A Handy Guide

Are you interested in discovering ways to provide users with a tailored website experience, while also respecting their privacy and collecting relevant data?

With the phase-out of third-party cookies, digital marketers are scrambling to find new ways to collect data and personalise the user experience. So if you have found yourself wondering whether personalisation can still be effective even in a cookieless world or if it is even worth it, then keep reading as we seek to answer these questions:

• Is personalisation dead? 

• How does one even personalise in a cookieless world?

• Will first party cookies be enough?

• Should content on websites be gated?

We will be exploring the importance of collecting the "right data" using first and zero party cookies and how they can aid in enhancing the user experience. We'll also be looking at how gating content can help collect zero party data while providing users with value.

But websites are not just about personalised content, we need to think about its design, the content being put on it and the user experience. So let's look at some upcoming and prevalent trends in:

• Websites from a marketing and user experience perspective and,

• Websites from a design and content perspective.

And finally, we understand that building websites can be quite a daunting process with just so many options to choose from, so we try and guide you through the process of choosing a CMS. 

Is Personalisation Dead?

If a prospect was to walk into your business premises, employees would communicate with them and attempt to persuade them to buy something by providing an extremely personalised experience. So why should a website not serve the same purpose?

After all, the goal is to build a genuine connection between the customer and the business. Providing a customer with a personalised experience every time they visit your website helps build trust between the two parties and foster a connection which improves the memorability of your brand and keeps customers coming back time and again.

And the stats don't lie, with 71% of consumers expecting personalised experiences and up to 76% of consumers at risk of going to a competitor if they feel personalisation is lacking. And even though it was predicted that 80% of marketers might consider abandoning personalisation tactics due to unclear ROI and an increase in regulations when it comes to data collection and storage with third party cookies being phased out, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks leading us to think that personalisation is indeed not dead, it is just a matter of understanding how to use the data that we collect.

So How Do You Personalise in a Cookieless World?

While personalisation has primarily relied on the collection of third party cookies that are collected to tailor the ads presented to prospects, their planned phasing out is certainly a cause for concern amongst marketers. However, this does not mean digital marketers should throw their toys out of the pram and give up on it, but rather it is a case of understanding that we just need to change our approach to personalisation and obtain the “right data”.

This is where first party cookies come in. These are cookies that are stored directly by the domain the user is visiting and if processed well, can be used for in-depth analytics and understanding user preferences and behaviours on your website. They can help marketers understand the customer journey better and answer questions such as:

• How are users navigating through the website?

• What are the pages they are visiting? 

• Which devices are users primarily browsing on?

• Do they click on any call to actions, and if so, which ones?

Answers to these questions can help enhance the user experience and optimise pages based on their previous activity.

But Are First Party Cookies Enough?

While first party cookies are absolutely essential, zero party data collection should not be ignored. And don’t worry if you are not familiar with the term. This is data that users are willing to share with the business through signing up for newsletters, answering surveys or maybe even filling up a contact form! This presents a great opportunity to collect very specific and relevant data, while maintaining complete transparency and therefore users’ trust. 

However, zero party data is not perfect as not only does it rely on your user's willingness to give you their information, but it can be resource intensive in terms of time to collect, process and use down the line. What is important though is that marketers familiarise themselves with the concept and that data collection methods evolve with consumer behaviours and current regulations.

It is also important to remember that no user will give their information out for free, they have to get something of value in exchange which brings us to the question… 

To Gate or Not to Gate?

Gated content can be a great method to collect zero party data from users while providing them with the value that they are actively seeking out but it is imperative that it is done in the right circumstances. Marketers should also note how they want to gate their content as it can hinder the customer journey if applied improperly. 

Content that is hard gated stops the user from accessing it if they are unwilling to fill out the required fields while a soft gate presents the user with a form but allows them to click away if they are unwilling to fill it out and continue to access the content presented to them. There is no rule as to what content you should or shouldn’t gate as it can be anything the user might find informative or entertaining.

Gating content can aid a business to generate leads and personalise the content to their users but it also has its drawbacks. As mentioned earlier, gating can act as an obstacle in the customer journey or a user might provide bad or useless information when filling out the fields - especially common when hard gating content. So, could soft gating be the answer?

Marketers should remember that despite facing challenges when it comes to privacy laws, data collection and therefore personalisation, adopting a ‘360 view’  ensures that they have a holistic view of customers across multiple channels - from the website, to social media, to email, to offline interactions which can empower them to better understand their audience, and therefore deliver personalised content that really engages users. 

However, a good user experience is more than just a personalised experience on a website. The overall website plays a big part in determining if users come back to visit and its regular use. Keeping that in mind let’s look at some upcoming trends when it comes to website design.

Trends in Websites, A Marketing & UX Perspective

We have spoken quite a bit about the importance of personalisation, but there are other factors to consider. One of the most important ones is user experience. No matter how good the personalisation on a website is, if navigating it is a frustrating experience a user won’t return.

However, the consequences of having a poorly optimised UX go far beyond just user frustration. It can impact the site load speed of your website significantly, thereby impacting the SEO ranking of the website - which is crucial to a marketer as it makes your website more visible - which in turn means that more traffic is driven to it and thus you have more opportunities to create customers. Page load times, chatbots, placement of call-to-action buttons and a mobile-first approach are some of the many factors to consider when building a website for a business. Furthermore, it is also important to make the website visually appealing as that plays just as important a role in making the experience memorable for the user. 

Trends in Websites, A Design & Content Perspective

It is important to keep in mind that even simple things that we may dismiss like colours and graphics play a big role in helping audiences remember the brand and communicate information. Furthermore, consistency in design elements across different channels, platforms, and devices helps strengthen a brand’s identity.

But there is still more to come! You can’t just make a website look pretty and work well, the final factor to consider is the value that is provided to the user. After all, there has to be something for the user to keep coming back to. The content that is published on the website represents the brand and allows the user to gain a better understanding of the brand, what it stands for and most importantly how can the brand help them - thereby taking a solution-first approach to content absolutely fundamental. Like before, there are multiple factors that have to be taken into account when designing a website and the content that goes on it.

CMS Buyers Guide

Hopefully, now that you have a grasp on what goes into making a website, it's time to think of a Content Management System or CMS for short. A CMS allows the owners of the website to collaborate when creating, editing, publishing and producing content digitally, for example, webpages. 

Not all CMS platforms are created equal and there are a lot of factors that determine which CMS is the right one for your business. Some factors that determine it are security concerns, the ease of use for collaborators, the type of content being published on it and how personalised it is, its speed and capability of handling requests, its maintenance, how often it is updated with new features and so on and so forth. 

While it seems like there are an overwhelming number of options available to think about, we understand that it can be a daunting process and are always available to help you make a decision.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the phase-out of third-party cookies can be a cause for concern amongst marketers, personalisation is not dead. It just requires a change in approach and can provide new opportunities for marketers to begin collecting the "right data" using first and zero-party cookies to create tailored user experiences for customers. The use of gated content can also help generate leads and provide personalised content.

Furthermore, as websites are not just about personalised content, it is essential to consider website design, content, and user experience, as well as choosing the right CMS. By embracing these concepts, digital marketers can provide users with a website experience that is memorable while respecting their privacy.