Google and Apple declared that the future of cookies will not be as bright as it used to be. See what’s changing, meet the solution called Customer Data Platform and learn how to benefit from it first!
In a recent post, Google announced the banishment of third-party cookies on their browser, Google Chrome. It caused a so-called “Cookie Apocalypse”, teasing some chaos among publishers and advertisers.
Some major improvements are on the go. The revolution towards more security and privacy has already begun. Understand how the impact of Chrome’s decision and what you should do about it. Don’t wait until the last minute!
What are Cookies?
Cookies are simple text files that store a user’s activities on the internet. It aims to make browsing more practical, configuring some information automatically. But beyond that, cookies have the main function of saving analytical information about browsing history.
Thus, when a user enters a website, a variety of information is stored in the cookie, such as pages visited, browsing time and other data that can be used by companies for remarketing campaigns purposes.
Some people say the name came from the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. In the story, a boy and a girl, lost in the woods, were able to mark their trail by dropping cookie crumbs behind them. So, the analogy is that users leave crumbs behind when browsing so you can track their activities.
How does cookies work
When somebody visits your website for the first time, it sends a cookie in as a response to the browser, including requests, in text format. This small file is stored on the computer until it expires.
As long as the cookie is saved on PC, every time a visitor enters your website address, the browser will send this file to the page they connected to. As you know, studying consumer behavior online –– knowing when they were on your website, the pages they viewed, how much time they spent on each one and how many times they returned –– is an extremely powerful sales and marketing initiative.
There are several types of cookies. While some allow users to be recognized more quickly by websites, others analyze browsing behavior to generate data for use as marketing tools.
Here are two of the most important ones:
First-party cookies
First-party data is all the information that your company collects directly from consumers and audiences for its own use. This data is obtained through records on the website, marketing campaigns, social networks, CRM systems, survey forms, among others.
In addition to the data collected on online platforms, there is also the entire arsenal of information stored in the customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
First-party data is extremely valuable as it is reliable and trustworthy because you were the one who collected it. Not to mention the fact that they are obtained free of charge from cookies and the technological arrangement your company has constructed.
Third-party cookies
Third-party data represents the first-party data you can purchase from other companies. They are a collection generated by multiple sources, such as publishers and ecommerce sites, to sell it to other enterprises.
It can be obtained from third-party cookies installed on a page or via providers. They used to be a great option because they offered a large volume of qualified traffic very quickly.
Even with so many pros, there are also some cons. It is not possible to validate this data, as whoever buys it, does not know what the original source was. There is no exclusivity on it other companies may also have access to the same information as you.
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So why are third-party cookies going away?
Has increased the concern about the way some companies have been using data acquired from cookies. Due to retargeting practices –– when advertisers send targeted ads according to an item previously looked at by the user –– had given such a bad reputation to third-party cookies.
As a result, a significant increase in the use of ad blockers caused a rupture to successful ad campaigns, leading companies whose revenue depends 100% on it to fail.
Seeking transparency, browser developers are ending support for third-party cookies claiming to encourage the industry to move towards better solutions and consented usage of users’ data.
Why is Google changing their cookie policy
In 2019, Google has announced a new initiative called Privacy Sandbox to enhance the fundamentals of privacy on the web, specially about Chrome, within two years. Their goal is to gather a more private and secure experience for web users and support for publishers and advertisers.
Getting constant feedback by the community, being privacy-preservers and having open-standard mechanisms, Google says they can “sustain a healthy, ad-supported web in a way that will render third-party cookies obsolete”.
The future of cookies
At first sight, that shift of perspective was started by users’ demands for greater privacy. They vindicated for the right of choosing and controlling their data used online.
Justin Schuh, director of Chrome Engineering, states they will push the start “once these approaches have addressed the needs of users, publishers, and advertisers, and we have developed the tools to mitigate workarounds” against identified malicious usage of it.
Apple has already made the change
This whole change was not a Google exclusivity. Apple has also redefined their terms. An update for its Safari browser presented the protection against third-party tracking they began to implement back in 2017.
With this update, Safari has by default blocked all third-party cookies in order to improve user privacy when browsing experience.
Since then, the advertiser’s reach is limited and the browser uses machine learning to identify these cookies that do not belong to the website visited. This imposes a 24-hour lifetime limit on tracking tools from cookies.
