With the decline of third-party cookies and the rise of privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, privacy-first marketing is important for more than ever. For e-commerce brands, first-party data ownership and automated customer journeys will be imperative for sustained growth.
Automated customer journeys across the buying process, including behaviors like welcome sequences, abandoned cart alerts, or post-purchase nurturing, connect them at all stages of the buying funnel for e-commerce. Whether they are engaged, your MVPs (most valuable customers) or have lapsed, win-back and VIP campaigns are integral to interacting with your customer base to active participation and customer lifetime value. A social CRM that hooks into the email, website, and purchase data will help enhance your marketing campaigns by simply utilizing these social interactions to create a single view of the customer.
Brands must demonstrate their focus on transparent communication, consent, and preference management. Brands are likely to create trust and increase data quality with transparent opt-in forms, localized privacy language, and preference centers. Behavior based segmentation will enable highly personalized campaigns while still abiding by privacy laws.
Well-defined KPIs should focus on retention, repeat purchase rates, and customer lifetime value instead of last-click conversion metrics. Committing to a privacy-first strategy will ensure you maintain compliance, but will also deliver sustainable growth because consumers who trust a brand are likely to repeat purchase from and advocate for that brand.
In summary, privacy first marketing, first party data, and automated will allow e-commerce brands to add personalization and customer engagement.