Report: 88% say first-party data is more important to organizations than two years ago

Although the impact of the global pandemic is decreasing, marketers across industries are still faced with economic uncertainty, compounded by an urgency to find innovative ways to understand and reach their customers — all whilst adhering to stricter digital privacy legislations.

Even as marketing budgets are slashed, a non-negotiable is the expectation for a great customer experience (CX) with every brand interaction. Striving to meet the soaring demands of consumers in these uncertain times, marketers need to draw on the flexibility they’ve honed in recent years, and ensure their marketing strategy is supported by three important pillars: A first-party data strategy, personalized content with compelling storytelling and brand consistency, and composable technology.

To gain a perspective on these pillars, Acquia worked with Vanson Bourne to collect the views of 2,000 consumers and 200 marketers in the U.K. and U.S. in August 2022. The survey explored shifts in expectations from marketing decision-makers and consumers about CX, martech and budgets, and consumer data privacy.

It found that organizations that build direct, high-quality relationships with their customers have an edge. Marketers need to collect, organize, understand and protect the first-party data that customers choose to provide them, which might include digital interactions, contact details, information about product preferences, and purchase history.

Acquia’s report also found that marketers are creating first-party data strategies to generate insights for personalized content and an engaging CX as web browsers prepare to phase out third-party cookies. This suggests that marketers are set to follow Big Tech, 88% of those surveyed say gathering first-party data is more important to organizations than two years ago, and 41% say gathering enough data about consumer preferences to create compelling CXs has been very important over the past 18 months. Additionally, 35% “strongly agree” that their organization is “fully prepared for the cookieless future.”

Read the full report from Acquia.