According to Google’s announcement in January 2020, it plans to phase out third-party cookie support in Chrome over the next two years in order to better protect user privacy and security online. Browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari will all restrict third-party cookies by 2022 because of this.
Third-party cookie data is heavily used for personalization in digital advertising, therefore this changes the game. As a result, companies must adjust and adapt their customization strategies.
There are several technical dependencies on which brands, advertising businesses, agencies, and publishers are reliant as they try to tackle this challenge. Customer satisfaction cannot be compromised because it is the most important factor.
The long-term impacts of these modifications aren’t limited to digital marketing. There will be a problem in the structure of what allows firms to have a complete perspective of their customers. Businesses that do not have a strategy in place to reimagine their data architecture, authentication technologies, and data gathering procedures risk losing ground in their efforts to improve targeting, personalization, and connections with customers.
Bad as it seems, this may actually present opportunities for those who are prepared to reinvent and engage customers with even more significance.
Understanding Cookies
It’s simple to overlook cookies or consider them insignificant since they’ve been around so long. But we should never take cookies for granted. A cookie is a little data file that a website can store information to help the website remember who you are and your preferences.
Permanent cookies are different from temporary cookies in that they collect information for a longer period of time. Also, using cookies on a website lets you save things like login information, preferences, and products in your shopping cart.
Understanding the future without third-party cookies requires understanding the two types of cookies: first-party cookies and third-party cookies.
Websites that you visit create first-party cookies on your computer. These are the cookies that keep track of things like your password and other login information for a particular website.
On the other hand, external websites create third-party cookies. There are many examples of companies using third-party cookies to gather information about you even while you’re on another website, such as when you read a news article on a media website and there’s an ad for a product.
To learn more about their customers, marketers and advertising can use third-party cookies to track them across the web. Individual IDs are provided so that target accounts’ online behavior may be understood and information and advertising tailored to it.
Modern digital marketing strategies and methods are built on this type of data since it enables marketers to provide customers more meaningful experiences and engagement. Marketers will have to find new ways to identify and reach customers if third-party cookies are removed.
Disadvantages of Third-Party Cookies
Although third-party cookies are all over the place right now, marketers aren’t making the most of them although in the course of browsing the web and engaging with content, hundreds of cookies are placed on your computer.
When you switch from one website to another, a new cookie is set with new information about you. You have to re-check preferences every time you visit a new site because your information isn’t transferred between them.
Because of the fragmentation of cookies and the data they collect, it is necessary to aggregate and map the data. Since current marketing is all about people, this isn’t a reliable technique to gather comprehensive client information or identify specific individuals.
First-Party Cookies Are The Future
In the light of banning third-party cookies, a silver lining on this problem is drawn in the organization’s ability to use first-party data. To keep track of all the interactions a customer has with a brand, companies collect and use first-party data from their own channels, including their website, app, or point of sale system in-store.
Since first-party data is gathered from an organization’s direct contact with a customer, a strong first-party data system reduces reliance on alternative data sources while increasing the quality and accuracy of the information.
At this moment, the general belief in digital marketing is that first-party cookies will be the most effective means of collecting information and customizing user experiences in the coming years. However, a successful first-party data marketing will require the capacity to identify and de-anonymize your website visitors.
For B2B marketing, a decent user de-anonymization strategy should provide you with sufficient information about your visitor so that you can have a meaningful conversation with them to get a sense of who they are, learn about their company and job description.
First-party data can be gathered by providing useful gated content up front. Using the correct AI or machine learning-driven solution or platform, you can combine your first-party data with other forms of data and add buyer insights. Using intent data, you could, for example, identify your decision-makers and when they’re ready to buy based on your individual users.
Opportunities in a cookie-less cyberspace
Persistence and security are what marketers actually need to acquire an all-encompassing view of their customers. This allows them to engage with relevance across all of their customers’ many touchpoints. To develop direct relationships based on trust and value exchange which will enhance the value of first-party data in the long run, organizations should remember to:
Acknowledge individual users’ influence
Rather than focusing on companies, modern B2B marketing aims to engage with individual users. Personalized engagement and connection with decision-makers are crucial components of a successful marketing strategy since people conduct their own research and make their own purchasing decisions. Consolidated data and a unified view of the buyer are required.
Address privacy concerns
Google’s and other companies’ decision to prohibit third-party cookies is motivated in part by growing privacy concerns. Increasingly, people are wary of having their personal data gathered or shared with third parties without their consent. As a result of widespread media coverage of data breaches, the public has become distrustful, and this trust must be regained by the implementation of privacy laws.
Earn their trust by asking for consent
Allowing customers to opt-in for data collecting is another method to earn their trust. Your users will feel empowered as a result, and they’ll be more likely to interact with your business.
Use multiple channels to reach your audience
Marketers who are on top of their game aren’t only talking to their customers in one area. They’re thinking about how to get customers from awareness to purchase faster by planning for many touch points along the buying cycle. A data collecting strategy that supports always-on, multichannel marketing will be necessary for marketers in the future.
Conclusion
Over the years, digital marketing, advertising, and the way data is utilized across enterprises have all evolved. Without third-party cookies, the world would be a much better place.
Through first-party interactions, brands may better understand their customers and create unique experiences that both benefit the brand as well as the customer. It will also aid enterprises in making full use of their data, which will result in more fruitful collaborations and new business opportunities.