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<p><span style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);">Andrew sat down with Kieran McLoone, Editor of Global Franchise Magazine to discuss how franchises can approach and embrace the use of first-party data.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>﻿<a data-mce-href="https://podfollow.com/1475748334/episode/66092ecfcce395d6420d301179ac3f07771cbd37/view" href="https://podfollow.com/1475748334/episode/66092ecfcce395d6420d301179ac3f07771cbd37/view"><span style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);">Listen to the podcast here.</span></a></p><p><strong>Synopsis</strong></p><p><span style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);">Data is an essential part of a brand’s growth, which we’ve covered extensively on the podcast and throughout previous issues of </span><em style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);">Global Franchise</em><span style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--body-fontFamily); font-weight: var(--body-fontWeight);">&nbsp;magazine. With it becoming increasingly challenging to harness third-party data, however, franchises need to start looking inward. For example, more than 75 per cent of iOS users around the world have rejected app tracking since the release of Apple’s iOS 14.5.&nbsp;</span></p><p>First-party data has historically been viewed as an expensive area to tread into, which has caused some smaller organizations to forgo this invaluable source of customer activity. With companies like LighthousePE now working alongside franchises big and small, however, the possibilities are beginning to broaden.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>But what is first-party data, and how can it be used for brand growth? To answer these questions and many more, we caught up with&nbsp;<a href="https://lighthousepe.ai/" data-mce-href="https://lighthousepe.ai/">LighthousePE</a>’s CEO, Andrew Steele.&nbsp; <a data-mce-href="https://podfollow.com/1475748334/episode/66092ecfcce395d6420d301179ac3f07771cbd37/view" href="https://podfollow.com/1475748334/episode/66092ecfcce395d6420d301179ac3f07771cbd37/view">Listen to the episode on your podcast network of choice here</a>.</p><p><br></p>

