What happens when we can’t track users anymore? When cookies go away under the guise of privacy, how can we target the right customer with the right message? Well let’s think about that. What did we do before the Internet? What did we do before cookies?

A web cookie is a packet of data that identifies a user, typically with some sort of ID number, and is remembered and sometimes shared with the website you’re on and other websites that you go to via a cookie exchange. The intent of the cookie is to identify you as a visitor of the site and collect your browsing history through the site. 

Ever wonder why you search for a pair of AllBirds shoes and then see an ad appear in your Facebook feed the same day? That’s the magic of a cookie. 

Cookies allow marketers to identify, segment, and market on a personalized level. The relationship between the user and brand becomes closer. It should make for a better experience for the prospective customer. 

When the cookies go away marketers will be forced to understand their customers better. The creation of customer journeys based on research-based personas will become critical in determining what each page, each image, each product will come next in the users journey through your website or app. 

The customer experience will be an even higher priority than it is today. 

The easiest way to think about your customer experience is to think about building a house. A house first needs a strong foundation. Your customer experience foundation begins by gathering representative groups of your customers, interviewing them, and creating personas. These personas will be the foundation upon which their journeys through your product or service must then be mapped. Through interviews you’ll see where they struggle with your website or app experience. 

Next, identify major pain points and create a plan to alleviate those problems. This plan is your strategy to establish a customer-centric, digital experience without relying on cookies.