As you’ve no doubt heard, last week, Google announced its plans to phase out support for 3rd party cookies in its web browser Chrome by 2022. This announcement will no doubt be worrying for B2B marketers who are using third party cookies for retargeting ads, during the consideration phase, and in other activities such as tracking as part of their CRM and marketing automation systems.
For B2B marketers, connecting all the dots and closing the loop between online behavior, a prospect’s intent, and actual business engagement is a challenge as it is. So taking away 3rd party cookies can feel like a terrifying prospect for businesses that rely on them to gain maximum visibility into their marketing efforts.
What was Google thinking?
Google’s announcement should perhaps be welcomed, given the fact it is aimed at setting new standards for the web and aligning with the regulation trend in many territories around the globe. This move should provide web users much-needed privacy, anonymity, and control over the data they share while visiting websites.
As part of these new standards, I believe new technologies and practices will be developed to fill the hole, including relevant tools that will be a part of and comply with Google’s “Privacy Sandbox”, the alternative for Google’s cookie-free future.
What steps should B2B marketers take now?
Here are a few immediate actions you should consider taking to ease the pain when cookies are pulled:
- Map your 3rd party cookies and understand how they contribute to your business and marketing efforts. Remember that within a few months Chrome will stop supporting 3rd party cookies that are not stored over HTTPS secured sites.
- Get as much clarity and visibility on your marketing journeys and funnels, including an understanding of how prospects and leads are behaving on your digital assets, specifically in the consideration phase. Having a clear picture will be vital if changing your strategy is required along the way.
- Start generating data that is not dependent on 3rd party cookies, collect email addresses and phone numbers, acquire app users (if applicable), such assets will allow you to be independent and not replay on 3rd parties.
Conclusion
Google’s announcement is a big blow for the ad tech industry and for B2B marketers using digital marketing as part of the consideration and bottom of the funnel. Cookie-alternatives will surely come, but in the meantime, it’s important that B2B businesses understand the implications. Tune into our upcoming blog posts, where we’ll do our best to keep you updated with developments and share some ideas around how you can deal with the challenges and also the opportunities this new reality brings.
Watch this space!
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