Global Franchise Podcast:  How to harness first-party data

<p>Nine in 10 companies worldwide that use location data expect its use to become more important over the next few years. This isn’t limited to the obvious industries like retail, hospitality, and travel. In fact, location data is finding increasing uses across real estate, finance and civic organizations, to name a few. And while use cases may vary across each of these sectors, a common thread is the need to respect privacy concerns and maintain transparency with customers to realize the true potential of location data.</p><p>Recently, LighthousePE was one of a select few asked to serve as a source for Insider Intelligence’s latest report, “<a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/location-intelligence-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/location-intelligence-2022">Location Intelligence 2022</a>”. While the report covers a wide range of use cases for the use of location data like managing the supply chain and forecasting economic trends, we were delighted to chime in on the important role of location intelligence in creating authentically personalized customer experiences and strategic marketing campaigns.</p><p><strong>Privacy Guardrails are Changing Everything</strong></p><p>Traditionally, brands and app developers have been able to rely on third-party partners to provide mobile location data. With increasing privacy-driven restrictions on cross-app tracking and third-party data sharing, however, that third-party data is becoming less reliable and more difficult to acquire. As of December 2021, only 1 in 4 iOS users worldwide have opted into cross-app tracking according to the App Tracking Transparency Opt-In report from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flurry.com/blog/att-opt-in-rate-monthly-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.flurry.com/blog/att-opt-in-rate-monthly-updates/">Flurry</a>. This means that location data for 75% of iOS users won’t be accessible through third-party sources. The opt-out rates are even higher in the US, with only 18% of iOS users opting in to allow cross-app data sharing.</p><p>Those growing restrictions aren’t limited to just third-party location data either. The impact on marketers is further compounded by the fact that browser-based cookies are going away. While Google delayed the sunset of third-party cookies until late 2023, it’s inescapable that we are on a path to a cookieless internet. Together, these represent a big portion of the interconnections that have fueled the digital marketing industry over the last couple of decades.</p><p>In addition to the technology guardrails, states like California, Colorado and Virginia are also in various stages of implementing their own privacy legislation, which by and large require both transparency and opt-in for consumer data capture and usage. It’s not unreasonable to expect other states, if not the Federal government, to follow suit in the near future.</p><p>So what should brands and app developers do?</p><p><strong>Increasing Importance of First-Party Data</strong></p><p>It’s time to start shifting to a first-party data strategy. Specifically, location data should be considered in the same category as first-party data already collected in other systems like CRM or point-of-sale platforms.</p><p>While most consumers are of course concerned about privacy, the majority readily share data like phone numbers and email addresses when they believe that they will receive value in the exchange. According to Forbes Magazine, 2 in 3 consumers are also willing to share location data if they believe that a similar value exchange exists.</p><p>By approaching location as a first-party data set, brands have the ability to articulate exactly why they’re asking to share location, how they’re going to use it, and how customers will benefit from sharing. Establishing that value exchange not only creates transparency and trust with customers, it also is the single most effective strategy to maximize opt-in rates.</p><p><strong>Location is the Most Reliable Indicator of Intent</strong></p><p>Gauging consumer Intent has become a Holy Grail for marketers, but traditionally it’s based on online activity which is fickle at best. Given how easy it is to search online, consumers tend to peruse products and services they never actually intend to buy. And, as third-party data inevitably continues to become more scarce, online intent will also continue to become more difficult to gauge.</p><p>But if that same consumer commits their time and energy to get in their car or arrange for transportation to go to a physical place to evaluate a product or service, the indication of intent is significantly stronger. As a result, location intelligence is an extremely reliable proxy to pinpoint when and where it’s most appropriate to send them a prompt to encourage a visit or a purchase.</p><p><strong>Location as a Loyalty Tool</strong></p><p>Layered in all of this lies a critical, yet often overlooked, distinction. To create the trust and transparency that leads to consumers’ willingness to opt-in to sharing location data, the brand relationship must already exist. So as the shift from third-party to first-party data strategies continues, marketers must also evolve their tactics to embrace location as a retention and engagement tool as much as, if not more so, than an acquisition tool.</p><p>Consumer sentiment around privacy will undoubtedly continue to evolve toward the expectation of the opt-in across all stages of the funnel. This is certainly a fundamental and structural shift in approach from the last 20 years of digital marketing, but it’s actually a win-win for both marketers and consumers. Brands that consistently demonstrate a commitment to building trust and transparency with their customers through opt-in-centered strategies will ultimately create a more loyal customer base and a deeper moat against their competitors.</p><p>To get the full report,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/location-intelligence-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/location-intelligence-2022">click here</a>.</p><p><br data-mce-bogus="1"></p><p>This post originally appeared on the <a data-mce-href="https://lighthousepe.ai/why-location-intelligence-will-become-more-important-for-every-business/" href="https://lighthousepe.ai/why-location-intelligence-will-become-more-important-for-every-business/">LighthousePE Blog</a> on 2/10/2022</p>

