In an enlightening conversation with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Katelyn Daniell, co-founder of Precision Retail, shed light on the inspiration behind launching the company and how it addresses a significant gap in the Canadian market. Precision Retail was born from the recognition that traditional data segments were insufficient for truly understanding consumer behavior. Katelyn emphasized the importance of zero-party data, which is consent-based and willingly shared by customers, as a game-changer for retailers. By focusing on this type of data, Precision Retail offers a unique approach that goes beyond simple transaction tracking, allowing retailers to gain deeper insights into customer motivations and preferences, ultimately fostering stronger customer loyalty and enhancing lifetime value.
Katelyn Daniell is an innovative leader in the digital and retail sectors. She’s co-founder of Precision Retail, an AI-powered survey tool which rewards customers for sharing their data with retailers, and mplus, an adtech stack solution built using a proprietary zero party data platform.
Katelyn is passionate about building retailer-customer relationships through sustainable value exchanges and zero-party data. This venture is already making waves in the industry by enabling retailers to engage with their customers in more meaningful and impactful ways.
Since December 2021, Katelyn has also been the co-founder of mplus, where she has played a crucial role in the company’s growth and success. Her leadership has been instrumental in establishing mplus as a key player in the digital adtech market.
Prior to her entrepreneurial endeavors, Katelyn served as the Chief Commercial Officer at MCap Group from August 2019 to July 2020. She has extensive experience at Dentsu Aegis Network where, over five and a half years, she held various positions, including Commercial Director, Digital Investment Manager, Digital Investment Supervisor, and Digital Strategist. Her responsibilities included managing revenue diversification, adopting new commercial models, overseeing media and ad tech supply-side management, and leading digital investment for major retail and CPG brands.
What inspired you to start Precision Retail, and how does it address the gap in purchase data points that retailers in Canada have traditionally struggled to access?
My co-founder and I were inspired to start Precision Retail to address the lack of proactive data segments in the Canadian market. Specifically, we saw a significant gap in the availability of zero-party data segments, which is consent-based data that users willingly share with a brand in exchange for an incentive. This type of data exchange is not only transparent and based on the customer’s consent but also provides invaluable insights that retailers and brands wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
While most retailers and brands have access to first-party data, which captures what customers do on their site—such as the purchases they make, their search behaviors, and their journey—this data only tells part of the story. Existing MarTech solutions, particularly those focused on post-checkout surveys, often emphasize attribution, helping retailers understand how customers arrived at their website and why they purchased. However, they do not delve into why customers choose a specific brand over its competitors or what they might do next.
Precision Retail shifts the focus from attribution to understanding deeper consumer motivations and behaviors. We aim to uncover what drives customers’ shopping habits, their core values, and the psychographic attributes that are essential for brands to know to grow and strengthen loyalty.
Precision Retail focuses on integrating zero-party data (0PD) with cart data to create detailed customer segments. Can you explain how this approach differs from traditional first-party data and third-party cookie tracking?
Zero-party data, unlike first-party cookies or third-party cookies, is deliberate, consent-based data that customers willingly share through interactions like our post-checkout surveys. The primary purpose of first-party cookies is to enhance the on-site user experience of a website. However, ad tech firms strike relationships with SSPs, DSPs, and Publishers to leverage these cookies for advertising purposes as well. While first-party and third-party cookies are valuable to an extent, they are browser-based, and ultimately rely on inferring who a user is. They also lack deliberate consent from the user to share data for marketing purposes.
Zero-party data is self-declared and consent-based, offering insights into customer preferences, behaviors, and motivations that go beyond browser data or basic transactional data. When combined with cart data, 0PD allows retailers to create rich, comprehensive customer segments that can be used to personalize marketing strategies without relying on intrusive tracking methods.
How does Precision Retail’s survey plugin help retailers move from transactional relationships to transformative ones, and what impact does this have on customer loyalty and lifetime value?
Precision Retail’s survey plugin helps retailers transition from transactional relationships to transformative ones by emphasizing the value of rewarding customers for their data. By incentivizing customers to share their insights through surveys, retailers can collect rich, self-declared data that goes beyond basic transactions. This data allows retailers to deeply understand their customers’ preferences, behaviors, and values.
By using these insights to personalize offerings and communications, retailers demonstrate that they genuinely value and understand their customers, fostering a sense of appreciation and trust. This approach not only enhances brand loyalty but also increases customer lifetime value, as customers are more likely to engage repeatedly with a brand that acknowledges and rewards their input.
Can you discuss the advantages of using zero-party data in today’s digital marketing landscape, particularly in light of increasing privacy concerns and the decline of third-party cookies?
Zero-party data is becoming increasingly vital in today’s digital marketing landscape, especially as we shift towards the Web 3.0 ecosystem. Unlike Web 2.0, where tech giants offer services in exchange for data that is often exploited without transparency, Web 3.0 represents a new era of the internet characterized by decentralization, privacy, and user ownership of data. In this context, zero-party data stands out as a crucial asset for brands.
Zero-party data is data that customers intentionally and proactively share with a brand. This type of data collection is transparent and based on a value exchange that respects consumer privacy. By engaging customers directly and rewarding them for their data, brands can gather meaningful insights in an ethical and compliant manner.
0PD enables more personalized and relevant marketing efforts, leading to higher engagement, better customer experiences, and ultimately, stronger brand loyalty. This shift not only aligns with the ethical demands of today’s consumers but also positions brands as forward-thinking leaders in the evolving digital ecosystem.
With Precision Retail just launching, what has been the initial response from retailers, and how do you envision this tool evolving to further enhance marketing strategies and customer insights?
Since Precision Retail launched in June, the initial response from retailers has been overwhelmingly positive. Retailers are excited about the unique value we offer, recognizing how our platform can transform their customer engagement strategies. Other tools in the post-checkout space primarily focus on attribution insights. Precision Retail is pioneering a new data asset for retailers that is crucial in today’s saturated retail landscape.
This depth of understanding allows retailers to create meaningful, long-lasting relationships with their customers, which ultimately leads to a more significant return on investment (ROI). By focusing on building these deeper connections rather than just transactional metrics, Precision Retail helps retailers differentiate themselves and gain a competitive edge.
We’re expanding our user base, beginning with small to mid-sized DTC brands in Canada and the US and eventually moving to larger enterprise clients. I see Precision Retail evolving into an indispensable tool for retailers, enhancing marketing strategies and fostering stronger, more transparent relationships with customers, positioning retailers for long-term success in a rapidly changing market.
