First-party data in 2021 is more important than ever for B2B marketers, but why? The most popular internet browsers are changing their cookie policies, with most opting to remove cookies from their platforms or intending to do so in the next year. Getting value out of your investment into digital marketing is becoming more challenging than ever. Digital advertising is about to become a lot less intelligent (Nathan Binford).
Whilst third-party data is still used in digital marketing and is useful for reaching a wider target audience, it is becoming increasingly ineffective because of the rise in data privacy concerns (Samantha Kwok). Therefore, B2B marketers are now relying more on first-party data for their digital marketing. First-party data is unique to the company, creating a more personalised customer experience, something third-party data cannot achieve alone (Samantha Kwok). You may be worried that losing third-party data will affect your business. The industry is being forced into restructuring the way marketers target their customers, making it difficult for companies to identify their prospects (Brian Giese). But it isn’t all bad… The phase-out of third-party data makes things more secure for users as well as pushing businesses to utilise first-party data, which is less expensive and can provide a competitive edge, so make use of this! (Samantha Kwok).
Firefox and Safari have blocked the use of third-party cookies by default, making these browsers more secure for users. Apple’s Safari is the second biggest browser behind Google Chrome, which limited cookie tracking in 2017 (Matt Burgess). The world’s most popular web browser Google Chrome hasn’t yet blocked cookies by default but intends to ditch third-party data for good in the future updates (Matt Burgess). This may be a win for users’ privacy, however, this will drastically change the rules of online advertising, making it extremely difficult to track consumer web activity (Matt Burgess). B2B marketing and display advertising platforms need to search for alternative sources to track user behaviour and target the audiences (Brian Giese).
So, the question is, can you reach buyers interested in your product or service effectively without third-party data? Large third-party solutions are going to have to adapt quickly, and the use of first-party data will rise across all B2B marketing channels (Brian Giese). So now is the time to utilise first-party data and please your customers with personalised interactions to deliver a total customer experience. A survey conducted by Harris (2019) found that 63% of consumers expect personalisation as standard service and for a company to follow them through each stage of their user journey, providing tailored, relevant, and personal interactions (Samantha Kwok). Using first-party data, along with a robust data strategy (if used correctly), can be just as effective, if not more so than third-party data – so there’s nothing to worry about! (Samantha Kwok).
The switch from in-person strategies to digital ones has been in the making for years, but because of COVID-19, it has sped up in the last year–forcing B2B marketers to up their game (Nathan Binford). Companies now must develop and restructure how they target their customers, but all isn’t lost. First-party data presents more opportunities in digital media than you might think. Here are just a few:
- Draw behavioural insights from data to inform digital media strategies.
- Use machine learning to build models to predict customer/prospect actions.
- Segment audience to enable tailored and relevant content to be delivered.
- Use high-value customers as a base for lookalikes in media targeting.
- Use machine learning to build models to predict customer/prospect actions.
(Samantha Kwok).
With the investment of time, resources, and technology, your business can provide a seamless, comprehensive customer experience through first-party data (Samantha Kwok). In this digital age, the B2B marketing process all takes place online, through consumers watching, reading, and engaging with content–so creating interesting, relevant content is essential (Nathan Binford).
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by Listencat
