14 min read
7 Strategies for B2B Marketers to Thrive in a Privacy-First Era
By: Rob Croll on June 20, 2024
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Data is a crucial part of marketing. The more detailed the information an organization has about their potential customers, the more targeted - and effective - their marketing can be. However, with the increasing focus on privacy, this approach is becoming more challenging for B2B marketers.
This transformation is driven by the phasing out of third-party cookies and the impact of increasing data privacy regulations on long-standing industry practices. In this new privacy-first era, B2B marketers must rethink their strategies and prioritize collecting and activating first-party data - information gathered directly from a company's customers and prospects through owned channels.
How First-Party Data is Collected and the "Cookie-apocalypse"
Marketers have traditionally collected data from various sources, including third-party cookies. These cookies allow tracking website visitors' activities across multiple sites, providing insights into their behavior and interests.
However, due to rising data privacy concerns, major tech companies like Google announced plans to end support for third-party cookies in what some have called the "cookie apocalypse." While Google's phase-out has been delayed multiple times, the company continues to express its commitment to limiting third-party cookie tracking, anticipating the shift in early 2025.
First-party data is distinct from second-party (obtained from partners) and third-party data (collected by aggregators through methods like cookies). First-party data refers specifically to information that a company collects directly from its own customers and prospects through:
- Websites
- Mobile apps
- Surveys
- Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
- Purchase interactions
The data companies collect covers a broad spectrum.
Source: eMarketer
First-party data can go well beyond basic contact information. As eMarketer notes: "Behavior signals like clicks, page views, searches, and churn reasons are also first-party data that reveal insights into how engaged a customer is, what products they're likely to revisit, and at what point they are likely to either convert or abandon their cart."
Because it comes straight from the source, first-party data is considered more accurate, up-to-date, and reliable compared to other data sources.
The Importance of First-Party Data for B2B Marketing
While the "cookie apocalypse" has been delayed, the increasing data privacy regulations and browser restrictions aimed at giving users more transparency and control over how their data is collected and used for ad targeting are still driving a shift away from third-party cookies and cross-site tracking mechanisms. Nonetheless, 75% of marketers still rely on third-party cookies.
B2B organizations must begin to prioritize a first-party data strategy built on information their customers willingly provide as part of a value exchange. Failure to adapt could result in lost opportunities, compliance risks, and alienating businesses prioritizing data privacy.
First-party data is invaluable for B2B marketers, not only for compliance reasons but also because it unlocks powerful capabilities for reaching their target audience. By having direct access to information willingly provided by customers and prospects, organizations can gain a unified and accurate view of their audiences.
Some key benefits of leveraging first-party data for B2B marketing include:
Precise Targeting
First-party data allows marketers to identify and reach specific accounts, roles, industries, and buying committees with tailored messaging based on their profiles and behaviors.
Personalization at Scale
With unified customer views, marketers can deliver personalized experiences across all touchpoints - from website to email to sales interactions - fostering deeper engagement.
Accurate Attribution
By tying first-party data to campaigns, marketers gain visibility into which tactics drive pipeline and revenue for specific segments.
Compliance and Trust
Customers are more willing to share data when companies are transparent about data practices, offering a clear value exchange and respecting privacy preferences.
As third-party tracking mechanisms diminish, first-party data becomes the bedrock for B2B marketing strategies aiming to cut through the noise and boost ROI in a privacy-compliant manner. Investing in collecting and activating first-party data is vital for long-term success.
7 Strategies for B2B Marketers to Thrive in a Privacy-First Era
B2B marketing strategies must reflect the new challenges in today's privacy-first landscape. As data privacy regulations become more stringent and the reliance on third-party cookies diminishes, marketers must find effective ways to navigate this transformed environment.
Success hinges on leveraging first-party data while maintaining customer trust and compliance with privacy laws.
Strategy #1: Implement Progressive Profiling and Identity Resolution
Build comprehensive, unified customer profiles by progressively collecting data across multiple touchpoints, such as website interactions, gated content, events, and marketing channels. Leverage progressive profiling techniques to systematically enrich profiles over time.
Implement an identity resolution solution to stitch disparate data points from different sources into a cohesive, omnichannel view of each account and buying committee. This creates a single source of truth for precise targeting and personalization.
Strategy #2: Invest in a Customer Data Platform (CDP)
"A customer data platform (CDP) delivers a 360-degree customer profile by integrating data from various touchpoints," according to CMSWire.
Integrate the customer data platform with consent management capabilities to track and enforce user preferences transparently. A CDP acts as a centralized first-party database and enables compliance.
