You probably already know how important it is to back up your marketing decisions with data. But you might not know that the quality of the data can make or break the success of the decisions you make — and that the quality of location data in particular can differ greatly between providers.
So, if you want to evaluate a location data provider yourself, how can you determine the quality of the data? Below, we’ve compiled four key factors to help you evaluate the quality of location data, whether you’re choosing a data provider for the first time or reevaluating an existing provider.
1. Scale of the Data
When considering the quality of location data, scale is essential because it allows you to get granular in your analysis without losing statistical relevance. For example, if you are interested in understanding how a specific DMA or store of yours is performing, scalable data will ensure that the performance is not based on the analysis of only a handful of visits.
2. Accuracy of the Data
Accuracy goes hand in hand with scale because it helps you make sure that the data is accurately identifying visits to real locations (or POIs, as we call them). After all, there isn’t too much value in having vast scale if the data is not accurate.
For instance, if you’re launching a marketing campaign targeting consumers who are loyal to McDonald’s, you need to make sure that the audience segments you’re activating are built on accurate data. Otherwise, you won’t be spending your media dollars efficiently — and you’ll also be providing your consumers with a bad user experience.
3. Density of the Data
Data density adds a third dimension to this picture by allowing you to understand whether offline consumers visited a location, and if so, how much time they spent there (which we call “dwell time”). Your data could be highly accurate, but if you cannot tell apart consumers who spent 20 minutes at your store vs. those who were just driving by, then you cannot truly understand how consumers are interacting and engaging with your brand. Through dwell time, you can distinguish actual visits from non-relevant data points.
4. Privacy and Transparency of Location Data Collection
And last, but definitely not least, are privacy and transparency. It is paramount that all location data be collected anonymously and only from users who’ve opted in to sharing their location data. Cuebiq has embraced privacy as a core value from the very start, and our commitment revolves around four key principles: Consent, Transparency, Control, and Accountability.
Ultimately, using high-quality data that exhibits these qualities will help you gain meaningful consumer insights, which can be instrumental in enhancing your advertising campaigns and helping you achieve your marketing goals.
