One of the most significant innovations of the 21st century is the development of ‘currency’ which has transformed the way businesses, professionals, and consumers view the market for products and services. The currency in question is not a dollar nor euro or anything in between, but data. First, second, and third-party data are terms associated with data-driven marketing. Before exploring why you should partner with a third-party data service, let’s explain what third-party data is.

What is Third-Party Data?

First-party data is information collected directly by your company. Second-party data is information collected by a partner company with whom you share the data. Third-party data is information provided by open data providers that share such statistics as behavior, preferences, and habits of different consumers from various purchasing channels.  Businesses that make this type of data typically work with large volumes of information and use digital services, such as online apps, to collect it. Simply put, it’s any data collected from various sources by a company with no connection to the consumer whose data is collected. Sources for third-party data may include social media networks, websites, subscriptions, and surveys. Third-party data may consist of first and last name, phone number, email address, postal address, social media handles, website browsing activities, and purchase history.

 How is Third-Party Data Used?

As mentioned, third-party data is collected and used by data providers or data management platforms to expand or create targeted profile segments that companies can buy for their marketing campaigns. It’s like a missing puzzle piece in your marketing strategy that, once aggregated and pieced together, is used to complete an existing data set and increase the size of your audience. Your company can either purchase these segments or enrich your own first-party data to create better targeted and broader audience segments for one or multi-channel campaigns. 

Benefits of Third-Party Data

The benefits of third-party data for your business include the ability to expand existing data files or create new segments for a more successful audience targeting on both a broader and deeper scale. When using third-party data, your company can go beyond its usual audience, allowing you to grow the size of your audience to include, for instance, new prospects who are buying similar products or services from your competitor.

Integration of Third-Party Data

If your first-party data provides a detailed view of your business, then third-party data enables a broad marketing perception. When combined, these two types of data can allow you to manage your marketing budget more effectively. You can do this with the help of DMPs and data providers who offer this functionality.  Partnering with a third-party data service that offers custom integration features, such as Runner EDQ, can save time and money. It will automate manual processes and satisfy unique business requirements quickly and cost-effectively. By integrating our CLEAN_Address solution with any third-party or your own proprietary applications to best meet your needs, you will gain the power to offer innovative products that will grow your customer relationships and attract new business.