We now live in a cookie-less world, and marketers can no longer exclusively rely on third-party data to drive their strategies. Instead, collecting as much first- and zero-party data as possible is critical to understanding who your customers are, what they like, and how they shop with you to influence campaigns. As a quick refresher: First-party data is collected through your website as your customers interact, while zero-party data is voluntarily shared directly by them.

An extremely efficient way of accomplishing zero-party data is through Data Acquisition Campaigns as part of your SMS strategy. What exactly are these messages? And what insights can you collect through them? Read on for some campaign inspiration to incorporate into your program today.

Build Cross-Channel Orchestration with Email

Growing SMS contact lists is extremely efficient through keywords, which a brand should advertise across digital and offline channels alike. But contacts who subscribe to both email and SMS programs from the same brand can have upwards of a 30% higher lifetime value than those who opt into just one. So, once you’ve gotten a compliant text subscription through a keyword, leverage Data Acquisition to also collect email address! 

Once your contact has confirmed their opt-in and entered your Welcome Series campaign, send them a text asking for a reply with their email address to earn additional benefits (if you don’t have it already from a Two-Step Popup strategy). The subscriber stays engaged with you via SMS in the moment, but now you’ve also started building email engagement! They can move through subsequent automated campaigns and triggered journeys based on their shopping activity and channel affinity with strategic cross-channel orchestration that maximizes your email and text volume.

Earn Subscriber Loyalty with their Birthdays

Birthday collection is another Data Acquisition tactic to deploy as part of your Welcome Series campaign. Building subscriber loyalty is extremely helpful towards maximizing customer lifetime value – and sending them a special gift on their birthday can make an impact! Trigger a Data Acquisition message asking for their birthday in the format you prefer, teasing an exclusive incentive when their big day comes around.

To keep them shopping between now and then, your Data Acquisition confirmation message can include a link back to your best sellers, new arrivals, or newly reduced products. You can send their birthday gift on the first of their birth month, the week of, the day of, and even for a special surprise on their half birthday six months prior. In any capacity, your contacts will be thrilled by the extra love, and you benefit from the additional data. 

Ask for Zip Code to Target by Location

If you promote in-store shopping or location-based CTAs as part of your Text Message Marketing strategy, collecting zip codes will make it easy to segment your list! While you can always target by area code in your contacts’ phone numbers used at opt-in, asking for their zip code ensures you’re appropriately targeting everyone based on their direct feedback. Send them a Data Acquisition message asking for this piece of info promising more tailored campaigns, like first alerts or early access to sales near them.

Once you’ve accumulated zip codes, be sure to use this data within your Text Message Marketing calendar and uphold your promises. Data is only powerful when it’s put into play!

Collect Shopping Preferences for Personalization

In addition to Data Acquisition campaigns, you can also use Info Campaigns to better understand what your subscribers are shopping for to provide them with the most personalized messages. This can be especially effective if your product catalog extends across multiple categories, sizes, and genders. For example – If you sell adult and children’s apparel, ask your subscribers who they’re shopping for. If you’re marketing athletic gear, ask which sport they’re most interested in. If you offer electronic accessories for multiple mobile devices, ask which one they use. The use case list goes on and on!

Info Campaigns can deliver immediate product recommendations and direct links back to your most relevant SKUs, but the responses you collect can inform additional automated and broadcast campaigns that narrow in on a specific audience. Consider what you’d like to learn more about your customers and what’s most important to your program, and go from there.

Get Started Today

Truly understanding your SMS subscribers can pay off in spades across your digital marketing strategies, and it helps build customer lifetime value. Data Acquisition Campaigns allow you to efficiently collect valuable insights to apply to your email and SMS programs. If you don’t have any of these in place today, consider implementing them as soon as possible ahead of crucial shopping days in the latter half of the year. Gather as much first- and zero-party data as possible while your list grows, and you’ll quickly build a high-value customer base! For more information and to get started, contact your Account Manager, and check out our digital Creative Portfolio for more inspiration.