How Aggressively are you Pursuing your Zero-Party Data Strategy?

an enormous opportunity that’s within your grasp, and budget

My hypothesis is that zero-party data aggregation is not on the top of most marketers list of priorities. My assertion is that it should be. I suspect that most of us have a fuzzy understanding of what exactly zero-party data is and how valuable it can be in enhancing go to market activities and therefore that’s probably why it isn’t an area of immediate focus. Let’s start with defining zero-party data.

Zero-party data refers to information that customers intentionally and proactively share with a brand, often through chatbots, surveys, sweepstakes, quizzes, calculators, informational downloads or other direct interactions. Unlike first-party data, which is passively collected through customer activity, sometimes through an intermediary, zero-party data is explicitly provided by the customer directly to the marketer with full awareness and consent¹. This makes it highly accurate, trustworthy, and privacy-compliant.

So, for abundant clarity, if a consumer types their information in to an intake page on your website in order to participate in one of the activities described above, that data is fully consented and has minimal compliance risk for the marketer who handles it properly. This is a perfect example of a ‘transparent value exchange’ in which the consumer willingly provides information to a marketer in exchange for something that they desire. The consent language necessary to garner the required permissions is simple, something to the effect of: “This is how I am going to use the data we are asking you to provide… do you agree?”

Zero-party data, in conjunction with your rich array of first-party data, represents a strategic, enterprise level asset. For forward thinking companies, it’s instrumental in customer cultivation, product development and AI driven customer orchestration across all channels. It enables businesses to deliver hyper-personalized experiences, foster deeper customer trust, and comply with evolving privacy regulations. By introducing zero party data into your by now well established data strategy that may be (overly?) focused on first-party data alone, companies can enhance customer engagement, improve loyalty, and drive revenue growth—all while maintaining transparency and ethical data practices.

So why are so few of us talking about it?

I think there are several factors that are conspiring to push zero-party data down the priority totem-pole. First, the name itself, zero-party data, carries a stigma that distracts marketers from digging into it. Second, amassing zero-party data is a long-game endeavor that may not be viewed as a driver to current quarter business results so it doesn’t rise to the level of a story we can tell the street. Sadly, that dynamic has a tendency to repeat itself. And, lastly, there may not be a clear “owner” for establishing a strategy for collecting and leveraging zero-party data - and terms of service that enable it across all customer touch-points - at an enterprise level and so tactical efforts at a line of business level may be very narrowly applied leading to a balkanization of whatever data might be collected.

Richy Glassberg, CEO and co-Founder of Safeguard Privacy and one of the nation’s foremost authorities on privacy compliance sees zero-party data as the gold standard for marketers endeavoring to understand their customers’ needs and market to them. According to Glassberg:

“The shortest path marketers have to building a compliant customer data asset as a foundation for relevant interactions in every channel is to aggressively build a zero-party data strategy to compliment their first party data efforts. Data that is fully consented, ethically and transparently sourced directly from an individual and used in a way consistent with what they agreed to in the terms-of-service presented at the time of collection is virtually immune from current compliance regulation violations provided it is secured and applied correctly.”

Zero-party data and the future of marketing…

We are all deep down in rabbit holes working feverishly to convert our customer orchestration solutions from rules based and imprecise methodologies to AI enabled solutions able to understand customer interest and intent at a more granular and therefore relevant level than any of us thought possible at the beginning of this decade. The central spine of these efforts today is built around first-party data. That’s good. By integrating zero-party data into these AI systems, marketers can deliver more personalized experiences, build trust, and drive higher engagement while respecting privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. In short, zero-party data, intentionally shared by customers, is a powerful tool for marketers when combined with first-party data to fuel AI-driven customer orchestration solutions. Here are a few broad examples of how it can be leveraged effectively:

1. Hyper-Personalization: Zero-party data allows brands to tailor customer experiences with precision. For example, AI can use customer preferences from quizzes, wish lists or preference centers to deliver personalized product recommendations, as seen with brands like Netflix and Starbucks.

2. Enhanced Customer Trust: Since customers willingly share this data, it fosters transparency and trust. Responsible usage builds loyalty, reduces opt-outs and may even help to reduce churn.

3. Improved Targeting: AI can segment audiences based on explicit preferences, enabling highly targeted campaigns. For instance, e-commerce platforms can suggest promotions aligned with stated customer interests.

4. Enhanced Predictive Analytics: AI analyzes zero-party data to anticipate customer needs, enabling proactive marketing strategies such as upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

In summary, zero-party data is the least risky and most insightful customer data that you can collect today. A comprehensive strategy to acquire, leverage and protect zero-party data will have an incredibly high return on investment in a three to five year window, particularly when combined with your first party data efforts already underway, particularly if you are endeavoring to leverage AI in your evolved go-to-market solutions. Inexpensive to acquire, invaluable in its application, immune from compliance risk and impactful at building customer trust, building an enterprise zero-party data strategy to compliment your existing efforts to enhance customer experiences and engagement should be at the top of your 2025 priority list.

1. Assuming that consent language is clear, comprehensive with regard to use and compliant with applicable regulation