How first-party data is a valuable asset that organisations should invest in and what does the future hold?

Organisations across industries are trying to amp up their first-party data in the wake of Google and Apple phasing out third-party cookies by 2023 completely. But most do not have a strong conviction to invest in solutions to capture, manage and leverage customer data effectively.

In one of the sessions ‘First-Party Data – The Value Lever for Digital Marketing’ conducted during MMA Impact India, The Future of Modern Marketing event yesterday, Deepak Bakshi, Managing Director, Accenture Strategy & Consulting, Accenture India, Dippak Khurana, Co-founder & CEO, @Vserv, Anuj Kumar, Co-founder, Chief Revenue & Operating Officer, Affle, Tejinder Gill, General Manager, The Trade Desk India, spoke about how brands should go about harnessing first-party data to stay relevant in the future. 

Kumar of Affle said, “Many businesses are still functioning in the traditional manner where there is no digital-first approach, while businesses which are digital-first are leveraging first-party data. For example, Telco and BFSI companies might know who the customers are and what are their preferences, whereas an FMCG company might not know as someone might walk into the general store and buy products physically. The challenge for these companies is where to start? This is like a change in the DNA. That's how the D2C brands are making it big because they are leveraging this technology.”

Khurana of @Vserv said, “If your business has relied on physical distribution channels for the products then you might not have thought about collecting data in a traditional setup. FMCG companies are more of product manufacturing companies that rely on traditional distribution channels. Today there are some traditional companies who are seeing the importance of first-party data and have started working on the ground and are taking it to digital. For example, P&G is a good example of traditional companies adopting this approach.”

Gill, of The Trade Desk India, spoke about the capabilities businesses have to focus on while building their stack of first-party data. He said, “If you think about the framework, be it any industry, we tell marketers what purpose they want to solve. And then look at your third-party data, audit it properly, and see how much dependency do you have on your third-party data providers? Analyse what you already have and what you need. Brands need to understand what is the value that is exchanged between the brand and the consumers when the consumer is trusting you.”

Experts say that first-party data is the best way to ensure that consumers’ personalised needs are fulfilled. Although there is a conversation amongst the industry, as well as the consumers, about the breach of data, first-party data is consensual and as a consumer one can always control it.

Consumers need to be educated properly about data collection and what value it will add to their lives. Gill shared that 75% of Indian consumers are concerned about how data is getting collected, but 61% of consumers are comfortable if they have control over their data, meaning when they control the businesses using it.

With first-party data, the measurement of various aspects that have an impact on businesses will become easier. Khurana said, “Nowadays, brands rely on platforms such as Google and Facebook to determine consumers with similar behaviour, but with first-party data, brands need not rely on these platforms and be independent in their journey.”

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