{"id":223786,"date":"2020-03-13T06:58:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T01:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qcsglobal.com\/marketing\/why-first-party-call-data-is-the-key-to-audience-targeting\/"},"modified":"2020-04-18T17:10:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-18T11:40:43","slug":"why-first-party-call-data-is-the-key-to-audience-targeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qcsglobal.com\/blogs\/why-first-party-call-data-is-the-key-to-audience-targeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Why First-Party Call Data Is the Key to Audience Targeting"},"content":{"rendered":"


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For many years, third-party cookies were the bedrock of audience targeting.<\/p>\n

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They allowed marketers to track which websites users were visiting and use that data to serve them relevant ads. However, with the slew of new data regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA<\/a>, as well as browser updates like Apple\u2019s ITP, Firefox\u2019s Enhanced Tracking Protection, and Google\u2019s Chrome 80, marketers are severely restricted in their ability to use third-party cookies.<\/p>\n

To navigate this shifting landscape, marketers are tapping into their own first-party data<\/a> such as consumer engagement with their website, social media properties, and emails for better audience targeting. One of the richest sources of first-party data is often overlooked: inbound phone calls. To tap into this data, leading marketers are using call tracking and analytics technology.<\/p>\n

By capturing each caller\u2019s phone number as an identifier, analyzing what marketing interaction drove them to call, and connecting it with insights from their conversation, this data provides deep insights into each caller\u2019s preferences, buying intent, disposition, product\/service interest, recent life events, value, and more.<\/p>\n

Not only does this call data enable effective audience targeting, but it could also provide a unique competitive advantage. On February 10, 2020, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) congregated to discuss the \u201cPost-Cookie Apocalypse\u201d<\/a>. The IAB develops industry standards, conducts research, and provides legal support for the digital advertising industry.<\/p>\n

Call data targeting in the post-cookie apocalypse<\/h1>\n

To keep audience targeting intact through the impending \u201capocalypse,\u201d the IAB discussed replacing third-party cookies with a unique identifier based on phone numbers that they could use to track users across domains. Why phone numbers? Phone numbers would provide a consistent way of recognizing users across the web \u2013 since the average person rarely changes their phone number even if they move or switch carriers.<\/p>\n

Phone calls provide deep insights into consumers that can be used for more effective audience targeting. If the IAB starts using phone numbers as identifiers, call data can be tied to the identifiers to create richer consumer profiles. Below, we discuss the impact phone calls are making in today\u2019s mobile-first world, the deep insights marketers can capture from calls, and strategies for leveraging call data to target audiences.<\/p>\n

In our mobile-first world, phone calls reign supreme<\/h2>\n

Smartphones have revolutionized how we engage with brands. With a single Google search, we can view all the businesses in our area. With a single tap, we can call them. This ease of use is why mobile devices drive more than 50% of web traffic<\/a>. In today’s world, consumers are increasingly turning to phone conversations as part of their journey. There were 162 billion phone calls<\/a> made from smartphones to businesses in 2019. This was a 113% increase from 2014.<\/p>\n

Consumers tend to place calls for complex, expensive, or urgent purchases. In these instances, they need additional information, personalized assistance, or simply do not have time to fill out an online form and wait to be contacted.<\/p>\n

How do marketers capture phone call data?<\/h2>\n

Obviously, for most marketers, listening to every inbound phone call is simply not possible. Either you don\u2019t have access to the recordings, or there are so many that you can\u2019t possibly manually analyze them all for insights into each caller and voice interaction.<\/p>\n

To solve this problem, and capture data from phone conversations at scale, marketers are leveraging call tracking and analytics solutions. These solutions use artificial intelligence<\/a> to analyze inbound phone calls at scale, capturing insights from the conversations that then get connected back to the caller ID and the marketing interaction (such as the channel, campaign, ad, keyword, and webpage) that drove the call. These insights can then be passed into your digital ad platforms like Google Ads and Facebook, martech stack, and CRM to be actioned upon.<\/p>\n

What insights can call data provide for marketers?<\/h3>\n

Phone calls are literally the \u201cvoice of the consumer.\u201d On these calls, your audience is telling you exactly what they want from your brand and how they want to engage with you. Below are some of the insights you can capture at scale with a call tracking and analytics solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Demographic information:<\/strong><\/p>\n