Third-party data… second-party data… first-party data… and now zero-party data?
NB: This is an article from Revinate
Yes, there’s another kind of data you need to be aware of — and not just so that you can sound smart at the next hospitality conference, but so that you can bring in impressive business results for your hotel. (Though hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll be ready for both).
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If you came here for the textbook definition of zero-party data, we’ll quote Forrester, who minted the term a few years ago:
“Zero-party data is that which a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand. It can include preference center data, purchase intentions, personal context, and how the individual wants the brand to recognize [them].”
Before we get into what that means (especially vis-à-vis third-, second-, and first-party data) and why you should care, maybe you’re wondering — why are we putting data into different parties?
These categories are important because these data types have big implications for what software tools you should invest in. Not to mention data privacy regulations, and your overall marketing strategy. No big deal, right? Wrong – huge deal, of course.
But in my view, some of these divisions are more meaningful than others. Third-party data vs first-party data? Big difference. First-party vs zero-party? Close cousins. And when it comes to choosing the right data platform, there’s something even more important than what party your data is in.
What about zero-party data?
Like first-party data, you get zero-party data directly from interactions with your customers. You could say (and we would) that zero-party data is a subcategory of first-party data.
The difference is one of emphasis: zero-party data includes only information that your customers share with you proactively. Think survey responses, polls, preferences — basically anything your customer had to intentionally type into a form and hit submit. People freely share this information with the explicit promise of a more personalized experience.
First-party data, meanwhile, also includes passive interactions with your customers, like what pages of your website they browsed, what emails they opened or clicked on, etc. It covers purchase data — booking data and stay data — as well.
Both first- and zero-party data are essential for personalization in marketing. And both require the benefits of a CDP to reach their full potential.
There are nuances in how to collect and activate different kinds of zero- and first-party data, especially within the hospitality sector. And we’ll definitely get into that another time.
