The Complete Guide to Zero-Party Data Collection

TL;DR:

• Zero-party data is information voluntarily shared by customers — and it’s super valuable because it’s fresh, accurate, and easily leveraged to help you create better experiences for your customers.
• Zero-party data comes directly from customers, while first-party data comes from your online and e-commerce properties. Second- and third-party data come from sources outside your business.
• The best ways to gather zero-party data include highly engaging techniques like interactive experiences, gamification, contests, and personalized email marketing.
• ASICS used a Jebbit survey to collect 21.5 data points per user that helped them better personalize their customer journey.
• The NBA set up a Jebbit quiz at the start of the basketball season where fans could make their predictions — and the NBA could capture leads and data in an engaging way.
• e.l.f. Cosmetics' was able to collect 11 data points per customer with a Jebbit survey about the brand's No Budge Shadow Stick.
• When collecting, storing, and using zero-party data, make sure to follow best practices for secure storage, data freshness, and analytics so that you can get the most from your investment.

The world of zero-party data is an exciting, captivating place. It’s a place where customers willingly and enthusiastically share their personal details with businesses like yours. This type of data collection gives you the ability to better understand customer needs and preferences — and that means you can drastically improve the average user experience by providing more personalized experiences.

Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in to find out how zero-party data can revolutionize your marketing efforts. We’ll show you all about its benefits and how to collect it — and we’ll also explain the differences between zero-party data, first-party data, second-party data, and third-party data. 

Your Zero-Party Data FAQs Answered

The third-party cookie is officially crumbling — and with this turn of events, zero-party data is becoming the go-to tool to inform marketing strategies. Now that zero-party data is enjoying the limelight, everyone has questions. You’ll find answers to the most-asked questions below.

What Is Zero-Party Data?

Zero-party data is information that customers intentionally and voluntarily share. For example, if you ask a customer about themselves or what they’re interested in, the information you collect from the response is zero-party data. Gathering this kind of consumer data is the most effective way to know and understand your target audience.

Sound like first-party data? We know. We'll explain the differences later. First, let’s dive a little deeper into the zero-party data FAQs.

Why Is It Called Zero-Party Data?

The name comes from the number of steps between you and the data source. When customers willingly offer up their own data directly to you, it’s called “zero-party data” because there are zero steps between you and the data source. That’s opposed to third-party data, which is a data type that businesses buy from data warehouses. When you buy data from an intermediary like this, there are several steps — or middlemen — between you and the original source from which the data was collected.

Still confused? Think of it like cousins. You share grandparents with your first cousins — and that means they’re more closely related to you than your third cousins, with whom you share great-great-grandparents. In the same way, zero-party data is closely related to your customer base because it comes directly from your customers, whereas third-party data may share little in relation to your customer base because it’s bulk data collected from general consumers.

What Is an Example of Zero-Party Data?

An example of zero-party data is when a customer proactively provides information about their preferences, interests, or needs without any direct prompting from a company or website. 

So let’s say that you have a customer who is browsing on your mobile app. They encounter a survey or quiz and decide to voluntarily fill it out, sharing details about their favorite products, reasons for their choices, or their personal preferences. The data collected through these interactions qualifies as zero-party data. Because this information is willingly and intentionally shared by the customer, it’s extremely valuable for businesses looking to understand and engage with their audience on a deeper level.

What Is the Value of Zero-Party Data?

At its core, zero-party data is all about putting the customer first. By collecting this type of data directly from the consumer, companies are able to understand their customers on a much deeper level, and can create tailored experiences and products that better meet their needs. This can lead to not only an improved customer experience but also increased sales, greater loyalty, more opportunities for lead capture, and improved conversion rates. 