Why Location Intelligence Will Become More Important for Every Business

<main class="main-content main-content--large main-content--with-social main-content--with-sidebar" role="main"><section id="block-mainpagecontent-3" class="main-page-content block-mainpagecontent-3 block block-system block-system-main-block"><article id="node-19030" role="article" data-history-node-id="19030"><header class="article-header" role="article" data-history-node-id="19030"><h3 class="article-header__intro">Most restaurants are sitting on a goldmine of data that can and should be leveraged to drive deep customer loyalty through the personalized experiences they crave.</h3></header><div class="view-mode-full"><div class="field-wrapper field field-node--field-content field-name-field-content field-type-entity-reference-revisions field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item"><div class="image-caption image-caption--centered image-caption--xlarge de-content-inner clearfix"><div class="image-caption__image-content"><div class="image-caption__image"><div class="field-wrapper field field-paragraph--field-image-media field-name-field-image-media field-type-entity-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item"><article><div class="field-wrapper field field-media--field-media-image field-name-field-media-image field-type-image field-label-visually_hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item"><br></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div><div class="image-caption__text"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit;" data-mce-style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit;">The statistics pack a punch: Sixty percent of restaurants don’t make it past their first year, and 80% fail within the first five years. Restaurateurs must constantly be on their A-game to remain competitive amid rising wages, food costs and powerful incumbents—not to mention the curveball the pandemic dealt the entire hospitality industry.</span><br></div></div></div><div class="field-item"><div class="de-content-small"><div class="wysiwyg de-content-small"><div class="field-wrapper field field-paragraph--field-text-area field-name-field-text-area field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item"><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">The good news? Most restaurants are sitting on a goldmine of data that can––and should––be leveraged to drive deep customer loyalty through the personalized experiences they crave.</span></p><p><a href="https://hospitalitytech.com/2021-pos-software-trends-report-accelerating-innovation" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="[&quot;60b666ef4b4ff95972462b95&quot;]" data-mce-href="https://hospitalitytech.com/2021-pos-software-trends-report-accelerating-innovation"><em>32% of restaurants say&nbsp;using data to understand guest preferences and behavior is driving their next POS upgrade -- HT's 2021 POS Software Trends report</em></a>.&nbsp;</p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Consumers are increasingly opting for a multi-channel approach when it comes to their dining experience. This includes how they order, where they dine (at home or in the restaurant) and how they prefer to engage with their favorite restaurants. As a result, restaurants have to be able to meet consumers where they are and fulfill their expectations for personalized, flexible solutions.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">This requires getting to know––or “re-getting” to know––the customer. Luckily, most restaurants already have the insight they need and now there are tools to automate and easily scale the personalization process.</span></p><h3><strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Tapping into your existing customer data</span></strong></h3><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">The more you know about your guests, the easier it is to understand them. Understanding them leads to exceptional customer experiences, which in turn results in loyalty and higher sales.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">And studies show diners are inclined to share information if it translates to more engaging and personalized experiences. What’s more, technology makes it easy to gather and use meaningful data quickly and effectively––data that your customers have opted in to share.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Where do you look?</span></p><p><strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Point-of-sale (POS) systems:</span></strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">&nbsp;Your POS can help you gather and keep track of specific customer details and preferences. From basic demographics to ordering and menu preferences—this insight can be used to deliver personalized messages and offers to the customer.</span></p><p><em><a href="https://hospitalitytech.com/2021-pos-software-trends-report-accelerating-innovation?from=gate" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="[&quot;60b666ef4b4ff95972462b95&quot;]" data-mce-href="https://hospitalitytech.com/2021-pos-software-trends-report-accelerating-innovation?from=gate">37% of restaurants say integration with a third-party delivery system is driving their next POS upgrade -- HT's 2021 POS Software Trends report</a></em>.