Data-Rich, Insight-Poor: It’s Not About Data Quantity but How You Use It

We’re approaching an entirely new digital divide. While we’re all aware of the divide between the rich and poor, when it comes to data, being data-rich is more significant than being data-poor.

However, unlike money, quantity is not the only relevant parameter. Those who implement a first-party data strategy will come out on top.

Data-rich is when companies deal directly with customers — having plenty of first-party data.

Data poor is defined as those companies that sell through intermediaries, either still relying heavily on third-party cookies or only now considering first-party data strategies.

The abundance of data alone doesn’t guarantee quality insights. To make data-driven decisions and create real value for your customers, you have to rely on relevant sources and powerful data activation tools.

So, if you consider your business data-poor, it’s time to reassess your first-party data strategy.

Where to Start with Your Data 

In this post-third-party cookie, privacy-centric advertising era, you must have plenty of data to work with and all the right tools to activate it in the best way possible. Unfortunately, you’ll miss plenty of opportunities without a clear audience strategy. Luckily, we have some critical considerations for you to move from a data-poor to a data-rich mindset:

1. Create a plan

How do you know what you’re trying to achieve without one? This will help you audit your database, and data and understand what gaps you might have to meet your goals. In addition, this will help paint a clear picture of your current data quality.

2. Test and learn

We’ve said it before, and we’ll repeat it: the best framework is your own. Just because it works for one business doesn’t mean it’ll work for yours. This includes testing first-party data, contextual targeting, cohorts, data partnerships, etc. You can test to see which works best when you have options. Data-driven decisions lead you to the best next step.

3. Collaborate

Your first-party data is one of the most valuable data you’ll ever get, but it might not always be enough. For example, suppose you can source first-party data in your supply chain or build up data partnerships. In that case, you can get rich transactional data and better advertising effectiveness to understand your customers better. 

Staying Data-Rich with the Right Technology

If you find yourself with a wealth of customer insights, having the right data management platform can help you complete customer profiles, providing seamless communication between advertisers and their customers. When you gain a granular understanding of consumer habits and behaviors, you’ll be able to build strong relationships across various channels and benefit from a great ROI. 

There are numerous solutions to overcome fracturing data and the privacy landscape. By consolidating, streaming, and unifying systems, you can create effective internal collaboration across departments and beneficial partnerships with other companies. In addition, the proper research and analysis data can offer real-time campaign insights to optimize advertising actions. 

With the looming divide between data-rich and data-poor companies approaching, it’s essential to consider alternative solutions to maximize insights and manage data while preserving customer anonymity. This is why data management platforms and data clean rooms complement each other. They allow first-party data to be shared between key players in the market while also making the most of data strategies to activate audiences best. 

Ethical and privacy-compliant technology can build comprehensive user profiles in real-time, enhance monetization efforts, and meet key business objectives. In a survey by Vogue, only 21% stated they get a customized user experience by sharing their data, and about half claimed they trust the organization they share their data with. 

Why not prove to customers that their earned trust and loyalty matter most and give them the value exchange they deserve?