And the list goes on. Zero-party data can help you:

• Understand customer desires, preferences, and intent based on the data your customers volunteer
• Tailor every touchpoint on the customer journey to meet the needs and preferences of your customers — this increases engagement, sales, and satisfaction
• Stay compliant with regulations, since you collect data only with explicit customer consent
• Use customer data responsibly, which builds up trust among your customers so that they’re more likely to engage and share additional information
• Collect more accurate, relevant, and up-to-date data since you’re getting it directly from the customer rather than relying on flawed third-party data
• Gain a competitive advantage since zero-party data allows you to better understand and anticipate customer needs, which can translate to improved customer retention and increasing revenue

Why Is Zero-Party Data Beneficial for Digital Privacy and Security?

Zero-party data is not just beneficial for digital privacy and security — it’s a game changer. Today’s privacy and security regulations require the data collected to be as accurate as possible, and they require businesses to give consumers control over the kinds of data that can be collected, as well as how that data can be used. Zero-party data comes directly from your customers, which makes it more accurate than other types of data. Zero-party data collection also helps companies comply with data privacy laws and regulations, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). When customers give consent for how their personal information will be used, organizations can prove to the appropriate governing bodies that they’ve provided customers the right to have control over their own data.

What’s more, recent research shows that 47% of consumers are willing to share their data if there's a clear benefit in it for them. If you're transparent about why you're collecting the data, your audience will likely feel comfortable providing it.

That’s because when consumers have the power to decide what personal data they want to share with companies, it reduces the risk of their information being misused or sold without their consent. Instead of using opt-in forms or other passive data-collecting methods, zero-party data requires customers to actively provide consent, often in exchange for something they value, like a discount, loyalty points, or product recommendations. 

So collecting this type of data leads to the ultimate value exchange between the consumer and the business: You’ll gain high-quality data while building trusting customer relationships that lead to strong customer loyalty. Meanwhile, the collected data allows you to offer a better customer experience — which you can keep improving over time as you collect even more data.

What Is the Difference Between Zero- and First-Party Data? And Second- and Third-Party Data

Zero party, first party, second party, third party — with all the different kinds of data out there, there’s bound to be some confusion about what’s what. To make it easy, we’ll break it down for you — and we’ll even entertain you with a few bar jokes to illustrate exactly how each type of data works. 

Zero-Party Data

This is data that consumers willingly provide directly to companies. It's the most transparent and valuable form of data not only because it is willingly shared, but also because it enables companies to understand customer preferences on a deeper level. Because customers manually share this data with you by answering questions or filling out forms, zero-party data is the most accurate and reliable of all the types of data that you can collect.

The major drawback to zero-party data is that it can be limited in volume since it comes only from customers who engage with tools like surveys, quizzes, and forms. It also likely requires an investment in technology, like a quiz-building platform and a customer data platform (CDP) so that you can efficiently collect, store, and analyze this information.

Still confused about what zero-party data entails? Here’s a bar joke that will lay it out for you:

A customer walks into the Zero-Party Data Bar. The bartender says, "What would you like to order?"

The customer says, "I'd like to order an old-fashioned." The bartender makes the old-fashioned because the customer explicitly volunteered the kind of drink they wanted to have.

First-Party Data

First-party data is collected by you through your customer or user behaviors. It includes data generated from interactions with your website, app, or other owned platforms. This kind of data is highly reliable and valuable for personalization of the customer experience — resulting in greater customer engagement.

So what’s the downside? Since you can only gather this type of data from your own digital properties, it’s limited in volume — and you’ll likely need to supplement with zero-party data and other data sources to build a complete picture of your audience segments.

Remember the bar joke from earlier? Here’s what it looks like with first-party data:

A customer walks into the First-Party Data Bar. The bartender says, "We made you this drink because you've ordered it here before, so we assumed that's what you like."

Second-Party Data

Second-party data is very similar to first-party data — except it comes from your competitors instead of your own websites and digital properties. To gather this kind of data, you’ll need to form partnerships with competing brands or other retailers in adjacent spaces so that you can purchase the information they’ve gathered on their own customers. It can be more accurate than third-party data, but since it comes from customers other than your own, it won’t be as valuable as zero- or first-party data. Major limitations for this data type include limited availability, potential inconsistencies, and the necessary dependence on partner organizations.

