By Brendan Clarke, Director of Operational Performance, tmwi
The current changes in the ecommerce landscape seem to offer a one-of-a-kind opportunity to create memorable marketing moments and build strong customer relationships, only if advertisers and marketers are willing to move strategically. So how can they do this and what is the stand out area that marketers need to re-think to make ecommerce really work?
First, it is important to understand the sheer scale of the digital ecommerce space. Online purchasing has increased by $183 billion, according to a recent research based on analyses of the COVID-19 epidemic in Forbes and this has led to a shift in focus for brands to get attribution and retargeting right.
Knowing your audience is key to this and it is vital to focus on effective marketing and targeting the right audience. Our solution to that has always been testing, targeting and yes, more testing. With the future precarious for third party cookies, it is time to delve into first party data rather than trusting data you don’t own, which will put the power back into businesses’ hands that successfully manage and understand this data.
Dive into the data
At tmwi, we prefer to collect more data and further analyse it to really target and focus on our clients’ goals. While talking to our ecommerce clients, we know they want to claw back revenue and aim for high conversion and it is the data that holds the key to unlocking audiences – and attributing results accurately.
The future of data privacy is being shaped by big shifts in how businesses handle customer data. You can no longer rely on third-party sources, therefore developing a first-party data strategy is essential for meeting your customisation and privacy objectives. Data gathering is the initial step in implementing a first-party data strategy.
You may start gathering every first-party interaction, working in real-time, and building personal connections with your consumers after you’ve received unequivocal and explicit authorisation.
Set your sights on the customer
Even though third-party cookies are being phased out, it doesn’t necessarily have to hinder our capacity to customise and offer excellent client experiences.
My advice would be to increase the value of your first-party data! Use your own rich datasets for targeting, re-engagement, customisation, and other strategies instead of depending on third-party data you don’t control. A first-party method not only allows your data to operate in real-time, but it also ensures that your data is more reliable and comprehensive because it ultimately comes from your consumers.
The rise and rise of ecommerce in 2021 is going to gather pace into 2022 and it is an area where the digital industry has a promising future. The sector has a lot of room to develop in the coming year and this will be fuelled by how much marketers are willing to leap into data and attribution with both feet.
