As we’ve seen consumer behavior increasingly move online over the last two years, it’s no surprise that one of Gartner’s top strategic predictions for 2022 is that consumers will fight the data collection that has accompanied the rise of digital and its methods to market to digital audiences.
By 2024, 40% of consumers will trick behavior tracking metrics to intentionally devalue the personal data collected about them, making it difficult to monetize. Consumers are now hyper aware of the amount of data that organizations collect, and to avoid becoming 'the product,' they are actively trying to devalue and manipulate data being collected. As a result, consumers are increasingly using tactics like VPNs, false information or opting out of data collection altogether.
Those in the marketing world are already highly aware of other shifts that will upend how digital advertisers and marketers are able to reach and target consumers, including standards like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Apple requiring consumers to opt in to being tracked across apps with the IDFA, and of course, Google announcing that it will be ending support for third-party cookies in 2022.
Consumers intentionally manipulating data and fighting data collection is yet another step in an effort to increase consumer privacy standards, though this tactic speaks to consumers themselves wanting to hold some of the power.
How marketers need to prepare for the future for consumer privacy protection
As marketers aim to better understand their audiences’ interests and intentions, while also creating a better experience for them—one that feels seamless, fulfilling and safe—they can turn to their CMS to help. Here are some key things to keep in mind.
#1 Adjust how you build trust
If you’re an organization and you want to prepare for this post third-party cookie world you’ve got to get started with managing your own data in a privacy-safe way and do consent management actively around your own data.
First and foremost, it’s essential that your target audience trusts you and your brand—if they do, they likely won’t feel inclined to manipulate the data they choose to share. This includes them feeling that their data is safe and that you’re not overstepping or abusing information-on-hand.
The death of the third-party cookie is already a forcing function in marketers adjusting their strategy for how they build both rapport and trust.
To this, an important step is embracing first-party data (i.e. the gold standard as it's high quality AND the user has consented to sharing it). First-party data can be used to create audience segments and personalize content in a way that protects user privacy.
That way, marketers can get the best of both worlds with strong content marketing ROI that respects users' privacy and earns and maintains their trust.
#2 Don’t underestimate the power of personalization
I believe many businesses should focus predominantly on building better customer experiences, and they should start with that. Once they’ve done that they can then look at leveraging the tools that are out there to support it. How many times have you unsubscribed from an email that was well written had relevant content and was well timed? Never.
The Brightspot CMS can collect first-party data, which supports adding user registration, authentication, profiles and affinity features in order to collect relevant data. Then, through the platform’s segmentation capabilities, CMS users can group audiences and deliver personalized content and curated experiences to the respective audiences across devices—with the first-party data rolling up into audience segments to better inform the message.
Brightspot also has modular content capabilities, which provides consistency and efficiency in the messages conveyed. Modular messages are reusable and repeatable, meaning the messaging stays consistent across segments and channels.
This trinity of capabilities—user registration and affinity features, segmentation and modular content—has many benefits, including speeding up the marketing team's work and increasing messaging effectiveness with customers while also improving the end user's overall experience.
#3 Invest in agile and adaptable technology
Our view is to work with people in two major areas around this subject. One is how do you think about creating the best content to get to your audience? So how do you create the right modular content, the right segmented content and then how do you measure the effectiveness of that to ultimately be a better marketer to the people you care about? Then secondly, when you select your best-of-breed tools, how do you integrate those seamlessly, so the workflow is still yours?
With all the various consumer data protection changes in the pipeline, the good news is that there are tools and technologies to help marketers adjust their strategies and ensure they’re responsibly using their consumers’ information.
The Brightspot CMS is API-first to make integrations easy—integrations that can help marketers easily maintain compliance and adjust to new guidelines. For example, Brightspot works with various Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) such as Tealium, which advocates for unification of first-party cookie data and can name site visitor attributes based on behaviors, which helps to create audience segments.
At Brightspot, it's important that our flexible, future-forward CMS supports marketers through this next wave of consumer data protection changes. We keep a pulse on all these shifts, and we’re here to help you adjust your strategy so that your consumers continue to trust your brand and feel connected to your message.
