In last week’s final episode of our 2022 Optily Radio season, I chatted with Gen Furukawa, Co-Founder of Prehook, and Optily’s Chief Marketing and Customer Officer, Kevin Stagg, about the importance of zero-party data in eCommerce. As the major ad platforms clamp down on the granularity of audiences and place other limitations on third-party data, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to build up their own databases.
Quizzes can be a fun way for users to give your brand more information about what they’re interested in from your product offering. In turn, by completing 5-7 questions and providing a unique and specific solution to a customer’s needs, your brand gains reputation points as an authority.
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Brand reputation and quizzes
Gen commented on how appearance is key, especially in certain industries. In Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, one of the key points is establishing authority and expertise. When you walk into a Kiehl’s, Gen continues, you see all the sales associates dressed in white lab coats to give off the sense of it being a medical setting.
By guiding your customers through a short questionnaire that provides a solution unique to their needs, you uplift your brand to a level of expertise. By personalizing your offering, you show customers that you’re an authority, while enriching your own database for future targeting based on their segment.
In a way, a quiz that’s well done can be a stand-in for a sales associate in the online realm.
What does a good quiz look like?
It’s all about the user experience. The key is to keep your quiz relevant and succinct. That being said, you do need to gather the necessary data to inform your recommendations. Roughly, according to Gen, that means 5-7 questions total.
For every question you add, know that there will be a drop-off in the completion rate. So make sure you’re only asking the most important questions.
The first question should also be their name. Then the rest of the questions can be personalized with this first name to make the journey warmer.
Enriching your email lists with zero-party data
Capturing a customer or lead email is great. But just having an email on its own is not going to help you segment a user. Sure you have buying history as a start, but that can only inform you so much. With a quiz, you’re able to really get at who your user is and the use they’re going to get from certain products in your offering.
Of course, the zero-party data you collect will highly depend on your niche and strategy. But general factors such as location can help with seasonality, for example. Age can also be a factor in not only the offerings they receive but the medium and tone in which you market to them.