&nbsp;</p><p><strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Customer relationship management (CRM) systems and loyalty programs:&nbsp;</span></strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">&nbsp;Customer data collected in these platforms enables you to learn more about customer buying patterns, which offers compel action and how customers prefer to be communicated with. The CRM, specifically, helps organize all the data from your various systems in one place and automate certain communications. A good CRM that is regularly maintained will become your single source of truth.</span></p><p><strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Email marketing platforms:&nbsp;</span></strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Even your email lists can provide some good insight. Most provide insight into which contacts on your list are engaging with your email campaigns. You can use this information along with what they’re clicking on, what time they open it, etc. to gain a more detailed picture of what those individual customers are interested in and you might further personalize your outreach to them.</span></p><h3><strong><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Putting the data to work</span></strong></h3><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Achieving true personalization has traditionally been extremely time consuming and expensive, especially performing it at the scale needed to see a return in the investment. But there are now a variety of tools accessible to and affordable enough for restaurants of any size to help automate that process.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">The key to creating truly personalized experiences for each individual customer, however, must start with meeting them where they are. Today, that journey more often than not starts in a mobile app.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">A recent&nbsp;</span><a href="https://geo.bluedot.io/acton/attachment/43219/f-6e44aa2a-fa2b-41e7-ae69-d9739c404797/1/-/-/-/-/SWFU%20volume%203.pdf" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="[&quot;60b666ef4b4ff95972462b95&quot;]" data-mce-href="https://geo.bluedot.io/acton/attachment/43219/f-6e44aa2a-fa2b-41e7-ae69-d9739c404797/1/-/-/-/-/SWFU%20volume%203.pdf">report by Bluedot</a><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">&nbsp;found 86% of respondents surveyed said they have ordered directly from a restaurant app since the start of the pandemic, and eight out of 10 those consumers said they plan to maintain their current dining habits beyond the pandemic. And, according to the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.appannie.com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2021/" data-feathr-click-track="true" data-feathr-link-aids="[&quot;60b666ef4b4ff95972462b95&quot;]" data-mce-href="https://www.appannie.com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2021/">State of Mobile 2021 report by App Annie</a><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">, mobile orders of food and food delivery in the US have grown over 105% in the past year. Those shifts are showing no signs of reversing.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">This begs the question, how do you deliver personalized experiences to your customers where they are, efficiently and at scale? This is where proximity engagement comes in.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Proximity engagement is a mobile marketing technology that follows the principles of behavior design. TThat is, a person is most likely to perform a behavior when their motivation and ability to do so are most closely aligned. It does this by analyzing opt-in behavioral and location data from your customers’ mobile devices along with other customer data from your POS system, loyalty platform, or CRM to identify those moments of alignment.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">The upshot? Proximity engagement allows restaurants to automate the delivery of hyper-personalized messages and offers through their mobile app at exactly the right moment and in precisely the right place in which each customer will be most likely to respond and convert.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Those prompts can range from something as simple as a coupon for a discount on a customer’s favorite lunch item that is sent when they’re nearby, to more complex examples like sending a push to promote your catering business when one of your regulars is back in the office, to targeting offers to weekend-only customers to visit on slower days of the week.&nbsp; The good news is that the technology takes care of the heavy lifting, and is almost infinitely flexible to support whatever business objective you’re trying to achieve.</span></p><p><span lang="EN" xml:lang="EN">Consumer behavior has changed, and it will continue to evolve, but you can bet the preference toward personalization won’t be going anywhere no matter how diners choose to patronize their favorite restaurants. Do the work now to get “re-get” to know your customers. Not only will it help you drive business today, it will position you to be in tune with behavior changes down the road.</span></p><p><br></p><p><em>&nbsp;Originally posted at <a data-mce-href="Originally%20posted%20on%20Hospitality%20Technology%20on%2010/24/21" href="Originally%20posted%20on%20Hospitality%20Technology%20on%2010/24/21">Hospitality Technology</a> on 10/24/2021 and on the <a data-mce-href="https://lighthousepe.ai/want-to-future-proof-your-restaurant-listen-more/" href="https://lighthousepe.ai/want-to-future-proof-your-restaurant-listen-more/" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">LighthousePE Blog</a> on 10/28/2021</em></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></article></section></main>