At the time, the changes did not please everyone either. In response to it, in September of that year, six trade and marketing organizations wrote an open letter to Apple asking the company to reconsider its plan to launch Safari with these new cookie standards, considering it arbitrary towards advertisement professionals.
Even though they both, Google and Apple, strongly stand for the “it’s all based on good and integrity purposes” discourse, the announcement caused a massive “cookie apocalypse”. This could destroy digital advertising as we know, reshaping the use of the internet.
With no future of Cookies, what to do now?
The absolute first thing you should do is: don’t wait until it’s too late to change. There are some companies anticipating their changes to advertisement techniques even better than cookies!
Criteo, one of the heaviest names among retargeting businesses, is definitely a great one to learn from. They work with internet retailers serving personalized retarget ads to previous website visitors. Criteo currently operates in a total of 30 markets around the world.
They say: “As we move forward, we ensure these adaptations are made with the future changes in mind, moving towards independence from the third-party cookie technology. We’ve always been proud to develop our solutions in privacy-by-design ways that operate strictly under the consent of the user, never storing Personally Identifiable Information”.
What they are basically doing is building a deeper relationship with their customers providing a coherent brand experience. That comes from mastering first-party data they already detain, creating an ecosystem of their own through Customer Data Platform, the CDP.
But before giving you all the details you need to properly use and get the benefits from the customer data platform, it turns fundamental to break down a little bit better about customer trust.
The most powerful business asset
Having an impeccable relation to customers is essential for any company. After all, there is no you and there is no business without them. It is also the relationship responsable to lay the foundation for consumer loyalty.
When the organization can establish meaningful conversations and interactions with its audience, the customer becomes loyal and starts promoting the product and the brand.
In order for this to happen, professionalism and a willingness to understand consumer’s needs are fundamental. Your client wants their expectations to be exceeded and this requires sensitivity, understanding and polished techniques so your company can offer what really matters.
It is necessary to prove to your customer how important they are and, therefore, their entire journey as a consumer is being monitored by you. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, this relationship must be cultivated continuously.
The solution you need: Customer Data Platform
The future of cookies has a name, and it is called Customer Data Platform, or CDP. Customer data platform is a high-level marketing tool. It allows your company to gather multichannel information in real-time and organize them into the ultimate analysis of your ideal customer.
With all the data centralized on a single platform, the use of information becomes even more efficient, allowing multiple accesses from different teams. After all, within a company you must take for consideration all different sectors and sources of information.
Customer data platform allows companies to have an increasingly complete knowledge of who their consumer really is. Thus, the service is more personalized than third-party cookies and, consequently, more accurate, generating better results, either to attract more leads or to convert more sales.
The main benefits of Customer Data Platform
We are living in a data-driven context, as we previously mentioned. That is 100% guided by the database. Although it is necessary to understand that to be truly strategic, businesses’ decisions must be warranted by relevant and organized data.
Engagement during personalized and exclusive customer experience is increasing. With a competitive market and plenty of suppliers, switching from one brand to another is not a problem for the consumer. Due to that, offering the best since the first contact is going to be the key to a well-succeeded sales approach.
If your purpose is to constantly evolve your business, especially after cookies’ banishment, and discover the core of your audience, have a complete, effective and robust database, managing your company in a simpler and but yet high-leveled way, using Customer Data Platform is your best alternative.
To get more specific information on how customer data platform can benefit your company and increase revenue, read this!
Top CDP characteristics
Even though it is still a recent concept in the market, CDP has some very particular characteristics. The touchpoints that can be collected and organized by customer data platform are:
- Sales engagement;
- Social media;
- In-apps;
- Website;
- Product use.
The more sources used during the data collection, the more precise will be your persona. As a consequence, your strategy becomes more accurate, personalized and effective when created based on those levels of information.
Get a Customer Data Platform solution Right Now
Us from Arena can give you and your company a tailored CDP solution. Be able to integrate your sources of data collection, enhance your financial coasts by creating efficient work and generate powerful strategies to increase sales.
Allow your entire company to make better use from databases and provide insights to micro target audiences, delivering enriched campaigns. Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities faster than ever.
We are the future of cookies! So click here right now and talk to our consultant. The sooner you start, the better results you’ll get. We are waiting to help you!