By now, we've all heard about Google's decision to delay removing third-party cookies from the Chrome browser until late 2023. The delay, which gives businesses two more years to prepare their first-party data strategies, is a relief for most marketers.

So, what should brands do with this time to ensure they can achieve contextually relevant personalization come 2023—regardless of Google's plans?

1. Focus on fully using first-party customer data

First-party data is collected from the organic interactions with customers across brands' own channels and devices.

Begin your planning with an in-depth assessment of your first-party needs:

• Identify data gaps that will be exposed from a customer, channel, and behavior perspective that may not be able to be filled by first-party data sources.
• Question whether your first-party data sources can be replaced with other data sources—such as zero-party data, second-party data, or even purchased third-party data.
• Start evaluating technologies and techniques to help advance the collection and management of customer-level first-party data. That includes granular data collection technologies, as well as identity management and resolution processes.

As brands focus on first-party data and related tools, they will undoubtedly deal with more pure-play advertising methods to gain new customers (unknown users)—the work previously done by third-party data tools. Brands that maintain their ad delivery and analytics tools will have more control over where their advertising dollars are spent, which will lead to improved digital trust.

2. Apply analytics to first-party data to create growth

To gain necessary insight from first-party data, brands should start applying analytics now to their data so that by 2023 they have intelligence that can be used.

Start working to understand important customer metrics, including customer lifetime value (CLV or CLTV), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and other propensity-related metrics based on first-party data sources.

Also, consider how you can adopt what McKinsey refers to as the "growth triple play"—combining the use of creativity, analytics, and purpose to drive growth.

Organizations that apply analytics with purpose to spark creativity grow considerably faster than those that don't, McKinsey states. Applying analytics with purpose involves understanding various analytics types in more detail, knowing what type of data is needed to support those analytical types, and then preparing for the downstream steps of activation and automation.

3. Quit current bad data practices

The discontinuation of the third-party cookie will likely be a blessing in disguise for brands in the long-term. Why? Third-party cookies today are responsible for collecting user data on behalf of brands for the main purpose of behaviorally targeted advertising. Collecting such data allows brands to essentially "follow" you around the Internet.

But the data isn't always collected with the express permission of the user. Brand reliance on third-party cookies has led to poor marketing practices. Just because you can follow your visitors across digital domains doesn't mean you should.

Start considering now what the future of behavioral targeting looks like in your organization.

At first, replacing third-party data with first-party data may be a hassle from a data integration and security perspective. But it will ultimately benefit both brand and consumer if done correctly.