Why First-Party Data is Still the Future After Google’s Cookie U-turn (and 4 Ways to Collect More)

Bring’s Jen Riley explains why Google’s sudden change of heart on the issue of cookies shouldn’t mean marketers rely on third-party data. She unpacks why first-party should still reign supreme and highlights four ways you can get more of it for your campaigns.

Data privacy and user consent are becoming increasingly important in today’s digital landscape. With the evolution of data privacy laws such as the GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive, and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), all designed to improve user consent and data compliance, having a robust first-party data collection strategy in place is critical. 

Until recently, Google also enforced its own advanced compliance settings with the requirement for Consent Mode v2 as it prepared for a ‘cookieless’ future.

But then Google threw the mother of all curveballs: it announced that third-party cookies will remain operational in Chrome browsers indefinitely. That’s a far cry from the cookie apocalypse it was propagating only weeks earlier in rhetoric that turned digital marketers into doomsday preppers.

The question now is: how should marketers respond? 

Despite Google’s U-turn, there are three key reasons why marketers should be sceptical:

1. Third-party data will become increasingly less reliable. Google has proved with its sudden change of heart and prone to even more change at its own discretion. 
2. Safari and Firefox web browsers have already restricted third-party cookies. Abandoning a first-party strategy because of Google’s decision will leave a considerable gap in your tracking.
3. Fewer than 1 in 3 people opt-in to cookies (Ruler). Google’s U-turn is unlikely to change the minds of the average web user, the majority of whom do not opt-in to cookies as standard.

Instead, we marketers should look to a strategy using firmer foundations. For secure, long-term growth, the answer lies in first-party data.

What is first-party data?

First-party data is the term used for data collected straight from your customers or audience. It’s data that hasn’t been shared with you by any external sources, making it the most reliable data you can own. Examples of first-party data include purchase history, website behaviour analysis and customer feedback.

In contrast, third-party data is data that can be obtained by businesses from data providers, marketplaces, and brokers. 

Why should brands use first-party data?

There are many benefits of using first-party data. It offers deep insight into your audience and allows highly personalised campaigns to be created. First-party data is:

• High-quality: The data comes directly from the source and is about your business.
• Trustworthy: The data can be trusted, and you’ve collected it yourself with methods you’ve implemented.
• Owned by you: The data is exclusively yours and not shared with anyone else.
• Relevant: The data you gather relates to your business, your products, and your customers and is collected with your business goals in mind.
• Cost-effective: You collect and own the data using your own methods and platforms. Some costs may be involved, but it’s not as expensive as buying third-party data.

The most important step in creating your first-party data collection strategy is to be clear on your objectives. This way, you can ensure the data you’re requesting is correct. For example, if you want to set up a successful loyalty program, think about data points such as what your customers buy, when they buy it, and what they spend. If you want to optimise your website, base your changes on user behaviour.

Be transparent about the data you’re collecting and what it will be used for. You can do this with clear policies and cookie consent banners, such as the example shown below.

4 ways you can collect more first-party data

Increasing the volume of first-party data you collect has to be a priority for marketers, and below are four effective ways you can do this.

1. Customer Surveys

A survey lets you ask highly specific questions relating to customer opinions, blockers, products, or any other topic you want to focus on. By understanding your customers via their responses, you can collate these actionable insights and implement them into your marketing strategy. 

Examples of customer surveys include Hubspot:

Customer surveys can be implemented as part of your customer retention strategy. Incentivised email surveys targeting specific customer groups can be hugely insightful, while quick SMS surveys can get you vast quantitative data in a matter of hours. 

Review your flows to see where you can better implement customer feedback and upgrade your first-party data collection.

2. Improve Web Traffic Tracking

Tracking tools such as Google Analytics provide a huge amount of valuable first-party data. You can measure behaviour, engagement, and purchase journeys to enable strategic changes to your website and its content. With GA4 and its event-based model, there’s no limit to the interactions you can track.

GA4 event tracking allows brands to build deeper insights about customer behaviour and onsite journeys, which can be translated into better engagement with their customers. As a starting point, GA4 offers built-in ‘enhanced event’ measurement, which can be enabled in your settings:

In addition to built-in standard events, GA4 allows you to build custom events, which is where businesses can collect specific information that’s important to their goals.

3. Leverage social media

By engaging with your audience on social media, you can build an engaged community. Utilising features such as polls or quizzes can help you understand what your audience is interested in. 

For example, if you’re launching a new product, does your audience prefer it in a certain colour?  Use results from your polls to inform your decision-making. 

Asking the right questions is the key to unlocking the data and insights you need. You want to know what resonates with your audience to make your products successful. Consider:

• How do customers currently use our product?
• Do they experience any problems with the product that can be solved?
• What ideas do my customers have to make my product better?
• Would they recommend this product?
• How does our product compare to others they’ve used?
• If our product wasn’t available, which other would they buy?
• Why did they choose our product?

4. Get More from Live Chat 

Collecting data related to customer questions and pain points in real time can be used to improve customer service, website content, and product development. If a specific concern is raised regularly, build the answer or solution into your FAQ page. 

You can also collect questions from other sources, such as your contact form, as shown in this example where the business is asking their customers if their question has been missed:

The list above isn’t an exhaustive one but it offers a useful introduction and some real-life examples of how you can incorporate first-party data collection into your marketing strategies. Adapting to a world in which first-party data collection is a necessity is critical to any digital strategy. 

Although it may seem a daunting shift at first, the value of any direct interaction with your business and how the data can be used to make improvements and achieve growth can’t be underestimated. Brands that prioritise the collection of first-party data and use it to improve the experience they offer to their users will find success. 

That’s the way the cookies crumble

The death of the third-party cookie has been greatly exaggerated; that much is clear.  

But amid so much turmoil, it’s wiser for marketers to stick to quality first-party data collection strategies if they are to build actionable insights that forge a deep understanding of our customers. 

After all, that’s what successful marketing is really all about: listening to your customers and providing them with the best possible solution.

Want to better understand how you can transform your marketing results with your existing data? Get in touch.