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7 ways to use first-party data to drive B2B sales

There's no question that first-party data is valuable in B2B marketing and B2B sales. After all, it comes directly from your customers and gives you insights you can't get anywhere else.

A partnership between Google and BCG studied how brands are utilizing first-party data to achieve success. They found that those that use first-party data for key marketing functions saw a 2.9x revenue uplift and a 1.5x increase in attributed cost savings, also finding most brands are failing to harness first-party data’s full potential.

But what exactly is first-party data? And how can you use it to drive your sales efforts? 

In this article, we'll answer those questions and more. We'll also provide tips to set you up with using first-party data in your business. 

So, let's get started! 

First-party data is information an organization collects about its customers, prospects, or website visitors through various channels, including online and offline interactions, surveys, transactional data, and web analytics data. 

By understanding your target market and how it interacts with your brand, you can create targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to their needs and interests. 

First-party data will enable you to create a more intimate relationship with your customers and build loyalty over time. 

 

7 ways to drive sales with first-party data 

1. Use buyer intent data 

Buyer intent data will help you understand what your customers are looking for and how you can better serve them. This data can be used to improve marketing strategies, product development, and B2B sales techniques. By understanding buyer intent, you can more effectively target customers and improve their bottom line. 

You can use buyer-intent data to drive sales in several ways. For example, you can use it to target ads and content to people who are more likely to be interested in your product or service. You can also use it to segment your list so that you can send more targeted communications. Additionally, you can use this data to create custom audiences for retargeting. By understanding the intent of your audience, you can more effectively drive sales and conversions. 

 

2. Perform targeted advertising 

First-party data insights can enable more personalized and relevant ad creative. Understanding your customers' wants and needs should make your targeted ads more likely to be successful.  

 

Targeting using search engines 

Use search engine advertising to target relevant keywords with insights and parameters from first-party data. You can also target ads to your website visitors, subscriber audience, and, most commonly, visitors searching for specific terms.  

 

Targeting using social media 

First-party data enables marketing through social media to existing customers with renewal or upsell opportunities and potential customers in your prospect pipeline. The data can also be used to create lookalike audiences, groups of people who share similar characteristics with your existing customers, to expand your reach and find new audiences yet to engage with your product or service. 

 

3. Personalize experiences 

First-party data can help create personalized experiences for website visitors. For example, suppose you have information about a user's purchase history. In that case, you can send them relevant products or services that may be of interest or even create personalized journey for existing users. Experiences can be human-programmed or created dynamically. Each opportunity involves using first-party data to segment users into different groups enabling customization of content and messaging to meet their needs better. This can be used to convert prospects and upsell or cross-sell existing customers. 

 

4. Create loyalty programs and sales promotions 

First-party data can help to create personalized loyalty programs and sales promotions. Understanding customer behavior, preferences, and needs, enables you to develop highly specific offers to encourage spending.  

Loyalty programs and sales promotions can incentivize renewals and purchases, identify potential new customers, and support tailored marketing messages.  

 

5. Improve sales & marketing content 

First-party data can be used to improve sales and marketing content. The data can help identify buyer personas, understand what content is most effective at each buyer journey stage, and determine which channels are most likely to reach the target audience. 

With this level of intel, sales and marketing teams can create high-quality sales collateral, distributing it through the right communication channels to support the entire buyer journey. 

 

6. Enhance customer support and customer success 

Better customer experiences require better data. First-party data can help improve customer support and success. It can be used to segment customers based on their needs, preferences, or behavior. This enables you to provide them with the most relevant and personalized support possible. First-party data can be used to identify potential issues or areas of improvement within your product or service. By understanding your customers better, you can make necessary changes to improve their experience and increase customer satisfaction, and upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

 

7. Augment your audience 

Audience augmentation aims to expand your reach and potential customer base, which can ultimately lead to more sales and conversions. 

There are several ways to go about augmenting your audience. One method is to target prospects with characteristics that may lead to them being interested in your product or service. These can be uncovered through analyzing and understanding your first-party data. 

Supplementing your first-party data with second and third-party data opens the complete picture of your target market, enabling you to reach new prospects beyond your current focus. This will increase your audience size, your business opportunity, and your chances of success.  

Using all three types of data will give you the most complete picture of your target market and enable you to create the most effective marketing campaigns possible. First-party data is essential for understanding your current customers, but it can only take you so far. Supplementing this data with second and third-party data will help you reach new prospects and grow your business.

When you’re looking for data providers, it’s important to partner with a company that you can trust. Make sure to do your research and only work with reputable companies. 

 

Getting started 

How to collect first-party data 

There are several ways to collect first-party data. The most common method is through web forms and surveys. However, there are other ways to gather this type of data. For example, you can use cookies to track user behavior on your website or tracking pixels to collect data about customer interactions with your email campaigns. Social media monitoring and customer loyalty programs can also collect first-party data.  

Creating customer connection through first-party data

Download your free whitepaper to dive deeper into the value of first-party data.

Partnering to access first-party data 

To start using first-party data to support your sales efforts, consider working with first-party data providers that can help you access and analyze this valuable resource. With the right tools and knowledge, you can use first-party data, supplemented with second and third-party data, to drive results for your business. 

 

Managing and storing first-party data 

When collecting first-party data, it's crucial to plan how you will manage and store this information. There are a variety of software platforms that can help you organize and analyze your data. It's also important to consider the security of your data and to have procedures in place to protect customer privacy and the rights of data access and deletion. 

 

How we can help

f you are looking to improve your organizational use of first-party data to drive sales, get in touch.  Our data activation platform is built on world-class first-party data - it's collected by us, owned by us, and rigorously checked by us. We provide access to uniquely qualified audience built from this first-party data and partner with clients to execute full-funnel strategies that unlock their value.