With increased digitisation and concerns over privacy rising, a huge opportunity presents itself before marketers to relook at their technology stacks and reimagine engagement with customers. Google will most probably end third-party cookies from Chrome by 2023. Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers have already permitted users to withdraw from ad-tracking cookies. In a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group and LinkedIn, 55% of marketers expect this to have a negative impact.
Evolving campaigns in a cookie-less world means enhancing personalisation and relying on data that the customer willingly shares. Here’s a prescription to navigate a cookie-less world:
Leverage first-party data: It’s time to rely on own data sources, and move to a pull strategy rather than a push strategy. When the interaction is relevant, customers are happy to share information. For instance, people who have been enjoying your retail offering, will not want to miss out on the next collection you unfold, or the next discount season at your store, and will insist that you have their number on your mailing list. Such information must be cataloged, stored, and used in line with privacy regulations.
Achieve cross-functional agreements: A successful marketing campaign requires significant cross-functional inputs from all C-level executives, with the CMO, anchoring a vital role in ensuring consumer trust is not compromised. Additionally, businesses must hire and train employees with the skill sets necessary to execute the first-party data collection-driven strategies.
Improve collaborations with ecosystem partners: Businesses should support and accelerate collaborations to cast wider nets. One may work closely with platforms that have large databases and target audiences. Collaborating across internal teams and trusted partners creates a wider shared knowledge base and greater data opportunities.
Enhance personalisation and become more relevant: One should quickly learn the ropes of understanding the customer better to curate more personalised offerings. Once a personalised campaign sets in, customers can become brand advocates as they enjoy the meaningful exchange of data in a trusting environment. However, personalisation does not mean becoming intrusive. Understand the customers’ likes and dislikes through their history of interaction, and then send out the relevant information.
Get new tech: This means investing in identity solutions and customer data platforms to track the customer journey. There are patented
technologies on which smart startups are developing full funnel analysis solutions right from share of voice till cart additions. For instance, large FMCG players in India are now utilizing these in their regular e-commerce operations.
Evolve transparent measurement methodologies: Marketers need to measure the incremental business impact of their marketing efforts periodically. Gone are the days of mass blast campaigns. To make sure that you send out specific and relevant information, you need to measure the impact of multiple campaigns you may have devised.
The author is founder and CEO, VTION Digital Analytics