Data is like oxygen to marketers. More than 80% of marketers say their decisions today are data-driven, with data powering everything from personalization to understanding trends and ultimately, running more successful campaigns with greater ROI. However, 2024 presents a challenge for marketers – the data we so desperately need is going to be harder to get.

Last year was a landmark year for privacy regulations driven by mounting consumer concerns – Typeform’s “Data on Data Report” found that 86% of people say data privacy is a growing concern for them. In 2023, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was strongly enforced, and in the U.S., more states enacted comprehensive data privacy legislation, with nine additional states expected to put new laws into effect in the next few years. Google also began to deliver on its long-awaited promise to end third-party cookies, which are restricted for 1% of users as of January 2024, and will be removed for all users by the third quarter of this year, according to the company.

Marketing leaders have known that this time would come – and now as the future we’ve been anticipating unfolds, all signs point to a formidable conclusion: modern marketing needs to adopt new strategies, as well as revisit and revamp old approaches, to understand and reach our target audiences. While this seems daunting, there’s an opportunity to roll up our sleeves and reimagine marketing practices, get creative, and build better customer relationships. It’s no longer enough just to just acknowledge these changes are happening – we have to take action.

Here are three effective strategies to continue exceptional marketing amidst data scarcity:

Gather Zero-Party Data to Get Insights Straight from the Source

Zero-party data, which is data provided directly and intentionally by customers, presents a huge opportunity. It holds value for businesses for many reasons, but the real beauty of it is that it gives you explicit insights directly from the source. This data is more accurate and reliable, reducing the risk of misinterpretation. Beyond that, it builds trust – you can take a

privacy-consented approach and inform customers transparently how their data will be used, and they can choose whether or not to give it to you.

You can go about collecting zero-party data in different ways, from online quizzes, to feedback forms, to social media polls. Another example is through loyalty programs, where you prompt customers to share information in exchange for benefits like rewards, discounts, and other incentives. According to a recent study, when motivated by benefits like discounts and exclusive access, 74% of participants say they would share personal information with a brand when prompted.

By collecting zero-party data, you will better understand and delight customers on their terms. You can then enrich that data with other data sources to further complete the customer picture, giving you a deeper understanding of who they truly are, so you can segment, target, and engage with precision.

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Use AI to Supercharge the Marketing of Tomorrow

AI is a marketing enabler – and it’s here now. If you’re not already implementing AI-powered innovations, you’re behind. Today we have so many tools at our fingertips to better understand our customers, target, and engage them. And with AI, you can turbocharge your team’s productivity, leveraging it for both strategy and execution. At this point AI won’t replace roles, but it will make your people more efficient and effective in them.

When it comes to better understanding and reaching our customers, dozens of innovations are coming out every day. Consider how earlier this year, Google integrated its most advanced AI model, Gemini, into the Google Ads platform to enhance advertising performance. Or how Scalestack’s RevOps platform researches, analyzes, scores and prioritizes customer leads and accounts with AI tools. In the face of hard-to-get data, AI can help us make the most of the data we do have, revealing insights, helping us prioritize, and engage our customers in a faster, smarter way. BCG found that businesses that use AI see 20% performance improvement, and when AI has regular human guidance, businesses see a performance jump by 35%.

Treat Your Audience Like People

Say goodbye to targeting based on generalizations – marketers can’t assume that not all 25–35-year-old females like lattes. Some may prefer cold brew. To give customers the

personalized experiences they expect, separating the latte lovers from the cold brew crew, you have to have the data that tells you who they are, what they want, and how to reach them.

Losing cookies, mobile advertising IDs, and probabilistic IDs leaves a gaping hole – but permitted targeting options can help fill the void. Marketers can learn about buyer preferences, behaviors, and interests through tools like Typeform and LiveRamp ID that help you bring together data to better understand your customers and create a marketing engine unreliant on third-party cookies. Teams are also making old tactics new again, such as using marketing mix models to inform budget allocation across channels.

Changing your approach to personalization and understanding customers in this new (and old!) way takes time, resources, and effort. It won’t happen overnight – which is all the more reason to start now, before you have to rely on it entirely.

The data-challenged future we’ve talked about for years is here. Marketers who don’t prioritize learning new ways to get the information they need will find themselves at a dead end. The drought will end when we discover and perfect new ways to collect and leverage the data that’s out there for the taking. By incorporating strategies like zero-party data collection, AI-innovation implementation, and drawing refreshing tactics of the past to personalize marketing efforts, marketers can combat this data drought and emerge ahead.

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