Building a Strategic First-Party Data Approach: What Truly Matters After the Demise of Cookies

Let’s be honest: Most B2B marketers have spent years building on a house of cards. Third-party cookies have been the foundation for tracking, retargeting, and performance campaigns—until Google pulled the plug in April 2025 and announced that, while cookies wouldnt disappear completely, they would now require user-choice implementation going forward.

Sounds like a reprieve, right?

Wrong.

If Google’s user-choice model achieves consent rates similar to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency—where only a fraction of users opt-in—the volume of usable third-party cookie data will plummet drastically.

The message is clear: If you’re not investing in first-party data now, you’ll be left empty-handed in 12-24 months.

This article will show you how to build a first-party data infrastructure that complies with the GDPR, delivers true value to your users, and elevates your marketing and sales processes to the next level.

The End of Third-Party Cookies: Why First-Party Data Is Now Essential for Survival

What happened in April 2025? After years of back and forth, Google decided: Third-party cookies aren’t being removed from Chrome. Instead, users will be able to manage their tracking preferences directly in browser settings.

Sounds like good news for marketers who still rely on cookies.

But it’s not.

What Does the End of Third-Party Cookies Really Mean for B2B Marketers?

The reality is this: Advertisers should continue to invest in first-party data, contextual targeting, and measurement frameworks that don’t rely on third-party cookies, as concerns around data and privacy are only increasing.

Why? Because your data quality is going to nosedive.

Ad-blockers, consent banners, tracking-prevention mechanisms—all of these mean the remaining cookie data just isn’t enough to keep ad effectiveness and efficiency at an acceptable level.

This is especially critical for B2B companies with long sales cycles. If you can no longer track which touchpoints a lead went through before becoming a customer, you can’t optimize your marketing.

And that’s precisely why first-party data is the solution.

First-Party, Second-Party, and Third-Party Data Compared

Before we dive deeper, let’s define the terms:

First-party data isn’t just the cleanest and most reliable source—it’s also the only data you truly control.

In a July 2024 survey, 67% of B2B marketers named data compliance and accuracy as top priorities. That’s no coincidence. In a world where data protection authorities are examining everything under a microscope, secure data collection is a competitive advantage.

First-Party Data Strategy 2025: The Cornerstones of Your Data Infrastructure

A first-party data strategy isnt a tech project you can knock out on the side. It’s a strategic transformation process that includes marketing, sales, and IT.

The good news: Companies using first-party data strategies see double the conversion rates and a 30% reduction in customer acquisition costs.

Let’s look at the core building blocks.

Which Data Is Actually Valuable?

Not all first-party data is equally valuable. Many companies collect data just because they can—not because they need it.

The most valuable data for B2B companies includes:

• Behavioral data: Which pages does a lead visit? How long do they spend on your pricing page? What resources do they download?
• Transactional data: Which products have been purchased? At what price? How frequently?
• CRM data: What interactions have happened with sales? Which emails have been opened?
• Preference data: Which communication channels does the contact prefer? What topics interest them?
• Intent data: Does their behavior indicate buying intent? Repeated visits to specific pages are a strong signal.

First-party intent data enables you to focus efforts on high-potential leads by tracking their content consumption, email opens, and website dwell time. This visibility allows for personalized outreach and improved lead conversion.

The key: Only collect data that you can actually use.

The Difference Between Collecting and Strategically Building Data

Many companies technically have first-party data—but no strategy for it.

Google Analytics tracks page views. The CRM holds contact information. The marketing automation tool knows who opened what email. But all that data exists in silos.

Strategic building means:

1. Centralize data: All data sources need to be consolidated—ideally in a CRM or a Customer Data Platform.
2. Enrich data: Link behavioral and CRM data for a complete picture.
3. Activate data: Use the data for segmentation, personalization, and automation.
4. Optimize data: Continuously analyze which data is truly performance-relevant.

Companies using first-party data effectively can increase revenue significantly while reducing marketing spend.

That’s the difference between having data and using it.

