Last year Google became the latest provider to announce that they were planning to phase out the support of third-party cookies on their Chrome browser. They weren’t the first to begin considering how consumer data is passed and managed; Apple’s Safari browser has had an option to block third-party cookies for a while. Firefox offers enhanced tracking protection against redirect tracking. But how does the focus on third-party cookies have an impact on businesses and marketers?
Before we start, it’s probably a good idea to explain the differences between cookies. In many ways, there are good cookies and not so good cookies. Any websites you visit store first-party cookies which allow the owner to collect analytics, manage your personalised language settings, and provide an excellent user experience (something that will be even more important from May 2021 when Google changes it’s algorithms again). These cookies are the ones that make it easier to use websites, keeping sessions open, speeding up logins, maintaining itineraries in shopping carts, that kind of thing.
Alongside first-party cookies are third-party cookies that come from domains other than the one you are visiting. Some of their roles include cross-site tracking and ad targeting. Have you ever wondered why all the ads on certain pages are tailored to things you’ve been looking at online? That would be because of third-party cookies. In the simplest terms, if you click on a website, you receive a first-party cookie, but in many cases, a third-party cookie will also be added, which then collects and analyses data about you and your online activity.
Show clarity when using customer data
So, how will the end of third-party cookies affect businesses and their marketing? The most obvious answer is that marketing strategies will have to become far more customer-centric. Clear consent will be needed if customer data is being collected and used (something that should have already been happening as a result of GDPR), and businesses will need to improve the way they use data (again, this should happen anyway). Audiences should know what businesses do with their data and where it is being kept. Ensuring that data is being handled with care can do wonders for a business’ reputation.
Customer experiences are key
Additionally, it’s time to consider the context of content and how customers feel about your product, service, or experience. If you think about it, this has been available to us for years through Google My Business reviews, TripAdvisor, and testimonials on sites like LinkedIn. If you’ve ever purchased anything on Etsy, their product feedback section offers the opportunity to include rich content like a photo or video, which provides a far more realistic insight for customers than the words and images your company provides.
Allowing your customers to begin sharing their content with you and interacting with them to get feedback and opinions then provides an opportunity to create focussed messaging and personalised content for different audiences. Essentially achieving what third-party cookies did whilst creating a dialogue with your audience; far more friendly and customer-centric. It also provides a far superior insight into their buying habits than simply looking at clicks and signal data.
In reality, it’s nothing new, and it’s something that we should all embrace. Losing the option of third-party tracking means we can all reconnect with our customer bases, connecting them to the product or service that they want and doing free market research in the process.
If you would like some help in rejigging your marketing strategy so you’re one step ahead of Google Chrome, we’d love to hear from you.