And here’s our bar joke, but with second-party data:

A customer walks into the Second-Party Data Bar. The bartender says, "The bar next door said you ordered this drink, so we made you the same one."

Third-Party Data 

Third-party data is collected and aggregated by external sources, such as data brokers or other companies. Brands form partnerships with these data clearinghouses to purchase this information in bulk. For that reason, third-party data doesn’t have much value on its own. It's like a puzzle piece without the puzzle — you don't know how it fits in. This kind of data is often used for targeting and audience segmentation, but it has major limitations: It can be less reliable or potentially outdated, and may raise privacy concerns. 

Ready for your third-party data bar joke? Here it is:

A customer walks into the Third-Party Data Bar. The bartender says, "I made you this drink because I’ve heard that you may have ordered similar drinks at other bars, so I thought you might like it."

How Do You Gather Zero-Party Data?

So with zero-party data being so valuable, are you wondering how you can capture it? You've come to the right place! Collecting this type of data requires a thoughtful and strategic approach — and we have some great strategies for effectively collecting zero-party data.

Interactive Content

Create quizzes, polls, trivia games, and surveys that are entertaining and relevant to your target audience. These interactive experiences capture zero-party data — often in real time — and provide value to customers by offering personalized recommendations, product suggestions, or content based on their responses.

Contests and Giveaways

Encourage customers to provide their preferences, interests, and contact information by offering incentives like contests and giveaways. This generates excitement around your brand while helping you collect valuable customer data.

Personalized Email Campaigns

Conduct targeted email campaigns that allow customers to self-segment based on their preferences or interests. By providing options for customers to select their preferred content, products, or services, you can gather zero-party data and enhance personalization in future communications.

Preference Centers

Implement a preference center where customers can manage their communication preferences, specify their interests, and share demographic information. This empowers customers to control the data they share while enabling businesses to collect zero-party data for more tailored marketing efforts.

Gamification

Incorporate game-like elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards into your website, app, loyalty program, or online community. You can encourage users to share their preferences and personal information by rewarding them for their engagement and participation.

Social Media Engagement

Utilize social media platforms to create interactive experiences, ask questions, and encourage followers to share their opinions and preferences. This helps you establish a solid social media presence and provides another avenue for collecting zero-party data.

Customer Feedback

Request customer feedback through reviews, testimonials, or ratings, and offer incentives for participation. Businesses can make informed decisions and improve their offerings by understanding customers' pain points and preferences — and also by hearing about their positive and negative experiences.

Using Jebbit Interactive Experiences to Collect Zero-Party Data

Here at Jebbit, we can help you create lots of different kinds of interactive experiences so you can collect the data your business needs. So how do you choose? The type of quiz or experience you’ll want to use will depend on your business and how your customers engage with your brand. 

Below are our top interactive experiences and how they work. 

• Product Recommendation Quiz: The most popular option, product recommendation quizzes, offer your quiz-takers a personalized recommendation, saving them the hassle of doing their own research. This way, you become the buyer’s personal shopper and unearth the “why” behind the buy for your brand.
• Personality Quiz: Personality quizzes are a playful way for consumers to learn about themselves. Capture consumer preferences on topics that are both core to your brand and helpful in painting a full picture of who your customers truly are so you can build strong, one-on-one relationships. DraftKings leveraged Jebbit’s platform to create an awesome personality quiz for their customers, who just had to answer a few fun questions to find out what type of fan they are.
• Interactive Lookbook: Interactive lookbooks turn traditional product catalogs into beautiful digital displays that showcase your collections, gift ideas, and more. They can then drive customers to specific pages on your website, based on their preferences.
• Live Poll: Live polls gather opinions and insights, empowering customers to share their ideas in real time.
• Trivia Quiz: Use trivia quizzes to tap into people’s competitive instincts, exchange contact info for results, or build brand awareness as your customers share their results across social media.
• Landing Page: It can be time-consuming to create the perfect landing page. However, with Jebbit’s functionality, you can create simple, beautiful landing pages in a matter of minutes (that's not an exaggeration). And just like every other Jebbit experience type, you won't need to touch a line of code. You can go live without needing to rely on your internal teams — like IT.
• Branded Survey: Create surveys like never before with features like dynamic questioning and a fully branded look that matches your brand ethos. You can use Jebbit to create surveys that are actually enticing so you’ll be able to gather eight to 10 times more insights about your audience (as compared to traditional surveys … the ones that are boring).