Consent Management: How to Collect Legally Valid Consents

Here’s where it gets serious. Without legally valid consent, your entire first-party data strategy is worthless—or worse, illegal.

The GDPR and Germany’s TDDDG (formerly TTDSG) are clear: Websites must obtain user consent before processing personal data, unless another legal basis applies. Consent must be voluntary, specific, informed, and unambiguous.

Sounds simple but, in practice, it’s one of the biggest challenges.

Designing a GDPR-Compliant Consent Banner

Most of the consent banners you see online aren’t legally compliant. Seriously.

What makes a compliant consent banner?

• Active consent required: Scrolling or simply continuing to browse does not count as consent. Users must actively give consent, e.g. by clicking a button.
• Decline must be just as easy as accept: The Decline button must be as prominent as Accept.
• Granular control: Users must be able to select which cookies to accept (essential, marketing, analytics).
• Transparent information: It must be clearly communicated which data is collected, by whom, and for what purpose.
• Consent revocable at any time: Users must be able to withdraw consent at any time, and the process must be as easy as giving consent.

Important: From March 2025, Google Consent Mode V2 is mandatory for all websites using Google tracking. This means your consent management tool must be technically capable of handling these requirements.

The Most Common Consent Management Mistakes

From our experience with dozens of B2B clients, we see the same mistakes over and over:

1. Pre-checked checkboxes: Illegal. Users must actively consent.
2. Cookie walls: Accept cookies or leave the site—also problematic, as its not voluntary.
3. Lack of documentation: Websites must be able to prove that users gave their consent. This requires proper documentation, detailing when and how consent was obtained.
4. Tracking before consent: No data may be collected or transferred before the user gives consent. Tools cannot transfer data or set cookies before consent.
5. Vague wording: We use cookies for a better experience—far too vague. Be specific.

The consequences of mistakes? Fines of up to €20 million are possible.

Use established consent management platforms like Usercentrics, Cookiebot, or OneTrust. These tools specialize in legal compliance and are continuously updated to reflect new legal developments.

Progressive Profiling: How to Gather Data Without Annoying Users

Here’s where it gets smart. Progressive profiling is the art of gradually learning more about your leads without overwhelming them with a 20-field form at first contact.

And for B2B, that’s pure gold.

What Is Progressive Profiling?

Progressive profiling means collecting information over multiple touchpoints.

At first contact, just ask for:

• Name
• Email
• Company

At the second download, add:

• Job title
• Company size

At the third contact, dig deeper:

• Current tools in use
• Budget range
• Decision time frame

The best part: Your lead barely notices that they’re sharing more and more data—because it never feels overwhelming.

Best Practices for Progressive Data Enrichment

Here’s how to implement progressive profiling successfully:

• Cookie-based recognition: Use cookies or CRM IDs to recognize returning visitors and hide fields where data is already collected.
• Valuable offers: Every additional data point must offer value in return: whitepapers, case studies, tool access—always give something back.
• Smart fields: Modern marketing automation tools like HubSpot or Marketo offer smart fields that automatically request the next missing information.
• Max 3-5 fields per form: More is overwhelming. Fewer converts better.
• Be transparent: Explain why you’re requesting information (So we can show you relevant solutions…).

A practical example from B2B SaaS:

With this strategy, you not only build out your data profile—you qualify your leads at the same time.

Implementing a Preference Center: The Key to Voluntary Data Sharing

Here’s a truth often overlooked: People are happy to share data—if they get something in return.

A preference center is your strategic tool to encourage users to voluntarily share more.

Why Users Willingly Share Their Data

The psychology is simple:

1. Personalization: Many consumers prefer companies that tailor campaigns and content to their needs, preferences, and behavior.
2. Relevance: No one wants irrelevant emails. When users know they’ll only get content on topics they care about, theyre more likely to share their preferences.
3. Control: People want to feel in control of their data. A preference center gives them exactly that.
4. Exclusivity: Early access, premium content, or beta access—when users feel they’ll gain advantages by sharing data, they’re more likely to do so.

