Although the end of third-party cookies has been a moving target, Google is on track to completely deprecate them in the second half of 2024. In preparation for this major shift in how marketers gather data, now is the time to evaluate the tools you use to collect customer data, what data sources you rely on, and whether the data you currently have access to is enough to supplement the insights third-party cookies previously provided.

So, how do you get that insight and visibility that will be lost with the removal of cookies? What’s the best way to obtain accurate, reliable, and privacy-compliant information about customers? It comes down to making first-party data your first priority. This gives you the opportunity to truly be one-to-one with customers so you can personalize communications on customers’ preferred channels to drive engagement, increase conversions, and build long-term loyalty. And what’s the key to personalization, which has the potential to generate a 10% uplift in sales? Behavioral experience insights.

Fuel your data strategy with behavioral experience insights

Behavioral experience insights are essential for creating accurate customer profiles and building a successful first-party data strategy. These insights are at the core of how marketers can better understand customers, predict purchasing patterns, and optimize campaigns with smart segmentation. In-depth visibility into customer interactions, including intent, interests, pain points, and customer preferences, are signals that take on much deeper meaning when you can see not just what actions were taken, but why.

The first-party data gathered by behavioral experience insights gets you closer to forging real connections with customers and is more direct and reliable than third-party data. It also protects your customers’ privacy because it’s data they expect your brand to have access to, unlike the data gathered by third-party cookies which can reveal customer behaviors that aren’t directly connected with your brand.

When you can leverage behavioral insights to track customer engagement over time, identify emerging trends, and better align with changing customer needs, you can:

Create more personalized experiences with 1:1 communications based on the customer’s buyers experience, not only their preferences
Better target your audience by building segments based on intent and product interests
Differentiate your brand with hyper-personalized experiences that grow customer lifetime value
Optimize campaigns in real-time for maximum impact instead of reacting only after a campaign is completed and analyzed

The path to personalization starts with first-party data, but it doesn’t end there. There is one missing puzzle piece required to obtaining a complete understanding of the customer journey. Incorporating behavioral experience insights is a crucial part of a comprehensive first-party data analysis.

Embracing First-Party Data: The Growing Importance of Behavioral Insights