchases through text message, also known as text-to-order. In text-to-order, shoppers complete the buying process via text from start to finish without needing to visit an external website or log into an account. For example, Walmart’s Text To Shop lets customers add items to their cart and place their order for pickup. It also recommends products based on consumers’ previous purchase history. Both SMS marketing and text-to-order are quick, cost-effective, and powered by user data.

Marketers use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to create immersive brand experiences. In virtual reality, users view three-dimensional images with specialized hardware, while in augmented reality, users view the real world with additional visual, haptic (touch), or olfactory (smell) elements. Brands use virtual reality to demonstrate products and services, while they use augmented reality to let shoppers test products for themselves without needing to go to a store. They can then collect data about their customers’ interests and interactions to serve better recommendations over time. For example, Pinterest’s AR technology helps users “try” makeup products and “place” furniture in their physical environment. The global VR and AR market is forecasted to reach $300 billion USD by 2024.

Some brands take interactive shopping experiences one step further, allowing users to directly purchase products through social networks without needing to navigate to external websites. Platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok use social posts and paid advertisements to increase awareness and generate sales. They also provides brands with data on what types of social content results in conversions like clicks and purchases. For example, marketers might learn that videos result in more sales than photos, or that customers prefer user-generated content over influencer-created content. Currently, social commerce is most popular with younger generations; millennial social commerce spending is expected to reach a global spend of $401 billion, with Gen Z spending at $359 billion.

Companies might also provide shoppable video content on their own website or mobile app. For example, Wish, a discount retail app, recently launched Wish Clips, which “lets users view product details and purchase products showcased in 5- to 30-second videos”. Seller tools like Wish Clips help brands monitor their sales performance and gain valuable first-party data, such as user engagement and video watch time. Another video marketing strategy growing in popularity is livestream commerce, similar to home shopping channels. During a livestream, hosts and influencers promote products, chat with viewers, and encourage people to make purchases. From there, brands can collect and leverage data in real time. For example, they can look at which viewers expressed interest in a specific product, then send them a personalized discount code before the livestream even ends. Livestream commerce sales are predicted to “account for as much as 10 to 20 percent of all e-commerce by 2026”.

In addition to advertising networks and social media platforms, more brands are also investing in audio and in-game marketing. Digital audio advertising is heavily data-driven, as programmatic audio platforms use targeting parameters that help brands reach specific demographics and niches, which creates audiences of highly qualified leads. Audio ads are most commonly heard on streaming services like Spotify and in mid-rolls for audiobooks and podcasts.

In-game advertising, on the other hand, can be used across different platforms and consoles. Ads can either be static, meaning they can’t be changed after the game’s release, or dynamic, where developers can continuously update the game with newer ads. Brands who utilize dynamic in-game advertising can create marketing campaigns according to player information, such as their location, or based on time-sensitive events, like new product launches. They can also capture user first-party data like view time and engagement to improve future advertising efforts.

Lastly, one of the newest innovations in data-driven marketing technology and in-game advertising is the metaverse, a virtual world where users represent themselves with virtual avatars. Metaverses like Fortnite and Roblox, which run in real-time, rely on social interactions and user-generated content to build dedicated online communities. Like VR and AR marketing, brands can advertise their products and services in the metaverse by merging virtual worlds with the real world. For example, Gucci created a virtual installation, Gucci Garden, based on the real-life Gucci Garden Archetypes, to sell digital fashion. Brands can also create immersive experiences, gamify their marketing strategies, and engage with virtual influencers and established communities. Lastly, marketers can collect a wealth of information about their audience’s interests and motivations that help drive user retention and customer loyalty.

Whether brands are collecting user first-party data through different commerce platforms, interactive experiences, or multimedia ad campaigns, marketers need to understand how to analyze their information. They should also stay up-to-date on developments in data policies and consumer privacy, including the implications and impact of a cookieless future.

Third-party cookies help brands track users across different websites and collect data about their browsing activity. They capture audience touchpoints and behavior, which helps marketers build customer profiles. However, data regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) are calling for the ban of third-party cookies to provide greater protection and transparency.

Most web browsers have phased them out, while Google is currently developing a cookies replacement for Chrome so that marketers can continue to capture user information. Google recently scrapped their initial plan, the Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), for a new system called Topics. If implemented, Chrome will use Topics to analyze people’s browsing history for the five things they’re most interested in, then serve targeted ads based on the results. Topics will also add a randomly generated sixth topic and delete the data after three weeks to maintain consumer privacy.

In addition to Google’s Topics and developing Privacy Sandbox plan, marketers should also keep first-party cookies and cookie alternatives in mind. First-party cookies collect information and track user activity on a brand’s own website, including clicks, sessions, and referral links. Software and technology companies are also starting to develop their own cookie replacements based on existing data collection tools. However, the best alternative to third-party cookies is zero-party and first-party data. Brands can build the most effective marketing strategies around information obtained directly from their own audiences with explicit consent.

Data collection and data analytics go hand-in-hand, as brands need to contextualize information for better business decisions and marketing strategies. Analytics tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and so on can identify successes, opportunities, and issues, and even provide potential solutions. For example, marketers can determine which website pages have a high bounce rate or slow loading times, then make adjustments to improve the visitor experience. When used effectively, analytics can lead to frictionless, personalized, and interconnected solutions, no matter the marketing channel or business strategy. To make the most of zero-party and first-party data collection, brands need to analyze their data, too.

Drive consumer-centric marketing strategies with first-party data

Today’s marketing technology requires data to develop, expand, and improve. Data helps shape segmentation and targeting strategies, build engaging brand experiences, and nurture marketing personalization, user retention, and customer loyalty. Without data, brands wouldn’t have the tools and information they need to grow their business.

With 3 tier logic’s PLATFORM³, brands can create marketing campaigns like SMS promotions, sweepstakes and contests, and loyalty programs to target audiences and collect first-party data. The Data Capture & Analytics module provides marketers with the information required to guide future business decisions and develop a better understanding of their customers. To learn more, book a demo with our team today.