In the B2B world, this works especially well since your target audience is professional and understands that better data means better recommendations.

Building an Effective Preference Center

A truly effective preference center should include these elements:

• Communication preferences:
  • Which topics interest the contact? (Content marketing, performance marketing, marketing automation…)
  • Which channels do they prefer? (Email, LinkedIn, events…)
  • How often do they want to be contacted? (Weekly, monthly, only for important updates…)
• Profile information:
  • Industry, company size, position
  • Current challenges
  • Tools and software in use
• Consent management:
  • Marketing emails: Yes/No
  • Tracking for personalization: Yes/No
  • Forward to sales: Yes/No
• Data overview:
  • Which data do we have on you?
  • When was it last updated?
  • Option to delete data (GDPR Article 17 – Right to be Forgotten)

The trick: Incentivize the use of your preference center.

Examples:

• Complete your profile and get exclusive access to our B2B Marketing Toolkit
• Share your preferences and we’ll only send you content that’s relevant to you
• Update your data and enter our raffle for a free marketing consultation

The result: Higher data quality, better engagement, and more satisfied contacts.

CRM Integration and Customer Data Platforms: The Technical Implementation

Now it’s time to get technical—but don’t worry, we’ll keep it practical.

The question we get most often: Do we need a Customer Data Platform, or is our CRM enough?

The honest answer: It depends.

CRM as the Heart of Your First-Party Data Strategy

Your CRM—be it HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, or another—is your foundation.

Why?

• It stores all contact and company information
• It documents sales interactions
• It is the single source of truth for your sales team
• It enables lead scoring and pipeline management

For many mid-sized B2B companies (10-100 employees), a well-configured CRM is fully sufficient when used correctly.

The key is integration:

1. Website → CRM: Every form and download should automatically flow into the CRM.
2. Marketing Automation → CRM: Email opens, clicks, webinar participation—all should be synced.
3. Sales tools → CRM: Meeting bookings, calls, emails—full documentation.
4. Support system → CRM: Tickets, support requests, customer satisfaction.

If those integrations run smoothly, youve already got a functioning first-party data infrastructure.

Customer Data Platform vs. CRM: What Do You Really Need?

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) goes a step beyond a CRM.

The global CDP market is growing rapidly. CDPs are on the rise.

But when does a CDP make sense?

AI-driven personalization within CDPs is transforming customer engagement. Leveraging first-party data, AI enables real-time insights, predictive capabilities, and hyper-personalized experiences. Features like segmentation, lifetime value prediction, and next-best-action recommendations increase engagement and retention.

Our recommendation: If you’re a company with 10-100 employees, start with a solid CRM setup and only upgrade to a CDP once you clearly hit the limits.

Popular CDP solutions for B2B mid-sized businesses:

• Segment (by Twilio): Flexible, developer-friendly, strong integrations
• Salesforce Data Cloud: Ideal if you’re already in the Salesforce ecosystem
• Adobe Experience Platform: Enterprise-level, high investment
• Hightouch / RudderStack: Composable CDP—builds on your data warehouse

Using First-Party Data for Personalization: Practical Application Cases

Collecting data is one thing—using it is another.

Let’s get specific: How do you use first-party data to achieve better marketing and sales outcomes?

Content Personalization Based on First-Party Data

Imagine: A visitor comes to your website. Based on the first-party data you have, you show them:

• For a returning visitor from the IT sector: Case studies from IT companies
• For someone who’s already visited your pricing page: A calendar link for a sales call
• For a download user without further activity: A banner with the next best content piece

This works with tools such as:

• HubSpot Smart Content: Displays different website content based on CRM data
• Optimizely / VWO: Personalization and A/B testing based on segments
• Dynamic Yield: Real-time personalization for e-commerce and B2B

The impact? Massive. Personalized websites convert better than static ones.

Account-Based Marketing with Your Own Data

Account-based marketing (ABM) thrives on first-party data.

