by Camilla Bass, Content Marketing Manager at 
First-party data – such as actions a customer takes across your website – is the backbone of any good personalisation strategy. Packed full of behavioural insights and implied interest, it allows marketers to personalise the shopper’s experience across all stages of the customer journey.
But if you want to enhance your personalisation with additional insights that first-party data can’t provide, consider using zero-party data – the data which a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand. While first-party data helps marketers infer a customer’s interests and preferences, zero-party data provides explicit information to add colour to customer profiles.
Here are three ways to enhance your personalisation with zero-party data.
1) Personalised marketing emails
If you’ve ever visited an eCommerce pet product retailer, you might have been asked to share information about your favourite animal, the type of pet you own or your pet’s name. This is a prime example of zero-party data, information that can enrich a customer’s experience with that retailer.
Let’s say your customer owns a labrador named Lucky, and they’ve shared this information when signing up for your email newsletter. You can use this data to enhance the personalisation of your newsletters. For example, you can catch their attention with a dynamic hero banner that pulls in an image of the relevant animal and breed, in this case, a labrador, along with the pet’s name. This will help you resonate with your customer, build their confidence and keep them engaged with your brand.
You can then use first-party, real-time purchasing data to recommend bestsellers in your selection of labrador products. Including personalised product recommendations in email newsletters is proven to boost sales by up to 24%, making it a tactic worth adding to your marketing toolkit.
2) Personalised coupons
Most of us have eagerly shared our date of birth with retailers, restaurants and brands in exchange for the promise of birthday discounts and treats. This information enables marketers to delight their customers each year by sending them a token of appreciation. And since birthday emails generate 342% higher revenue per email than promotional emails, the customer won’t be the only one celebrating.
Marketers can boost the revenue-generating potential of birthdays by combining zero-party data with first-party data. For example, try sending your customer a personalised coupon on their birthday to spend on their most frequently browsed or purchased product category. A targeted offer such as this is more likely to resonate with customers and lead to a conversion.
Bonus tip: The most effective coupons follow customers from triggered and bulk emails to your website, and vice versa, to increase the exposure and redemption rate.
3) Personalised product recommendations
Many maternity and baby product retailers add the option for customers to share their due dates while signing up for their newsletter. When combined with first-party data such as frequently purchased or browsed products, this information can help marketers boost the effectiveness of their product recommendations. For example, before the due-date marketers can recommend maternity clothes in the customer’s most browsed brand, switching to baby products once the due date has passed.
Recommending frequently browsed or purchased products is a great way to harness the power of familiarity, as customers tend to prefer items they have seen multiple times. Try using this recommendation type on the homepage to encourage shoppers to click through to your product pages. Displaying onsite personalised product recommendations is proven to boost sales by up to 12%.
Final thoughts
By capturing consumer motivations, intentions, interests and preferences at scale, marketers can build upon first-party data to enhance their personalisation. Whether you’re new to zero-party data or you’ve been collecting customer insights for a while, these three personalisation ideas are guaranteed to provide your visitors with an experience that delights and converts.
Feeling inspired? Download The Ultimate eCommerce CRO lookbook for 21 real-life eCommerce personalisation examples to help you increase your conversion rate.
