She (or he) who has the most data wins.

We hear and read about data collection all the time. The general consensus is this: data is gold. And, according to numerous studies, more valuable than oil.  

I figured out early in my career that I love data and I love to track how consumers respond to campaigns. It’s my passion to help drive traffic, awareness and sales for businesses; to help create campaigns that actually work; and to have a positive impact on the business. The more that’s known about the business’s goals and about the consumers they are trying to reach, the easier it is to put together an effective campaign to help reach the right people and achieve their goals.

That’s why I love data.

When it comes to consumer data, the more you know about a person, the easier it is to put the right message in front of them at the right time. And it really doesn’t have to be as creepy as it sounds.

I’m a big fan of first-party data, which is permission based, so the individual provides information to you. For brands, it also means you aren’t relying on third-party algorithms and cookies, which have proven to be decreasing in its effectiveness. With operating systems—especially Apple—warning consumers about being tracked, many users are being prompted to turn off the third-party tracking system. Which many people are doing, rendering the tracking system useless.  

First-party data, on the other hand, is critical to the growth of a business. And, I would argue, it’s the best way to gather information on the end user—because the user has already granted permission to your brand to collect data. Consumers don’t want to jump through hoops, so make it easy for them to opt in, and then make it easy for them to give you information. This could be through surveys or quizzes—or my personal favorite—by straight-up asking.

There is no easier way to do this than via text message. In the five years running TapOnIt, we’ve uncovered some impressive benefits to collecting data via the text-message-marketing space.

When it comes to exposure for a brand, there’s little that compares to a text thread. Text messages have a 98-99% open rate—with 90% of those opened in the first three minutes of being received. People open their texts, even if it is just to get that little red “1” to go away. But to do this the right way, brands need to do what they say they are going to do. When a brand asks a user to opt in, whether it’s for a texting database or an email database, they need to let the user know exactly what they are signing up for. If consumers trust your brand, the likelihood of them churning decreases, and the likelihood of your brand establishing a long-lasting, loyal relationship with them increases.

The MMS side of messaging is a game changer. Not only does this platform make it easy for the user to provide information, but it enables brands to put the images of what they want users to see and do directly into the text thread. That is nearly guaranteed visibility for your brand. Additionally, it makes it very easy to click on a link to learn more.

Lastly, a phone number is the most true form of identity you can have on a person. Most of us only have one cell phone number. My number has been the same since I was 17 years old and there is no way that I would change it. It’s tied to my kids’ emergency contact cards, my insurance provider, my business contacts, all of my friends and much more. The churn rate on cellphone numbers is practically non-existent. For a brand to have this piece of information behind their customers helps foster the relationship to collect nearly any other data point.

For TapOnIt, data touches everything we do, whether that’s building our database for TapOnIt Deals, or offering brands our SaaS platform for collecting first-party information. The more a business knows about its users, the more likely it is to build a long-term relationship and increase the lifetime value of customers.