How SALESmanago & Zero Party Data can help you with the new Data Privacy regulations, Cookieless World, and reduce your carbon footprint

Zero-party data is the only reasonable answer to the new privacy-first notion in eCommerce. It remains in compliance with the latest privacy regulations. Big Tech is not interested in the elimination of zero-party cookies, besides such datasets can also be stored outside of them. It is the only green dataset among those used by marketing teams. And now, with SALESmanago’s first zero-party data centric Customer Data Platform, together with the latest feature, Customer Preference Center, you can finally make use of the most comprehensive knowledge you can get from your customers.

To explain the advantages of zero-party data, first, we have to introduce you to some basic definitions

Basic Definitions

Dataset types in eCommerce

The most currently used types of datasets in eCommerce are first-party data and third-party data. Both these dataset types come to you aggregated and let you only target generalized groups, not individual customers, with their specific needs and desires. To address individual needs, you have to get to know your customers. For this purpose, you need a new type of dataset: zero party data.

All 3 types of data are stored within cookie files.

Cookies

Cookie or cookie file is a piece of text stored in your browser's memory to collect information about your online behavior. Anytime the browser needs some of this important information, it uses it to retrieve data. 

Example:

Imagine you enter a new website and register as a new user. Next time you’ll try to log in, the website will prompt your username. The information about your nick isn’t stored in a browser memory; it exists as a cookie file on your computer. While you enter the login page, the browser requests this information and automatically completes the username input field. 

First-party data

First-party data is information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies by companies first-hand from their recipients.

Example:

An example of first-party data could be the on-page behavior and transactional information collected by SALESmanago on a user's site. It's a bit like a good salesperson who observes and remembers their customers' habits in order to recommend them the most suitable items from their booth with no questions asked.

Third-party data

Third-party data is customer information collected by companies that have no direct contact with those to whom the data relates.

Example:

To understand how third-party data works, think of a municipal archive. This organization stores information from different administrative units. All the information is sorted and clustered. It can be accessed by different people often for a certain price. Third-party data works similarly. A company collects from other companies their first-party data about large groups of consumers, like winter sports fans, gamers or CEOs. You can have paid access to this data, but it will be already aggregated. Instead of knowing who exactly you are targeting, you will only know the general characteristics of the group, gathered from people's behavior on various websites.

Zero-party data

It is information explicitly given by the customer, which is proactively and voluntarily shared. Unlike the first- and third-party data, zero-party data refers to all kinds of information requested by brands and provided directly by customers. 

Example:

Zero-party data can be explained using an analogy to a brick-and-mortar store. When a person enters an isle with a specific type of product, all they know is that they want an item from this isle. It is often that the amount of available options is more a curse than a blessing. A store associate approaches them to help and starts asking questions. They ask about the customer's preferences, conditions, how they will use this item. According to this information, they help a customer pick the item that will suit them best. In this example, zero-party data are things the customer tells a salesperson which will help them find the right product. 

The only reasonable answer to Data Privacy regulations

Year after year, Data Privacy regulations around the world prohibit or severely constrict third-party data, because the customers have enough of spray-and-pray tactics of contemporary eCommerce marketing teams. 

Some examples of Data Privacy legislations:

• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them and the CCPA regulations provide guidance on how to implement the law. It gives the consumer i.eg. the “Right to be forgotten” or the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information. 

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives EU citizens new control over their data and their interactions with companies.

• US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

• Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the legislation extends government restrictions on wiretaps to include transmissions of electronic data.

• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) gives parents control over what information websites can collect from their kids.

Collecting knowledge from own sources, like customers’ carts (first-party data) and especially from direct conversation with the customer (zero-party data) can never be constricted or prohibited, because it would be like prohibiting a greengrocer's owner from asking the customers, what kind of apples they like.

Besides zero-party data, there are also other ways modern CDP can help in data privacy issues.  

Dataset to survive in the cookieless world

Big Tech complied and started putting in place its own privacy measures. First, Safari killed the tracking cookie. Then, the iOS14.5 update limited the use of device IDs. Soon, Chrome will be eliminating the 3rd party cookies. 

All of these changes are chipping away at how the retail and eCommerce industry has done marketing for years.   

Big Tech has no interest whatsoever to ban zero-party cookies. And even in such a case, zero-party data can be stored outside of the cookie files.

Meet the consumers' need for sustainability

You may not be aware, but your customers’ view of the importance of sustainability of services and products shifted drastically in recent years. According to Dentsu and Microsoft worldwide research project, surveying over 24,000 people from 19 countries, to understand consumer perceptions of sustainable business:

• 86% of the study participants responded that they were concerned about climate change. In comparison, consumers revealed a similar level of concern about the pandemic (85%), the health of their friends and family (79%), and the cost of living in their area (76%). Clearly, consumers feel that climate change affects them personally.

• 88% of the respondents stated that they would make a sustainable purchase when able.

• 87% of those surveyed said they want to do more to combat climate change.

• 87% said they would be willing to change services and the products they purchase to combat climate change.

In other words, to survive the paradigm shift in the climate awareness of customers, it is time to turn eCommerce into ECOmmerce.

Storing and processing third-party data requires a lot of energy, enlarging the carbon footprint of the company using it. All data storing and processing requires energy, but these datasets do nothing to compensate.

First-party data also can do very little to compensate for the energy required to maintain it.

Intelligent zero-party data utilization might lead to a significant reduction of carbon footprint which results from the global growth of eCommerce especially in the area of logistics (shortening the supply chain leading to reducing emissions) and production (ability to reduce waste by super lean production).

SALESmanago - first zero-party data centric CDP with Customer Preference Center

Until now, there weren’t any tools to help a company effectively collect, manage, and action zero-party data. With the recent release of the SALESmanago’s Customer Preference Center, this is no longer an obstacle. Our system enables you to effectively make use of the zero-party data. First, you gather the data with the Customer Preference Center. 

Customer Preference Center allows you to use various built-in tools from the Customer Data Platform to collect information about consumers. You can freely combine and use them to get to know your audience even better:

• Pop-ups

• Landing pages

• Email

Collected data will immediately enrich the customer’s 360 profile in the SALESmanago Customer Data Platform. On the basis of this knowledge all actions, including those described in the Automation Rules, can be undertaken. All of this is readily accessible for every Campaign and execution channel such as email marketing. The data is automatically available for the product recommendation engine which you are using to personalize the customer experience on your website.

This allows you to not only better personalize the website but also to send extremely personalized offers via:

• SMS

• Email

• WebPush notifications

It’s also available in real-time in your Customer Data Platform account where you can create segments with the precision never seen before. 

This is the first such tool on the market, enabling you to effortlessly:

• collect

• manage

• action