What Questions Lead to Useful Data?

Thinking about creating some quizzes, polls, or surveys? Don’t make the mistake of throwing down a bunch of random questions. You need to ask your audience the right questions to gain the most valuable insights into customer behavior. Take the time to design your interactive assets thoughtfully so they’ll gather the exact kinds of data you need.

Jebbit allows you to lead consumers down unique paths based on how they answer your initial questions. By asking straightforward questions in the beginning, you’d get the basic information you need. Then you can design the rest of your questions to be more specific, to get more detailed data. 

For example, if you are a sports brand like the NBA or a particular team, you may want to ask questions such as: 

• How do you prefer to watch the game?
• How often do you go to games?
• How do you get to the game?
• How did you get your tickets to the game?
• What other sports are you interested in?

See Some Examples of Jebbit in Action

We’ve told you all about the great things you can do with Jebbit. By now, you want to see it for yourself, right? Don’t worry — we’ve got the goods. You’ll find a few real-life examples of Jebbit experiences below.

ASICS

ASICS created a survey to poll customers about their shopping preferences, both online and in stores. Since it was part of the OneASICS cross-promotion campaign with female athletes, it also asked customers about which female athletes they’d like to see featured. 

It was a highly successful campaign, one that helped ASICS fully redesign their customer data architecture. Along the way, this asset has gathered some impressive numbers: a 90% completion rate, a 70% website redirect rate, and most importantly for those interested in gathering more data, an average 21.5 data points collected per user profile.

The NBA

Each year, the NBA runs a quiz that asks users about their favorite teams and players before the season starts. Who will the Rookie of the Year be? Who will the NBA Champions be? We don’t know — but we do know that this annual poll is a massive success. In its first year, the NBA got a 95% lead capture rate, capturing hundreds of thousands of emails, with the majority — 75% to 80% — being net new.

e.l.f. Cosmetics

The cosmetics brand e.l.f. relies on Jebbit, too. One example of an experience that this brand created through Jebbit is an online survey that asked customers questions about their No Budge Shadow Stick. The goal was to discover how this product was making customers happy — and what e.l.f. could do to smooth out any pain points.

This strategy has worked super-well to give e.l.f. a major competitive advantage. This survey alone has seen an 84% completion rate, with more than 11 data attributes collected per customer.

How to Use Zero-Party Data

OK, so we’ve talked a lot about the advantages of zero-party data — and about all the ways you can gather it while engaging your customer base. But once you’ve got it, how do you use it? We’ve got five ideas for you. And be sure to stay tuned for the last one, where you’ll get to learn about perhaps one of the most important, most in-depth uses for zero-party data: customer profiling.

1. Create Personalized Marketing Campaigns 

Brands can create more personalized marketing campaigns by using zero-party data to understand their customer preferences and behavior. More personalized marketing leads to increased engagement and conversions, as consumers are more inclined to react to messages that speak directly to their specific needs.

2. Enhance the Customer Experience

Zero-party data can enhance the customer experience since it helps you customize products and services to meet your customer needs. By comprehending the wants and needs of clients, businesses can provide more personalized support and improve overall satisfaction.

3. Tailor Product Recommendations

Zero-party data can also provide customers with individualized product recommendations. By analyzing customer preferences and purchase history, businesses can suggest products that are relevant to their interests and needs. This results in higher revenue and enhanced client loyalty.

