First-party data strategy: Prepping for a cookie-less world
The clock is ticking as third-party cookies become a thing of the past. Is your business ready? We examine best practices for managing first-party customer data.
Do you ever feel like you’re in a fishbowl, with everyone watching your every move when it comes to handling customer data? Well, it’s because you are. Never before have data breaches, customer privacy, personal private information (PPI), or customer satisfaction been as center stage as they are now. As fines are levied and customers claim their right to opt-out, data management is only going to be pulled more into focus. It’s time to embrace the change and adopt transparent data management.
Not long ago, consumers might have noticed the word “cookie” somewhere in their browsing experience, but couldn’t have told you what they were. Not anymore. Recent third party cookie updates from companies like Google and Apple, not to mention any number of data breaches in the headlines, have brought customer data and consent to the top of everyone’s minds. How you handle a data breach or, more importantly, how you tell your customers you are preparing for the threat, is an extension of customer service. People are demanding more transparent data management practices, and they’re paying attention to who’s responding. Because, after all, customer experience really shouldn’t include stolen data.
Consent has joined the room: The business case for transparent customer data management (CDM)
Anytime businesses are faced with stricter regulations, there’s an almost knee-jerk reaction to balk at the new guardrails. We have an instinctive reaction of, ‘But I’m not doing anything wrong!’ treating it as a punishment. It’s understandable, but to move forward we need to leave that indignation behind and focus on the customer.
When it comes to CDM, it’s important to look at the bigger picture.
The data businesses collect and manage (and, in many cases, sell) is personal and important to their customers. This is a truth businesses need to acknowledge—your customers care about their data more than your marketing, violate their trust and there isn’t an HTML email, sale, or event you can launch that will fix it.
To customers, it goes beyond marketing communications or personalization. It’s their identity. And they’ve seen too many cautionary tales to not take it seriously. The opportunity wrapped up in transparent data management is that you can build trust with your customers. Get ready to make a plan using best practices.
Remember: Customers want to participate in data management
Customers are not unwilling to share their data. They just want to understand why you’re collecting it, and how you’re going to use it. Help them understand the plan with transparent data management.
By embracing new regulations and adopting more transparent, consent-driven data management, you:
- Demonstrate that you understand the importance of your customers’ data, and take it seriously too
- Instill invaluable trust with your customers
- Set your business up for long-term success
And it’s not just about building trust (though really, I cannot over-emphasize how important that is). It also makes your business more resilient. Companies who proactively adopt more transparent policies and procedures and show more “mature” privacy practices are “not as stressed when different governments or countries add new data restrictions.”
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How to adopt more transparent data management
In middle school, I was taught it’s more effective to “show, don’t tell” in my writing. When it comes to data transparency, you need to do both. It’s all about practicing what you preach, and preaching what you practice.
Here are three steps to get started with data management that is transparent, sustainable, and valuable for your company and your customer:
- Connect with your company’s purpose
- Write and publish a data management mission statement
- Implement effective consent management solutions
Let’s take a closer look:
1. Connect with your company’s purpose
Your company’s purpose should inform everything you do, from writing social media copy to strategic business decisions. It’s part of your company’s DNA.
Reconnect with the spark that started it all. What are you here to do? Make your customers’ lives easier? Affect meaningful change in the world? Educate, inspire, help?
Now, look at the issue of customer data management through that lens. Using your purpose as your guiding light when making big decisions helps ensure your actions are aligned with your long-term goals.
It also helps combat that knee-jerk, ‘Why me?’ reaction, by expanding your perspective. When you look at new restrictions as things that are going to make your immediate, day-to-day life more complicated, it gets really frustrating really quickly. But when you step back and see those regulations as ways to protect and help your customers – and you, as a consumer – it’s a lot easier to get on board.
2. Write a data management mission statement and make it public
Just like your company’s mission statement, your data management mission statement clearly and publicly lays out what you’re doing to protect your customers’ data. Writing one may feel like a small step, but it does two important things:
- It forces your team to align and communicate where your company stands in clear terms
- By putting it “out there,” it signals that you are embracing transparency and are willing to be held accountable. Once it’s public, people have something to evaluate your actions against.
Your CDM mission statement aligns with the company’s mission statement, as well as any purpose or vision statements you have. It answers the question: How does the way you handle customer data achieve your mission, bring your vision to life, and serve your purpose?
3. Implement consent management solutions
We’ve covered the “tell” category, now, it’s time to “show” up in your actions. Consent management solutions help you put your customers in control of their personal data preferences, building a foundation of trust. Not only that, they can ensure you’re compliant with any and all data protection laws and regulations.
If you’re already considering a investing in a customer data platform, you can look for one that has consent management features baked in. This gives your customers ultimate control, ensuring that if they change their preferences, they will be updated throughout your system – across every channel and department.
Transparent or bust: data management made clear
Balancing your customers’ right to privacy with the need to deliver highly personalized experiences that rely on data is no easy feat. The solution lies in transparency.
This isn’t news. People have been advising companies to embrace transparency since we started collecting customer data. Just look at this quote from a 2015 article:
“Companies that are transparent about the information they gather, give customers control of their personal data, and offer fair value in return for it will be trusted and will earn ongoing and even expanded access. Those that conceal how they use personal data and fail to provide value for it stand to lose customers’ goodwill—and their business.”
But the stakes have only gotten higher. In order to succeed long-term, you need to be upfront and clear about how you collect and use your customers’ data, and only collect the data you need.
By embracing change, and showing that you understand how important your customers’ personal information is, you’ll lay a foundation for lasting customer relationships, and set your company up to be more resilient moving forward.
