Gone are the days when marketers relied solely on declarative data or self-reported data in their campaigns. Behavioral data are increasingly replacing Declarative data.
According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, data can be labeled by various elements, such as its source, the relationship between the user and collector (first or third party), data attribution, and so on.
However, before we proceed, let's first understand behavioral data. Basically, declarative and behavioral data are two forms of data collection – the former involves acquiring information through the participant's own volition, i.e., self-reporting. In contrast, the latter consists of tracking a person's every act. One (declarative) is voluntary, the other is involuntary, so to speak.
Essentially, behavioral data has an advantage over declarative data because people often struggle to provide accurate information. In contrast, behavioral data is inherently accurate and does not suffer from memory lapses by the participant.
We all know that not all data is created equal.
What is Behavioral Data?
Behavioral data, also known as transactional data, is based on an action at a moment in time. It provides a brief snapshot of a lead, prospect, or customer's behavior or action.
On the other hand, data declared by consumers themselves is akin to asking them to fill out a post-purchase form.
So why then is behavioral data taking precedence over declared data in marketing campaigns?
Actually, we would like to digress to state that examining behavioral data alongside declarative data would help marketing campaigns immensely.
One reason for this is that there are occasions when firms do not have access to all or some of the behavioral data, so they must rely on declarative data.
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However, with the advent of computers, the Internet, digitization, and social media, it's a fact that consumers' faces and reaction times have changed.
Online shopping means customers not only shop in brick-and-mortar retail stores but also use the Internet or their smartphones to buy objects of their choice, praise, or vent against a particular service or product.
All this is like a nugget of gold for a marketer. Behavioral data is all about a customer's actions, so even one set of actions by a segment of customers can speak volumes to the marketing team.
To illustrate the difference between the two forms of data, let's consider an example: John D., an executive from Microtalkk, Plc, picks up donuts daily on the way to the office.
One of them is sugar-coated, the second is jelly-filled, while the last has sprinkles on it. A coffee company requires him to fill out a form based on his daily routine. In that form, John declares he is a daily buyer of 3 donuts before reporting to work. That's declared data. The coffee company thinks it can now target John as a regular donut eater.
Wait, but is that so? If the right questions are not asked, it is unclear whether John actually eats any of those donuts or buys them for colleagues. And, if he does eat, which of the 3 is his choice and why? So the coffee company is none the wiser.
It's only when John goes online and either chooses a jelly-filled donut from a donut menu and pays for it with his own credit card or leaves a comment on social media saying how much he loves this kind of jelly donut that we get to know his choice. That, then, is behavior.
A few of you would have grasped by now that behavioral data analytics primarily involves analyzing the behavior of a prospect or a customer. It is marketing's primary weapon in helping the company understand its customers in-depth and help boost its customer engagement rates.
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This form of analytics goes beyond traditional analytics, enabling marketers to ask virtually any question of their customers and receive answers to make essential decisions almost in real-time.
It supplies answers to why and how customers act and react as they do. Ultimately, it enables marketers to make the right offer at the right time to the right customer.
4 Advantages Behavioral Data Analytics Offers
- Customized advertising and marketing campaigns
- Heightened customer interaction and subsequent fulfillment
- Better customer relations, and
- Eventually more sales
To summarize, a brand needs to utilize behavioral analytics to comprehend the needs and desires of its target audience. Not knowing it means resorting to a scattershot campaign that is ineffective in today's environment.
