When Google Chrome announced it would be eliminating third-party cookies from its platform, many marketers were finally forced to reconsider how to engage their audiences without the insights cookies afforded them. However, while it’s true that cookies source data that enables marketers to develop more personalized customer experiences, marketers need to also understand that cookies’ limited shelf-life undercuts an ability to evolve personalization efforts, which is essential for customer retention. When it comes to learning about consumers in an actionable way, cookies were never the strongest tactic.
Google has delayed cookies’ extinction to late 2023, but I advise marketers to lock down their first-party data strategy now, namely how they’ll gather and leverage it, so they have time to finetune and be running effectively by the time cookies fully disappear. By proactively establishing their own collections of granular customer insights, marketers will feel prepared when third-party cookies finally go extinct.
See More: The Future of Data-Driven Marketing Is Inside Data Clean Rooms
Take Personalization Efforts to the Next Level
Marketers know personalization is important, but their strategies for learning about consumers haven’t always been the most informative. Consumers’ preferences are ever-changing, for instance, the pandemic prompted 75% of U.S. consumersOpens a new window to try a new shopping behavior in response to economic pressures, store closings, and changing priorities. This means marketers need to be able to capture live audience insights and translate them into messaging that resonates. Given their short shelf life, cookies are not the best tool to help marketers understand and anticipate consumers’ preferences. Considering that 90% of U.S. consumersOpens a new window  have a positive attitude toward marketing personalization, it’s important for marketers to understand those that interact with their brand as well as how these insights can change over time.
To deliver the authentic communications consumers want from the brands they engage with, marketers should establish privacy-compliant first-party data collection.
Marketing technology like analytics systems with attribution capabilities can provide brands with more valuable insights than what will be lost from cookies’ disappearance. With an omnichannel overview into how consumers are responding to activations and messaging, marketers can identify which of their efforts are influencing consumers and which ones need to be adjusted. For example, marketers can see whether a consumer clicks through an in-app advertisement or minimizes it, which clues them into how engaging the ad is and if it should be revised or replaced.
Acknowledge Consumers’ Varying Attitudes Toward Privacy
Personalization is important, but even more important is doing it in a privacy-compliant way. Fifty-seven percent of consumersOpens a new window say they’re willing to share personal data in exchange for personalized offers or discounts. Still, many others in today’s privacy-first data environment are opting not to share their information with brands for fear of misuse.
See More: Why Small Businesses Don’t Need to Fear the Death of Third-Party Cookies
Emphasizing their commitment to protecting consumers’ data is essential for marketers to ease these fears, with about three-quarters of consumers desiring greater transparency about how brands use their data. When consumers understand the efforts companies are making to protect their information, they are likely to be more forthcoming with it. Likewise, marketers need to articulate the benefit of collecting consumer data, such as an optimized user experience and more personalized product or service recommendations.
To deliver the personalized experience consumers desire, marketing needs to be a two-way conversation between the brand and audiences — something third-party cookies never allowed for. Now, with the extinction of cookies, marketers have a chance to reimagine how they learn about and connect with audiences to deliver campaigns that address what consumers care about today. Cookies’ extinction isn’t as far off as marketers may believe, and with so much potential, it’s in marketers’ best interest to strengthen their first-party data collection strategies as soon as possible.
With the eventual demise of third-party cookies, what steps are you taking to keep your customers engaged and provide personalization? Let us know on  FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .