41% of Marketers Rely on Both First- and Third-Party Data to Drive Personalization Efforts
Data and analytics are now driving many marketers’ personalization efforts, and new research shows that it’s been a mixture of both first- and third-party information that is helping them craft effective strategies.
Merkle recently published its “Customer Engagement Report” for the second quarter of 2020, and statistics showed that according to most marketers (41%), it’s both first- and third-party data that is driving personalization efforts. However, first-party data may start to become more critical in the near future.
“With the crumbling of the third-party cookie soon to impact how marketers personalize experiences across devices, it’s important that marketers continue to aggressively capture first-party data while also establishing a solid identity resolution capability,” wrote the authors of the report. “Identity is the core differentiator marketers need to deliver the total customer experience”
A total of 46% of U.S.-based marketers, in particular, rely on both first- and third-party data equally. Just 35% of U.S.-based marketers solely utilize first-party data.
Tackling the Inaccuracy of Marketing Data
Although marketers now have an abundance of data and analytics at their fingertips, previous research suggests that they may need to verify its accuracy before putting it to use.
Experian conducted its “2020 Global Data Management Research” report, and statistics suggested that 28% of current customer/prospect data is suspected to be inaccurate in some way, according to marketers. Only 51% claimed that the current state of their CRM data is “clean.”
“That level of inaccuracy affects the organization in a broad number of ways,” wrote the authors of the report. “Organizations see traditional issues like wasted resources and an inability to rely on analytics. However, it also affects the organization in terms of its key initiatives. Poor data negatively impacts the customer experience and the success of new data-driven programs.”