CEO, founder of KeyMedia Solutions . We are problem solvers and want to help mid-sized companies succeed with online advertising.
I love cake. Chocolate chips, peanut butter, cookies, white chocolate, samples. I can hardly live without cookies. While I know these things are not good for me, they have definitely made my life better, both in nutrition and in my marketing career. But as a digital marketer who loves good data, I also understand that the days of traditional third-party cookies (at least for digital) are coming to an end.
Cookies—useful data that helps us understand and target customers—raise privacy concerns. For this reason, regulations now require users to provide explicit consent before their data is collected using cookies (you've probably seen those consent forms pop up on every website you visit).
The good news is that there are alternative strategies to continue running effective marketing campaigns without relying too heavily on cookies. Over the past few years, my agency has been researching and testing various solutions to improve personalized marketing and prepare our company and our clients for this change in the status quo. In this article, I'll share six carefully selected approaches that we've tried with clients in the hopes that they will help your business thrive in this new era.
Leverage permissions and customer data portals.
While this may seem like a complex solution, it's one you'll likely come across often and use on your websites. Consent management solutions provide a small banner on a website asking new users to consent to the brand's use of data collected during their visit. When visitors click “Accept,” they agree to the brand using their information for marketing, messaging, and other fine print.
If you run an online store, you need to think about consents and customer data portals to get permission to collect and use information. This allows us to collect and manage customer information with their consent while keeping it secure. You can continue to personalize your experience based on your preferences, as you typically do with cookies, using information about products viewed, pages visited, search actions, and products added to cart but not purchased.
Make the most of your data.
Use your own customer data with their permission. Break down data silos within your organization to gain a more complete picture. This can help you send personalized emails or recommend products based on your past behavior.
Work with trusted sources.
Work with associations, partners, leading websites or event organizers to gain access to their customer data (with consent). For example, if you sell fitness products, partnering with a fitness magazine or fitness influencer can give you access to relevant audiences for targeted marketing.
Before you get started, find a reliable company that is close to your best clients. Look for partnerships that produce mutually beneficial results for your brand, association and its members. A trusted association will not openly "sell" its members' information. Active membership enhances the credibility of your business and builds trust in the partnership. Many offer paid advertising options, but I try to look for offers that go beyond email sponsorship or paid ad placement.
Use AI to get more complete information.
AI tools can help you build models to predict customer behavior. For example, if you run a travel agency, AI can help analyze your customers' past trips to offer them personalized holiday packages. This reduces the need for cookie data to make recommendations.
Click Identity Solution Provider.
Identity management services are emerging to help brands match user identities across devices and channels. The software uses technology to create personal identifiers that can identify unique user profiles across multiple devices (computers, phones, tablets or connected TVs) and collect data in one place for analysis.
Although this is a new area, several companies in the financial sector are using it to provide a better customer experience without relying on cookies. With more accurate and complete customer insights, banks can more accurately predict when existing customers may need a renovation loan. This allows them to provide information about mortgage services early in the process, providing a better experience for their customers.
Take advantage of a walled garden.
Big tech companies like Google, Meta and Amazon have a huge amount of data. They're willing to share some of that with people who advertise on their platform. For example, Amazon is one of the few advertising platforms that can provide direct sales data to advertisers. Likewise, Google operates the most used search engine in the world and collects real-time information about what each user is searching for. If you're a retailer, you can use Google's powerful targeting tools to reach specific groups of customers in your market (who are currently searching for your products or services).
Thus, as cookies become less and less reliable, it is important for business owners and marketers to implement these alternative strategies. The future of marketing lies in respecting user privacy while delivering personalized and effective campaigns. By adopting these approaches and staying ahead of the curve, your business can thrive in a cookie-free world without compromising the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
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