The concept: Instead of targeting individual leads, you focus on entire companies (accounts) and create highly personalized campaigns.

How to leverage first-party data for ABM:

1. Account identification:
   • Use website tracking (IP-based) to see which companies are visiting your site
   • Combine with CRM data to prioritize high-value accounts
2. Stakeholder mapping:
   • Identify all contacts within target accounts in your CRM
   • Track who consumed what content
3. Personalized campaigns:
   • Create account-specific landing pages
   • Send coordinated email sequences to all stakeholders
   • Run targeted LinkedIn ads exclusively for these accounts
4. Sales orchestration:
   • Notify your sales team when an account becomes active
   • Show the sales team exactly which content stakeholders have consumed

Example from the field:

A mechanical engineering supplier (one of our clients) defined 50 target accounts. For each account, a personalized landing page was built with reference projects from the same industry. Simultaneously, LinkedIn campaigns targeted solely at employees from these 50 companies were launched. The outcome: 12 qualified sales meetings in 6 weeks.

That’s the power of first-party data paired with smart activation.

The Roadmap: How to Build Your First-Party Data Infrastructure in 6 Months

Enough with the theory. Here’s your concrete plan.

We’ve rolled out this roadmap with dozens of B2B clients—it works.

Phases 1-2: Foundation and Quick Wins (Months 1-2)

Month 1: Analysis and Planning

• Week 1-2: Conduct data audit
  • What data sources do you already have?
  • What data is being collected?
  • Where is this data stored (which tools)?
  • How good is your data quality?
• Week 3: Review legal compliance
  • Is your consent management GDPR-compliant?
  • Do you have all necessary privacy documents?
  • Are your data processing agreements (DPA) in place with all tools?
• Week 4: Define your strategy
  • Which data do you truly need?
  • What are your key use cases?
  • Which quick wins can you achieve?

Month 2: Implement Quick Wins

• Week 1: Optimize consent management
  • Implement a GDPR-compliant consent banner (e.g., Usercentrics, Cookiebot)
  • Set up Google Consent Mode V2
• Week 2: Revise form strategy
  • Reduce forms to a maximum of 3-5 fields
  • Set up progressive profiling in your marketing automation tool
• Weeks 3-4: Set up base integrations
  • Website forms → CRM
  • Marketing automation → CRM
  • Meeting booking tool → CRM

Success metrics after 2 months:

• GDPR compliance established
• Form conversion rate increased by 20-30%
• All new leads are automatically added to CRM

Phases 3-4: Expansion and Integration (Months 3-4)

Month 3: Data Quality and Segmentation

• Weeks 1-2: CRM data cleansing
  • Remove duplicates
  • Fill missing data (using enrichment tools like Clearbit, ZoomInfo)
  • Archive inactive contacts
• Weeks 3-4: Establish a segmentation framework
  • Define basic segments (e.g., industry, company size, lifecycle stage)
  • Set up behavioral segments (e.g., Visited pricing page, Downloaded whitepaper)

Month 4: Preference Center and Advanced Tracking

• Weeks 1-2: Build preference center
  • Define design and structure
  • Implement technically (usually possible via marketing automation tool)
  • Develop incentive strategy
• Weeks 3-4: Implement advanced tracking
  • Event tracking on website (e.g. Watched video, Used calculator)
  • Refine email engagement tracking
  • Set up lead scoring model

Success metrics after 4 months:

• CRM data quality above 80%
• 10+ segments live
• Preference center launched with first users
• Lead scoring model active

Phases 5-6: Optimization and Scaling (Months 5-6)

Month 5: Personalization and Automation

• Weeks 1-2: Content personalization on website
  • Set up smart content for various segments
  • Dynamic CTAs based on lifecycle stage
• Weeks 3-4: Automated nurturing flows
  • Lifecycle-based email sequences
  • Re-engagement campaigns for inactive leads
  • Sales notifications on buying signals

