--- title: How Will a Cookieless World Affect Your Marketing Plans? description: "B2B brands: Worried about the cookieless future? Hit pause on the panic button. There are lots of opportunities B2B businesses can learn from DTC counterparts." image: https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/Blog_images/cookie-gf8309806c_1280.jpg --- [![White Space Marketing Group](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ws-logo-header.png?width=253&height=80&name=ws-logo-header.png "White Space Marketing Group")](https://www.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/) ![blogbanner](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blogbanner.png?width=1500&name=blogbanner.png "blogbanner") [Gray Matter at White Space](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com) [B2B Marketing Strategy for Small and Mid-Sized Companies](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com) # [How Will a Cookieless World Affect Your Marketing Plans?](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/how-will-a-cookieless-world-affect-your-marketing-plans) ![Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/IHR%20BioPIc%20643x703.jpg) by [Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) on Apr 21, 2022 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Everyone’s pretty nervous about the disappearing cookies. Even though the timeline has been extended until “late 2023,” we all know how that can seem like the blink of an eye. Plus, pro-privacy actions have [*already* been taking place](https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-to-restrict-cross-app-tracking-of-users-on-android) in the iOS and Android universes. ![How Will a Cookieless World Affect Your Marketing Plans?](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_images/cookie-gf8309806c_1280.jpg?width=300&name=cookie-gf8309806c_1280.jpg)Some companies have made great strides in preparation. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands that rely on third-party tracking to broaden their reach are working smarter to manage the undoing of the retargeting channel they’ve relied on for years. So, my B2B brothers and sisters: let’s see what we can learn from them. ### **Step 1: Growing Your First-Party Connections** Everyone is moaning about the future of DTC brands that are *so* reliant on third-party tracking in the social channels to expand reach and offer multiple opportunities to engage. Take your average “Instagram” brand and get empathetic. They rely so heavily on third-party tracking that you have to wonder how they’ll survive this. [![Watch the Webinar: How to Avoid Random Acts of Marketing ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/4bc9c144-bd7b-4532-b493-f9d3ceed0abf.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/4bc9c144-bd7b-4532-b493-f9d3ceed0abf) But, DTC brands have certain advantages that B2B businesses do not. For starters, they have built hefty prospect databases through their remarketing and retargeting to date. So, today, they have [first-party prospect data](https://www.dmdconnects.com/blog/physician-level-digital-data-what-are-physicians-reading-about-most) they can nurture—and customer data they can retain. No, it won’t be easy, but I can see how innovations in engagement, customer service, and new products will expand as DTC brands hold tight to the “owned” reach they already have. For so many B2B businesses, the road to building a reliable database of prospective customers is inefficient and costly (think: trade shows, event sponsorships, etc.). The burden of having to buy email access or pay for large organic campaigns is heavy. No shortcuts there. When you reframe the value of an opted-in record in your CRM, you can see how growing this first-party connection—expanding the number of opted-in, [information-qualified leads](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/qualified-leads-in-the-time-of-covid)—will provide a foundation for your marketing as we move towards new and innovative methods of engagement. ### **Step 2: Consider Alternative Channels** There’s another channel where our DTC pals are already leveraging marketing resources to expand the quality and depth of their reach: [affiliate marketing](https://www.business2community.com/affiliate-marketing/the-ultimate-guide-to-b2b-affiliate-marketing-02282742). The affiliate channel, while a pay-to-play environment, avoids third-party tracking as a reach tool. By definition, reach in affiliate is sourced from organic customer intent, authoritative publishers, and measurable return. > *DTC brands have certain advantages that B2B businesses do not.* While [DTC brands](https://www.emarketer.com/content/how-content-publishers-can-leverage-affiliate-commerce) see success in the affiliate channel on revenue-based ROI, I can see B2B companies deploying budget toward affiliate marketing in order to expand their database of high-intent prospects. We’re not talking coupons or discounts. Rather, think of access to the meaningful content you’re probably already leveraging at those trade shows and on LinkedIn. [Disclosure: one of my clients is an [affiliate agency](https://partnercentric.com/), so I’ve seen how the sausage is made, and the value it offers when you’re with the right provider.] ### **Step 3: Don’t Wait to Put Your Plan Into Motion** End of the day, there *is* an opportunity for B2B businesses to reinforce their marketing mix through new and improved channels for engagement. And, there are a number of ways to navigate such a transition: 1. See my videos on marketing strategy on our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0OuoY2azBxNRzgp7HkZJQ)—and don’t forget to subscribe so you get the new ones in your inbox. In particular, check out [“How CEO’s Can Avoid Waste and Risk in Marketing.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6V4t6nN1S4&t=6s) 2. Check out the webinar, [How To Avoid Random Acts of Marketing](https://info.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/strategy-lab-training-webinar)  to start framing your marketing roadmap so you spend wisely on marketing. 3. Let some air out of your marketing strategy “balloon” by exploring a part-time CMO to guide your in-house or outsourced marketing teams. [Here’s an option](https://whitespacemarketinggroup.com/coaching-for-marketing-teams/) that might work for your organization. 4. If your team needs a strategy primer to finesse your current strategy roadmap, [get in touch](https://info.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/meetings/irosenthal/strategy-work-session) so we can set up time to discuss timing and cost so you're in good shape throughout Q2.   [![WATCH THE WEBINAR: HOW TO AVOID RANDOM ACTS OF MARKETING](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/3f922af3-7be7-49bd-b481-abfeeaf64f50.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/3f922af3-7be7-49bd-b481-abfeeaf64f50) Topics: [marketing strategy](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-strategy), [strategy](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/strategy), [marketing](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing), [business strategy](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/business-strategy), [CEOs](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/ceos), [B2B marketing](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/b2b-marketing), [Founders](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/founders), [B2B](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/b2b), [small business](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/small-business) About The Author ![Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/IHR%20BioPIc%20643x703.jpg) [ Ilene Rosenthal, CEO ](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) Ilene Rosenthal is the CEO of White Space Marketing Group, fulfilling her aspiration to bring hybrid marketing expertise to the mid-market. With a dee... [read more](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) [![watch the WEBINAR: how to AVOID random acts of marketing ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/c5f63d26-b091-48d9-822b-8e8904eecef0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/c5f63d26-b091-48d9-822b-8e8904eecef0) Search this site on Google Search Google ## We're glad you're here. We write about our marketing passions: building digital brands, digging deep for customer insights, tracking marketing effectiveness and ROI for better results. 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