Want to Future-Proof Your Restaurant? Listen More

Is It True Personalization? Your Customers Might Not Agree

5 Things a Business Should Do to Create a Wow Customer Experience

<div class="et_pb_row et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row_1-4_3-4"><div class="et_pb_column et_pb_column_3_4 et_pb_column_1  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child"><div class="et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_3  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light"><div class="et_pb_text_inner"><p>The ability of advertisers to have access to consumers’ online activity and behavior has been one of the most foundational drivers of the internet economy over the past two decades. It’s not a stretch to posit that online behemoths like Google, Facebook and Twitter wouldn’t be the juggernauts they are today without their ability to sell that data to advertisers. But that may all be about to change.</p><p><strong>iOS14 and IDFA</strong></p><p>The dominoes started to fall in June 2020 when Apple announced that the upcoming iOS 14 release would require every app developer to first ask for and obtain permission to track users’ activity across apps and websites. The new restrictions apply to Apple’s IDFA – an acronym for “Identifier for Advertisers,” which is an anonymous and unique identifier assigned to every iOS device and one of the primary mechanisms used to target mobile ads.</p><p><br></p><p>Until now, app developers, aggregators and websites could access users’ activity and behavior not just for their own apps or sites, but for every other app and website a user visits too. That meant that (unbeknownst to most consumers) your ridesharing app knows not just where your last pick-up was, but also what you ordered for dinner last night, what movie you watched afterward, and what banking app you used to pay for it all.</p><p><br></p><p>While it has always been a requirement for app developers to disclose cross-app and site tracking in their Terms of Service, those Terms usually go unread and almost never affect consumer behavior. Just about every mobile or online ad-based business model has been built on this murkiness, but the IDFA changes have the potential to throw a huge monkey wrench into that growth engine. Both developers and advertisers must now confront new rules of engagement with their audiences: If you want a user’s data, you have to get permission first.</p><p><br></p><p>Not surprisingly, the blowback was sudden and severe enough to cause Apple to delay the iOS 14 release. Opponents argued that app developers would be forced to introduce subscription fees and in-app purchases to offset the loss of advertising revenue. In other words, if you want to build a business model on iOS, you’ll have to convince consumers it’s worth paying for rather than surreptitiously monetizing their behavior. It bears noting that Apple receives a percentage of all subscription fees and in-app purchases associated with any app in its app store.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Chrome Crumbling The Cookies</strong></p><p><br></p><p>While Google has not yet announced similar intentions to limit user tracking for apps on its Android mobile operating system, it did announce in March 2021 that its Chrome browser will soon stop supporting third-party cookies. What started in the mid-1990s as a mechanism to make online shopping more reliable has since become one of the primary tools for advertisers to target ads based on consumers’ behavior online. The result could be equally seismic since Chrome controls almost 65% of&nbsp;<a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share">global browser market share</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>But why the privacy crackdown in its browser, but not with its mobile OS? It might have to do with the fact that in addition to dominating the browser game, Google wields dominant market share positions in search, online video streaming and consumer email. So when advertisers can no longer use the ecosystem of cookie-enabled ad networks to reach their audiences, where might those dollars flow instead?</p><p><br></p><p><strong>A Brave New (Old) World</strong></p><p><br></p><p>While these changes are unambiguously positive from a privacy perspective because they each return control over online data back to its rightful owner — you and me — they will also no doubt bring the importance of building authentic customer relationships back into focus.</p><p><br></p><p>I’m old enough to remember when it meant something for a business owner or its employees to get to know you as a customer — to know what you liked, what you didn’t and why you were a repeat customer. In contrast to voyeuristic monetization strategies based on monitoring huge swaths of online user data, businesses prospered in large part because they built, nurtured and valued each of their customer relationships, and understood that those relationships were a critical pillar of their success.</p><p><br></p><p>Many consumers would say that having access to anything you want in the palm of your hand at any time of the day for prices that are historically lower than ever delivered to your front door in an hour is a worthy trade-off for that loss. But the byproduct of that trade-off is an ecosystem that is a breeding ground for misuse, fraud and massive privacy risk. The changes to IDFA and cookie policies are ostensibly designed to mitigate that risk but at the same time will force many online and mobile businesses to reassess their fundamental business models.</p><p><br></p><p>What if, instead of using technology to watch what customers do online and bombard them with offers for what the advertiser wants to sell, businesses could instead use technology to rebuild the understanding of each customer relationship and offer exactly what each customer wants or needs? User data isn’t going anywhere, but solutions now exist that enable businesses to ethically and responsibly use that data in the context of an opt-in, secure and private exchange that ultimately delivers value to every customer.</p><p><br></p><p>For example, if a restaurant knows your favorite dinner based on your purchase history, wouldn’t you value an offer to get that item half off on your next visit? Or, if you share your location data with your favorite spa app, wouldn’t it be great to get an offer for a special massage upgrade after getting off a five-hour flight?</p><p><br></p><p>The examples of how a business can deliver relevant and highly personalized value to each simply by using our data in a responsible and private way are innumerable. Furthermore, the technology exists today to do just that — just how it was in the “good ol’ days,” but digitally. Call me crazy, but isn’t that what we all want as consumers?</p><p><br></p><p><em>This content was also posted as an article on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/19/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/?sh=4aef3b8f4fa6" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/19/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/?sh=4aef3b8f4fa6">Forbes.com</a> on 5/17/21 and on the <a data-mce-href="https://lighthousepe.ai/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/" href="https://lighthousepe.ai/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/">LighthousePE Blog</a> on 6/30/21</em></p></div></div></div></div><div class="et_pb_row et_pb_row_1"><div class="et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column_2  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child"><div class="et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_4 freddie_blog_post_mother_love_blog_title  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light"><div class="et_pb_text_inner"><br></div></div></div></div>

Blog

Global Franchise Podcast: How to harness first-party data

Why Location Intelligence Will Become More Important for ...

Want to Future-Proof Your Restaurant? Listen More

Is It True Personalization? Your Customers Might Not Agree

5 Things a Business Should Do to Create a Wow Customer Ex...

How New Privacy Restrictions Can Help Brands Rethink Cust...