Strategy #3: Explore Ethical Data Partnerships
For companies lacking extensive first-party data pools, explore ethical partnerships with data providers or businesses with similar customers. Build direct relationships to responsibly share compliant first-party data assets and avoid data loss or fees from intermediaries.
To ensure strict adherence to privacy regulations and data governance policies, vet potential partners thoroughly. Avoid over-reliance on walled gardens that lack transparency.
Strategy #4: Prioritize Data Transparency and Value Exchange
Clearly communicate data practices to customers and prioritize transparency around how their information is collected, protected, and used for marketing purposes. Always provide easy mechanisms to opt-out.
Offer a clear value exchange by using first-party data to deliver personalized experiences, exclusive content, discounts, or other incentives. Transparency builds trust and fosters long-term relationships.
Strategy #5: Enrich Profiles with AI and Contextual Data
Enhance first-party data by leveraging AI-powered intent scoring, predictive modeling, and data enrichment solutions. This provides additional context around interests, behaviors, and demographics to improve segmentation and personalization - all in a privacy-compliant manner.
Explore clean room partnerships and contextual web signals as ethical ways to expand your first-party data capabilities without relying on third-party tracking.
Strategy #6: Integrate Data Across the Martech Stack
Integrating the customer data platform and other first-party data sources across your marketing technology stack—including marketing automation, personalization engines, ad platforms, sales tools, and analytics solutions—will ensure a seamless, omnichannel experience.
Implement the proper data governance, security, and access controls. By providing a unified data foundation, you can enable sales and marketing alignment.
Strategy #7: Adopt an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Approach
Power-targeted, account-based marketing campaigns using first-party data and AI-driven insights to identify key accounts, understand their needs, map the buying journey, and personalize outreach to specific stakeholders.
Leverage first-party intent signals, predictive scoring models, and enriched account profiles to precisely target and nurture high-value accounts through the entire sales cycle.
How to Measure B2B Success
Leveraging first-party data is crucial for accurate measurement and attribution in the privacy-first era. Vanity metrics provide limited insights, so B2B marketers must quantify engagement, relationships, and revenue impact using their owned first-party data.
Engagement Analytics
- Track consumption metrics like downloads, video completions, and content interactions across your gated assets.
- Measure engagement using first-party behavioral data, such as time on site or app, scroll depth, and clicks collected on your owned properties.
- Monitor email engagement metrics from your email platforms, such as opens, clicks, and conversions.
- Quantify first-party audience overlap between your targetable contacts and engaged contacts/accounts.
Relationship Measurement
- Use survey data to measure satisfaction, including customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) and Net promoter scores (NPS) collected directly from customers.
- Identify promoters driving word-of-mouth using first-party NPS data.
- Analyze feedback from support cases and social data for sentiment analysis.
- Use product usage data and customer retention metrics to measure adoption, stickiness, and churn.
Revenue Attribution
- Tie prospect and engagement data from your marketing sources to closed-won deals in the CRM.
- Analyze first-party account data for funnel metrics like buying stage, velocity, and influenced revenue.
- Calculate marketing's revenue impact using campaign data connected to invoiced revenue.
- Model customer lifetime value predictions based on purchase data and customer profiles.
Implementation Best Practices
- Implement identity resolution to unify first-party data into profiles across your systems.
- Integrate all first-party sources, such as your customer data platform (CDP), customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation platform (MAP), and web analytics, into a centralized platform.
- Use artificial intelligence/machine learning to model first-party data for predictions such as scoring, attribution, and the next best action.
- Capture rich first-party data during high-value interactions like event registrations and sales meetings.
With robust practices around first-party data collection and analysis, B2B marketers can implement privacy-forward measurement to optimize for long-term customer relationships.
First-Party Data Strategy: Key Takeaways
Marketers must adapt to a new reality as the long-relied-upon third-party tracking mechanisms fade away. The marketing world's very foundations are being reshaped, and organizations that embrace these changes will be well-positioned to thrive in the years ahead.
- Adapting to the cookieless future by moving to a first-party data strategy is not just a compliance exercise but a strategic imperative for long-term success.
- Investing in first-party data strategies can provide deeper customer insights and drive more meaningful engagement.
- Prioritizing ethical data practices and transparency fosters trust and stronger customer relationships over time.
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help unify and activate first-party data and provide a deeper understanding of customers.
How Hearst Bay Area Can Help
Adapting to the ever-changing world of B2B marketing can be daunting. Hearst Bay Area's B2B marketing solutions are backed by a team with 20+ years of industry experience and a commitment to always incorporating the marketing strategies and tactics that work today. Our access to first-party data and advanced research capabilities means your marketing budget gets the best possible results.
If you're ready to take the next step and hire a B2B marketing agency, contact us below!
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