As dealerships started shifting their focus on digital channels for their marketing efforts, their approach towards data collection and analysis also changed. The need to reach the right consumers with relevant content and personalized messages has made first-party data a crucial asset for marketers. In this article, we will explore why dealerships need to adopt a first-party data strategy, how they can leverage customer data for insights, and the advantages of using a Customer Data Platform (CDP) for managing first-party data.
The Importance of First-Party Data in Marketing to Digital-First Consumers
Digital-first consumers expect a personalized experience from brands across all channels. A dealership’s first-party data helps them provide that experience by enabling them to target the right consumer with the right message. Using first-party customer data creates a deep understanding of the consumer’s needs, preferences, and behaviors that a dealership can leverage to provide tailored experiences.
Leveraging first-party customer data for audience insights
A dealership’s first-party customer data can be a treasure trove of audience insights. It provides information on customer demographics, preferences, purchase history, and more. These customer insights can be used to identify patterns, segment customers into specific audiences based on their behavior, and personalize messages for more targeted marketing.
The risks and costs of using unreliable customer data for marketing
Using unreliable customer data for marketing campaigns can cost dealerships significantly. Marketers risk sending irrelevant messages to consumers or targeting customers with the wrong content, leading to wasted ad spend, low conversions, and a negative impact on the dealership’s reputation. Dealing with the aftermath of such scenarios can be time-consuming and can result in lost revenue.
How a Customer Data Platform (CDP) can improve targeting and automate outreach
A CDP can help dealerships optimize their marketing efforts by providing a unified view of customer data across systems. CDPs can create audience segments based on customer data, identify patterns in the data to provide insights, and automate outreach through personalized messages. A CDP streamlines the marketing process and improves the chances of customers engaging with dealership content.
Why a CRM or DMS is insufficient for harnessing first-party data
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or a Dealer Management System (DMS) can help dealerships collect customer data, but these systems are typically limited in their capabilities. A CRM may not have detailed enough information on consumer behavior, while a DMS may not have access to non-sales-related customer data. A CDP provides a comprehensive view of customer data that is required for running effective marketing campaigns.
The capabilities of a first-class CDP in managing, cleaning, and securing customer data are as follows:
A first-class CDP can manage customer data from multiple channels and platforms, clean and append missing information, securely store and encrypt data to protect customer privacy, and create specific audiences for marketing efforts. A CDP automates the process of managing customer data, ensuring that marketers can focus on running effective campaigns.
Limitless marketing opportunities with actionable and clean first-party data
When dealerships can clean and take action on their first-party data, it offers limitless marketing opportunities. They can run targeted campaigns based on customer behavior, create personalized messages for specific customer segments, and make decisions based on data. Dealerships have the potential to reach new customers while enhancing the experience for their existing ones.
Improvements in Key Metrics such as Costs per Conversion and Ad Waste
Using first-party data leads to improvements in critical metrics such as costs per conversion, and reductions in ad waste. This is because first-party data allows marketers to target the right customers with the right message, ensuring that resources spent are more effective.
The future of automotive marketing relies on secure and ultra-targeted first-party data. As dealerships’ focus continues to shift towards digital channels, the collection and analysis of first-party data will become critical for effective marketing. The future of automotive marketing will rely on secure and ultra-targeted first-party data to reach the right customers with real-time personalized messages.
Dealerships can utilize first-party data to effectively reach the right audience with personalized and relevant messages. Using a CDP is one of the most efficient ways for dealerships to leverage first-party data for campaigns and insights. A CDP provides a cohesive view of customer data, automates marketing campaigns, improves key metrics, and offers endless marketing opportunities. With the ongoing transition towards digital channels in automotive marketing, first-party data is becoming an essential asset for dealerships.
