The challenge for e-commerce brands today is to establish a solid relationship with customers. To ensure that your customers become repeat customers or defenders of your brand, you must enhance loyalty, since thanks to it you will make a difference compared to the competition. Brands can achieve this by having relevant communications that add value to the customer, and offering the best experience at every step of the customer journey.

However, we are facing a digital reality compromised by customer privacy, such as the GDPR, the disappearance of third-party cookies, the Apple iOS15 update that restricts brands from extracting data from their customers.

The way we collect and use customer data is evolving as customers become more informed about what information is collected, its use, and their privacy rights. Also keep in mind that people are willing to share their data as long as there is a good reason to do so.

With this panorama, brands must look for new models to reinvent themselves. There are already different solutions in the advertising industry, and today we will talk about some that, at Webmefy , we consider to be the FUTURE Zero-party data (first-hand data)

Zero-party data is data that the user gives you proactively, intentionally and directly. This can include anything from an email address, phone number, age, gender, sizes, favorite colors, styles, dietary needs, preferred products, places you travel, even hotel preferences.

Can you imagine all the information that can be extracted? All of this data can be valuable in the right context. EX: Knowing someone's gender, size, style, and favorite color can help you suggest the perfect products if you have a clothing brand.

In other words, zero-party data moves brands away from the generic and makes interactions with their customers highly personalized and relevant.

We know that it is not easy to collect this information from your customers, however, the best way to obtain this data is to be very strategic and correlative in offering a unique customer experience.

5 efficient ways to collect zero-party data.

1. Pop-ups to capture emails and SMS: very common when you visit an eCommerce not only to get contact from users but to increase your database and impact them. Tip: do A/B tests to define which format best suits your audience.

2. Subscription programs: Knowing how often someone wants to buy your product not only helps address their needs, but also creates a personalized marketing cycle. This is another way to use zero-party data to improve the customer experience.

3. Quizzes: One of the most creative ways to get information from customers. This format is quite useful when users are faced with different options for a product; With this type of questionnaire, brands can offer a better customer experience with personalized product recommendations.

4. Social media engagement: Taking advantage of social media features and posting sponsored stories on Instagram through Ads Manager is another useful way to collect data and information. On the one hand, your customers get the opportunity to participate in a story survey with your brand. On the other hand, you will gain valuable data that you can use in the future to personalize customer experiences.

5. Loyalty and rewards programs : This initiative will help collect other types of data from your customers such as birth dates, product preferences, and lifestyle data. When a customer decides to join a brand's loyalty program, it is because they feel connected to the brand. They are willing to give any information to participate in the program and benefit from what it offers. Thanks to the data collected in these loyalty programs, brands can understand the purchasing behavior of consumers.

In conclusion, D2C brands should consider that zero-party data is the best way to overcome the cookieless upgrade. It is the best way to know more about customers, the most economical and accurate to obtain reliable information since it comes directly from the source.

Once you've collected this data, you can put it to work to optimize your sales funnel through personalized marketing campaigns and increase your eCommerce sales. 80% of customers are more likely to buy when brands offer them a personalized experience .