Month 6: Analysis and Scaling

• Weeks 1-2: Build reporting dashboards
  • Marketing performance dashboard (lead generation, conversion rates)
  • Sales performance dashboard (pipeline, close rates)
  • Data quality dashboard
• Week 3: Conduct ROI analysis
  • Which data sources produce the best leads?
  • Which segments convert best?
  • Where should you invest further?
• Week 4: Define scaling plan
  • Evaluate CDP (if needed)
  • Add additional data sources
  • Plan advanced analytics / predictive modeling

Success metrics after 6 months:

• MQL to SQL conversion rate increased by 25-40%
• Sales cycle shortened by 15-20%
• Marketing ROI demonstrably improved
• Scalable first-party data infrastructure established

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between first-party and third-party data?

First-party data is information you collect directly from your customers (via your website, CRM, events, etc.). Third-party data comes from external providers who aggregate data about users from various sources. First-party data is higher quality, more GDPR-compliant, and you have full control over it.

Do I need a Customer Data Platform (CDP) or is my CRM enough?

For most mid-sized B2B companies (10-100 employees), a well-configured CRM with clean integrations is fully sufficient. A CDP only becomes relevant when you have 10+ different data sources, require real-time personalization, or manage over 50,000 contacts.

How do I ensure my consent management is GDPR-compliant?

Use established consent management platforms like Usercentrics, Cookiebot, or OneTrust. Make sure that: active consent is required (no pre-checked boxes), declining is as easy as accepting, there is granular control over cookie categories, transparent information is provided, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Since March 2025, Google Consent Mode V2 is also mandatory.

What is Progressive Profiling and why is it important?

Progressive profiling means collecting information about leads step by step across multiple touchpoints, rather than using long forms at first contact. It drastically increases conversion rates, improves data quality, and qualifies leads at the same time. Modern marketing automation tools like HubSpot or Marketo have this feature built in.

Which first-party data is most valuable for B2B marketing?

The most valuable data is: behavioral data (page views, dwell time, downloads), intent data (repeated visits to pricing/product pages), CRM interactions (email opens, sales calls), preference data (preferred topics, channels, frequency), and transactional data (purchases, prices, frequency). Key: Only collect data you can actively use.

How long does it take to build a functioning first-party data infrastructure?

With a structured approach, you can build a solid first-party data infrastructure in 6 months: Months 1-2 for foundation and quick wins (consent management, base integrations), months 3-4 for data quality, segmentation and preference center, months 5-6 for personalization, automation, and scaling. Expect quick wins like improved form conversions within 4-6 weeks.

What’s the minimum tech stack for a first-party data strategy?

The minimum setup includes: a CRM system (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive), a consent management platform (Usercentrics, Cookiebot), a web analytics tool (Google Analytics 4, Matomo), and a marketing automation tool (HubSpot, Marketo, ActiveCampaign). For advanced setups: a tag management system (Google Tag Manager), a preference center tool, and possibly a customer data platform.

How do I measure the ROI of my first-party data strategy?

Track these KPIs: MQL to SQL conversion rate (should increase), sales cycle length (should decrease), customer acquisition cost (should decrease), lead quality (measured by deal close rate), marketing attribution (how many deals come from first-party-data-driven campaigns), and customer lifetime value (should increase due to better personalization). Achieving a positive ROI in year one is realistic.

Can I use first-party data for marketing without asking every time?

It depends on the legal basis. If you have explicit consent to use the data for marketing, yes. If you collect data under contract or legitimate interest, you must clearly state marketing use in your privacy policy and offer a simple opt-out. For existing customers: you can advertise similar products/services if you disclosed this at data collection. When in doubt, obtain active consent—this is safest.

What happens if I don’t have a first-party data strategy?

You’ll fall behind your competitors. Specifically: your tracking data will become incomplete and unreliable; you won’t be able to measure marketing performance properly; your ads will become less effective (higher CPL, lower ROAS); you’ll lose personalization capabilities; your sales processes will remain inefficient due to lack of data insights; and you risk GDPR violations if you keep relying on non-compliant third-party solutions. The question isn’t if, but when you should start.