How Restaurants Can Survive Google’s Deprecation of Third-Party Cookies

In January of 2020, Google gave us all a scare when they promised to slowly phase out third-party cookies by January of this year. Now, it looks like Google’s “cookie-less” future is on temporary hold until at least 2024. With the extra time added to the corporate clock, businesses now have an extra 2 years to build direct relationships with their audiences and decrease their reliance on cookies. This extra time also gives industry leaders a little cushion to adapt to whatever Google comes up with in place of cookies.   

In the meantime, with these increasing privacy regulations and the elimination of 3rd party cookies in browsers, brands will need to shift their focus to 1st party relationships and personalized content. This means enticing potential customers to join their subscriber base for one-to-one communications and suggestions through things like segmented email lists and content marketing. 

“Personalization is and will be the key to success. It’s easy to send a standard email to all contacts on your list, showcasing all the products that are up for grabs. To get better results, companies will need to use internal data to take targeting a level deeper,” says Blane Kinsey, Director of Email Marketing at Investis Digital.  

So, what should your restaurant do to prepare? 

Take the third-party training wheels off (as early as possible) 

While you may have 2 years to figure out how to live without cookie-based metrics, the best time to start practicing life without them is now. It’s not just Google pulling the plug on third-party cookies—consumers care more about privacy and new laws regulating digital data are being enacted to reflect that.  

Decreasing your reliance on third-party data also doesn’t mean that you won’t be presented with innovative solutions in the future. Companies like Google and Facebook still derive the majority of their revenue from advertising sales, so, “for every step made toward increasing the privacy of their user, these platforms have also worked toward the development of replacement methodologies,” notes Paul Headley, VP of Digital Strategy & Analytics at Investis Digital. 

Leverage your community of loyal customers 

If you already have (or plan on creating) a loyalty program, this is a great place to start sourcing first-party data. According to a recent survey from Bond Brand Loyalty, a growing number of loyalty members (87 percent) are open to “having various details of their activity and behavior watched, monitored, and tracked,” in exchange for points or other personalized rewards. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the data collected must be used to drive personalized content (which in turn drives engagement). This brings us to our next point. 

Build data-driven content strategies through analytics 

You’ve identified key areas where you can collect first-party data from your customers, but what now? It’s time to build a comprehensive reporting and analytics plan. Make sure you are using your newly collected data to directly fuel your performance marketing efforts—from personalized content & creative to paid and social media. Discover how we increased visibility and revenue for this burger chain using SEO, paid media, social media, and our Connected Content approach.

Keep your messaging transparent and connected across the board 

Many restaurants are adding new fees and surcharges to combat rising inflation costs, which can be necessary but should stay as transparent as possible to ensure consumer trust. According to eMarketer, consumer spending at bars and restaurants shows no sign of slowing down (and is up 21.7 percent this year), so, survival ultimately depends on building engagement and trust. 

Contact Investis Digital  

Talk to one of our restaurant experts or learn more about our Reporting & Analytics approach to discover how you can prepare your restaurant for Google’s third-party cookie deprecation.