How to Deliver Data Privacy and Gain Customer Loyalty at the Same Time

At the end of June, Google announced it’s delaying plans to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser until late 2023, almost two years later than its initial time frame of early 2022. Google had been working on replacing the web-browsing, user-tracking technology with a new Privacy Sandbox initiative that offered privacy-friendly methods to target audiences without using unique IDs or cross-site tracking. However, Google received regulatory scrutiny and experienced concerns from privacy advocates and the advertising industry over their approach to replacing the tool. 

Google said the delay will give it more time to get publishers, the ad industry and regulators comfortable with the new technologies it is developing and testing in the absence of cookies.

Digital marketers may be breathing a small sigh of relief, however it’s no time to stop thinking about how to address privacy concerns while finding ways to remain competitive. Data privacy has been becoming increasingly more important over the last five years. 

New Data Protection Protocols Keep Marketers Guessing

The ball got rolling with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect May 25, 2018, and provides personal data protection to European internet users along with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect January 1, 2020, and gives enhanced privacy and consumer protection rights for residents of California. In general, the U.S. continues to slow its tracking and releasing of information about internet users as well. Google’s move in late 2023 will really seal the deal for a much more anonymized world that puts privacy first.

For digital marketers this means pursuing strategies to gain first-party data that can be leveraged to deliver a better, more personalized customer experience. You don’t want to be caught with no plan in place or need to constantly revise your marketing approach every time Google or Apple releases a new privacy rule.

Customer Loyalty Programs Offer the Incentive for Customers to Opt-in

Implementing a loyalty program offers marketers an effective and efficient strategy for delivering on guests’ desires for a mobile app, personalized offers, online ordering, and pickup/delivery while starting to build an opt-in list. Customer loyalty programs offer a powerful incentive to draw customers into your digital ecosystem. The right customer loyalty program also integrates with your other systems to funnel valuable, real-time transactional data, customer preferences, payment information, and more that can jump start the customer journey from anonymous guest to brand superfan. 

A branded mobile app also provides customers with a tool to interact with your content and learn more about your promotions, giving customers a reason to opt-in for SMS notifications. Gaining first-party data delivers value to you and your customers. It provides you with information about your customers while adhering to ever-increasing privacy regulations and provides your customers with personalized incentives tailored to their tastes.

Personalized marketing is a critical component to a winning marketing and loyalty strategy. It requires understanding your customers by utilizing data from your loyalty platform and also demonstrating your understanding of them. This means creating and delivering the best promotions, over the best channels at the best time based on your customers’ preferences. Personalization gives you the opportunity to build a 1:1 connection with your guests that makes them feel special and appreciated by your business. 

Learn more about how Punchh helps brands gather first-party data while providing data protection through loyalty program protocols and safeguards. See a demo for the details and check out why brands of all sizes trust the Punchh Loyalty, Offers & Engagement Platform.