4. Improve Segmentation and Targeting

Zero-party data allows businesses to segment their customers based on specific criteria, such as behavior or preferences. By doing so, companies can target specific customer groups with tailored marketing messages and promotions.‍

5. Build Customer Profiles

All four uses above are related to the building of customer profiles—after all, in each case you’re able to take the information that your individual customers have willingly provided to make your business a better match for your customers’ needs. But this can be taken a few steps further — you can create larger-scale customer profiles that can continually offer you insight into your different customer segments. It will take some thought and some time, but the information that you stand to gain could be priceless. 

So what are customer profiles? The short answer is that they’re essentially a digital record of customer data, such as their contact information, interests, purchase history, preferences, and more. This is perhaps one of the most important use cases for zero-party data because customer profiles allow companies to get an accurate snapshot of each kind of customer and understand at a deeper level how they engage with a brand.

Some examples of things you might include on customer profiles are:

• Demographic information: Age, gender, location
• Purchase history: Items bought and purchase dates
• Preferences: Size and color choices, purchase intentions, preferred payment method
• Interests: Hobbies and activities
• Contact information: Email address, phone number, mailing address

Zero-party data gives brands the opportunity to collect “soft” attributes of their customers: their passions, motivations, interests, and preferences. When you combine those soft attributes with demographic data, you have an incredibly powerful tool that allows you to speak directly to customers on an individual level.

Think of it like this: You’re an athletic-wear brand, and you’ve created multiple customer profiles for the different kinds of people who buy your brand. One of those customer profiles — representing a particular micro-segment of your target audience — features women ages 30 to 36. They live in the Midwest, and they happen to be passionate about running, no matter the weather. Now you know that this is the perfect group to receive personalized emails about running gear that will keep people warm and dry — even in the rain and snow.

Meanwhile, one of your other customer profiles is made up of senior men and women who swim year-round. They’re interested in getting a low-impact workout by swimming laps a few times a week. This segment would benefit from receiving very different kinds of emails than your 30-to-36-year-old female runners.

As you can see, customer profiles — and zero-party data — give you insights on an almost-microscopic level so that you can target customers with exactly the products and kinds of offers they’re interested in. And you’ll save time and money because you’ll continually be offering your customers personalized interactions based on the profile they fit into.

Best Practices for Leveraging Zero-Party Data

You know how to get it, you know how to use it — now let’s talk about best practices for leveraging zero-party data. You’ll have seen some of this before, so we’ll keep it brief. Throughout the process of collecting and utilizing zero-party data, make sure you do the following:

• Leverage machine learning and AI to help you sort through vast amounts of data and spot the patterns, trends, and opportunities that human observers may miss
• Make sure that you’re using zero-party data ethically and responsibly, in accordance with data privacy regulations
• Rely on customer relationship management (CRM) software or other regulation-compliant data handling tools to safely collect, store, and analyze customer data
• Keep first-party data up to date to maintain its usefulness and relevance; encourage customers to review and update their preferences through preference centers or by sending periodic reminders
• Continuously analyze the performance of your marketing campaigns and customer interactions not only to optimize your strategies but also to keep abreast of the types of gaps you may need to fill in your data pool

Get Started With Zero-Party Data Today

Zero-party data is crucial for understanding customers while maintaining their privacy. By implementing various collection techniques, prioritizing transparency, ensuring data security, and integrating with other data sources, businesses can create personalized experiences, improve their marketing efforts, and foster lasting customer relationships.

With Jebbit’s help, you can create amazingly engaging interactive experiences designed to help you get fresh zero-party data that can help you improve your bottom line. Create quizzes, surveys, polls, lookbooks, or even landing pages — the sky is virtually the limit. 

We make it easy, too. With our no-code platform, you can get started right away — and have your new interactive assets ready to go without pulling in everyone from your creative teams to help. If you’d like to learn more, schedule a strategy call to discover how Jebbit can enhance your zero-party data strategy.