Privacy law changes and a cookieless browser future means that brands must find new and innovative ways to capture critical information about their target and existing customers. This approach is called first-party data (also called zero-party data by Forrester Research), which is information collected directly by a brand through user interactions.

As pressure mounts because of targeting and policy changes across multiple channels, marketers can view this as an opportunity to accelerate and scale their collection efforts and deliver increased value to their organizations. First-Party Data Collection Is More Crucial Than Ever. Forbes Agency Council, Dec 20, 2021 by Erik Huberman.

One of the key challenges for capturing this data is providing a natural and seamless approach that engages, educates, and even entertains prospects and customers. That is why getting first-party data with brand assistants are now essential online and in-store brand assets.

“Zero-party data is that which a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand. It can include preference center data, purchase intentions, personal context, and how the individual wants the brand to recognize [them].” What is Zero-Party Data? Fuel your personalized marketing efforts with zero-party data. Salesforce Resources.

Creating Meaningful Conversations To Capture First-Party Data

The next generation of conversational marketing uses the power of autonomous conversations and video experiences to turn potential customers into paying ones and retain ones who already are customers. Real conversations build trust and bring a “human” touch to user engagements – even if a human is not involved.

Unlike the years of recorded customer service calls, most brands still do not have first-hand visibility and knowledge of offline sales interactions. At the same time, e-commerce transactions provide little value beyond search and click history. Yet, when users engage conversational agents, like the avatar-based ones from Vocinty, you gain immediate insights into user pain points and interests.

With conversational brand assistants, you capture data based on customer interactions- the questions they ask along with the videos and images they access. Brand assistants can also support forms data capture and surveys and interact with data from back-office applications such as your CRM.

“To succeed in a world of consent-based advertising, digital marketing leaders must accelerate when, where and how they collect, aggregate and deploy first-party data,” says Chelsea Gross, Director Analyst, Gartner. Marketers Are Under a Digital Ad Siege and Must Now Convince Customers to Share Data, July 1, 2021, Gartner by Jackie Wiles

Fully Custom Virtual Assistants Enhance Brand Experiences

With the rise of synthetic media, Vocinity multilingual avatars are also fully customizable. To ensure brand experiences are consistent with desired personas, Vocinity enables the look, voice, accent, pitch, script and dictionary to be brand-specific. Just a short twenty-minute video is all that is needed to create a custom-avatar.

When a real human is needed, you can even automate appointment scheduling or transfer the call to an available rep — with all the context of their initial call. In parallel, transcriptions from the live agent chats augment first-party data.

Virtual Brand Assistants Are The Key To Getting First-Party Data

With brands facing major issues with changing privacy laws, getting first-party data with brand assistants is a great way to augment current online and in-store sales and support efforts. With this data, you can automate critical business processes and make better, more informed decisions about your target audience while still delivering a personalized journey.