Retargeting Falling Short? Boost Conversions with Strategic Zero-Party Data Collection & Activation

Capturing and retaining the attention of mobile-first audiences is a tall mountain to climb. Your customers are bombarded with information and marketing messages everywhere they turn, vying for both their time and dollars. Converting them upon first arrival, while ideal, isn’t always a given. 

Most growth teams have embraced cross-channel retargeting strategies to keep customers engaged, but not all are created equal. In fact, most rely on third-party data for browsing or lifestyle clues to personalize offers and use guesswork for optimization. You’re probably frustrated by the inefficiency in this process, while your customers are frustrated by experiences that continually miss the mark or just feel downright creepy. 

The good news? Strategic data collection is helping brands unlock more value from retargeting campaigns than traditional methods ever could. Airship research found that brands using zero-party data have been able to hyper-personalize experiences, resulting in a 91% lift in purchases. Read on to learn how you can achieve similar results from your retargeting campaigns.

Why Traditional Retargeting Falls Short 

There are a few inherent flaws in traditional retargeting methods that limit your ability to convert customers.

• The Creep Factor: We’ve all had the experience of browsing online for a new pair of shoes or sunglasses, and suddenly seeing an ad for the exact pair just one day later. It can be off-putting and often leads to mistrust with the brand that’s trying so hard to win you over. 
• Limited Value Exchange: Consumers now recognize that their data is valuable, and expect transparency and control over how it’s used. Beyond showcasing products that may or may not be of interest, brands often fail to show their customers what value they receive.  
• Personalization Gaps: Trying to predict what your audience wants based on an incomplete picture rarely offers the level of personalization mobile-first customers now expect.

Why Zero-Party Data Collection Delivers Smarter Retargeting

Zero-party data — a term first coined by Forrester — refers to “information a customer intentionally and proactively shares with brands.” Think interests, preferences, feedback and wish lists. Because zero-party data is given freely, brands can use this information to tailor experiences to a customer’s unique needs and context, building trust and fostering deeper relationships. 

 Zero-party data can be collected through a range of tactics including:

• Preference centers
• Quizzes and surveys
• Net promoter scores (NPS)
• Product ratings 
• Onboarding forms

Building a Foundation for Zero-Party Data Collection & Activation

Capturing exactly when, where and how often customers want to hear from you — and, more importantly, about what — allows you to build experiences that speak to individual wants and needs, accelerating time to value and driving conversions. Simple, right?

The challenge is not as much the concept as it is the execution. Many brands don’t have the right infrastructure in place to collect zero-party data at the right moments or effectively activate it alongside other customer insights. The key is to create moments where customers feel safe sharing their information to receive benefits in return. 

Let’s explore some key considerations for building a foundation of zero-party data collection to enhance your retargeting capabilities.

Examples of Strategic Zero-Party Data Collection Points

Great experiences incentivize customers to share more data as their needs and interests change, which in turn allows brands to serve them better over time. It’s a virtuous feedback loop that delivers increasing value over time when done right. Timing and context is everything.

We’ve outlined key opportunities to capture insights where and when it benefits the customer, so you have the information needed to retarget with intention when it’s time to launch.

• Preference Centers: Give customers the opportunity to share their preferences — channels, interests and communication style — right away.

• App Onboarding Questionnaires: Find out why customers have come to your app and what they’re looking to achieve with your brand. Gathering wish lists, price ranges and preferred brands provides a trove of valuable insights to personalize future experiences.  

• Post-Purchase Surveys: Understand why they chose your brand, and what they liked or disliked to capture product satisfaction and future intentions.

• NPS Surveys: Capture customer feedback about the overall customer experience to double down on strengths and tackle weaknesses head on.

• Loyalty Program Insights: Capture customer feedback about the overall customer experience to double down on strengths and tackle weaknesses head on.

Airship’s Branching allows brands to capture cleaner, more actionable zero-party data by customizing surveys in real-time based on customers’ previous responses. Presenting the most relevant questions to previous interactions or stated preferences increases completion rates but yields the exact data you need to create an experience that resonates.

From Intrusive to Personalized: Examples of Retargeting Done Right

Customers who feel understood and valued are more likely to make repeat purchases and become brand advocates. Here are just a few examples of how brands across retail, travel, media and finance can leverage zero-party data to take retargeting from broad strokes to 1:1 engagement.

Hyper-Personalized Content

• Tailored Product Showcases: If a customer shares a preference for sustainable fashion and casual wear, highlight eco-friendly clothing lines.
• Lifestyle-Specific Recommendations: Share content about educational investment products for clients saving for their children.
• Feature-Focused Highlights: Offer ad-free experiences for those that have expressed frustration with ads in the past. 

Tailored Offers and Promotions

• Value-Based Discounts: If a post-purchase survey indicates a customer found a product slightly out of their preferred price range, retarget them with an exclusive loyalty discount.
• Wishlist Notifications: Notify customers who expressed interest in a specific travel destination when a seasonal package goes live.
• Tiered Rewards: Retarget loyalty program members with promotions tied to achieving the next loyalty tier.

Contextual and Timely Messaging

• Interest-Specific Content: Invite a client who wants to learn more about retirement planning with invites to a free webinar on building a retirement portfolio.
• Preferred Channel Delivery: Prioritize customers’ preferred channels shared during onboarding.
• Event-Triggered Engagement: Retarget customers who expressed interest in a live event with early bird access to tickets as the date approaches. 

How Ulta Doubled Conversion Rates with Hyperpersonalized Retargeting

Exploration is an important part of the beauty journey, so converting customers upon first arrival isn’t always a given. The team turned to Airship to create a new framework for capturing customer insights from the moment people start browsing, so they could later follow up with hyperpersonalized content to inspire a purchase. The goal? Move more customers from exploration to conversion.

The Ulta team quickly constructed a survey experience with Scenes, inviting visitors to select their eye color to discover what mascara color was right for them. Based on what button was tapped, the visitor was then redirected to a custom landing page offering unique recommendations. This information was appended to customer profiles using tags for future targeting efforts.

Six and half weeks after survey completion, Ulta Beauty sent a retargeting message to customers via its in-app Message Center and push notifications, encouraging them to “complete the look” with featured products that would complement their eye color.

The result? 2.8X higher purchase conversion rates among those exposed to the in-app Scene compared to those not exposed. Read the full success story here.

Adopt a Growth Experimentation Mindset

Zero-party data collection strategies — including the context, value and simplicity with which asks are made — should be continually optimized. Try out different tactics to understand which approaches are most effective at engaging your audience and capturing the right insights. A/B testing questions, incentives and design can help you optimize participation. 

You can also experiment with the ways in which you apply zero-party data to your strategies. Test various personalization tactics (e.g., different types of offers, messaging styles, or communication channels) to determine which approaches are most effective for different customer segments. 

Rethinking Your Retargeting Strategy? We Can Help

If you’re struggling to see the results you want from your retargeting efforts, it might be time to make a change. Airship’s Strategic Services team can help you identify opportunities to collect, activate and apply zero-party data in your personalization strategy. We can help make every experience count toward your conversion and loyalty targets.