Exploring Strategies for Customer Engagement in the Absence of Third-party Cookies : Using a Firm-based Digital Maturity Lens

Sammanfattning: Purpose – This study aims to identify and analyze innovative strategies that firms can use to develop customer engagement online without relying on third-party cookies, whilst also considering the firms' level of digital maturity. Method – To explore the innovative strategies for developing customer engagement online without third-party cookies, a sequential mixed-method design was employed, utilizing semi- structured interviews and survey data. A total of 12 respondents participated in the study, providing both interview and survey data for analysis. Findings – The findings of this study consist of four main themes in terms of strategies that don’t rely on third-party cookies to develop customer engagement online. These strategies are presented as data-driven strategy, value-based strategy, rethink allocation strategy, and direct customer engagement. Moreover, the findings reveal a greater interest and a positive attitude toward the data-driven strategy in particular, which in turn relies on the subthemes of CRM- system, and SEO. Theoretical and practical implications – This study holds theoretical implications in terms of firstly, confirming the previous research about engaging customers through customer communities. Secondly, this study contrasts the research about the dimensions required to develop customer engagement stated by de Oliviera Santini (2020) and Pansari and Kumar (2016). From a practical perspective, this study provides implications valuable for people in marketing leading positions deciding upon the strategic direction for digital marketing. Moreover, this study contributes with four strategies for businesses to adapt based on their database and organizational optimization.