How can you continue to serve your customers in a personalized way despite the disappearance of third-party cookies in 2023?

The elimination of third-party cookies will reduce the ability to re-target ads. Your organization will have to increase its reliance on internal browsing data and other proven methods to stay connected with its consumers.

Third-party cookies and internal cookies: What’s the difference?

Third-party cookies are files embedded by a site other than your organization’s, via a browser, to store information. Third-party cookies track user behaviours across different websites to, for example, assess the audience or target ads.

With detailed analytics, companies are able to track user paths and determine their lifestyle and buying behaviour. They can then place their ads in the right place, at the right time, with the right message, which significantly increases the likelihood of conversion and purchase.

Internal cookies make it easier to navigate your site. They provide users with the necessary features to improve their experience (no need to type in your ID every time you log in or to specify your preferences such as the language or currency used).

New legislation

Implementation of Law 25, or the Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information, will result in the disappearance of cookies. The purpose of this legislation is to give citizens more control over their personal information.

Any organization that collects, processes or holds personal information in Québec will have to comply. The law requires transparency throughout the data life cycle.

Solutions for your SME

One solution is to increase your reliance on your organization’s internal navigation data and other proven methods, such as loyalty programs, to maintain a special connection with your customer base, and offer them the products and services they need at the right time.

Another marketing solution is to return to more traditional statistical inference analysis models. These models have not been used as much in recent years, but are still effective, especially when it comes to analyzing the digital data that is generated on a daily basis and that is still available to your organization despite the disappearance of third-party cookies.

These analysis models will help determine media and marketing mix strategies more effectively, for both digital and traditional media.

Artificial intelligence can also be used to facilitate data analysis, purchase behaviour prediction and real-time adjustments.

The importance of transparency

Above all, however, it is important to be transparent. You must ensure that you ask your customers for their free and informed consent to collect and use their personal information.

In other words, you will have to equip your website with a consent management tool (banner or popup) where the user will have to opt-in.

By explaining to your users that internal cookies facilitate their browsing experience and by assuring them that their personal information will be protected, you will be able to strengthen the bond of trust and offer them a personalized experience despite the disappearance of third-party cookies.

This article was drafted in collaboration with Guy-Jacques Langevin, Buzztroop Founder.

Are you contemplating buying a competitor or a complementary business? Take the time to carefully define your strategy while considering the market and the objectives you want to achieve.

There are always risks to acquiring a business, which is why, before you start, you need to analyze market developments and take account of numerous factors that can impact the transaction’s success. These include:

• The market’s long-term growth prospects;
• The value created;
• The competence of management and its employees;
• The presence of key employees;
• The average seniority of employees;
• Potential synergies with your business;
• The target’s profitability history;
• The target’s debt level;
• The level of debt required for the acquisition;
• The state of capital assets;
• The target’s positioning in its market.

Above all, your strategy must pinpoint all of your business’s objectives in making an acquisition as well as your medium- and long-term goals.

What do you want to achieve with this acquisition?

There are many reasons why you might want to buy a business. To properly assess the scope of such a transaction, you must first understand what needs it meets and consider the alternatives.

During the evaluation process, several risks or mitigating factors may be raised. It is important to keep your initial objectives in mind during the analysis to ensure that they are met.

Growth

Business growth can be organic, based on demand and new skills, but acquiring a competitor or complementary business could provide you with an opportunity to enter a new market or increase your market share in a specific territory. Among other things, you could reach a new target clientele, broaden your range of products and services or expand your distribution channel.

If your business has reached and exceeded its break-even point, the contribution margin from the newly acquired volume could further increase your profitability.

Flexibility

You may wish to initiate or complete a vertical integration by acquiring or merging with suppliers or customers in order to increase your organization’s flexibility and competitiveness. For example, this M&A strategy could be an opportunity for you to:

• Acquire talent;
• Access specific expertise;
• Integrate a new clientele;
• Reduce procurement risk;
• Get capital assets or intellectual property that you can use in your current activities.

Cost reductions

In some cases, the purpose of a merger or acquisition may also be to achieve economies of scale by increasing your buying power and reducing your administrative costs.

For example, you can take advantage of a well-established agreement with a supplier or leverage your negotiating power with an existing supplier by increasing your purchasing volume.

What risks should be considered?

The status quo can often lead to a loss of competitiveness and market share in the short to medium term.

In addition to the risks of doing nothing, you should also consider the potential risks of proceeding with an acquisition. Ask yourself if these risks are manageable for your company and if the transaction is “worth the risk”.

Once you have weighed the risks and benefits, you can make an informed choice and prepare to reduce any change impacts.

Poorly evaluated costs or timelines

Quite often, there is a temptation to wear rose-colored glasses when considering the potential savings from synergies in a merger or acquisition. Entrepreneurs may underestimate the time needed to achieve these savings or minimize the value of the upgrade investments.

This may include the training required, the acquisition of missing skills, or the integration of IT systems and streamlining of manufacturing.

It is essential to take the time to evaluate the various possible scenarios, taking into account the resources needed to successfully integrate the operations of the companies involved.

Lower-than-forecast growth

Another risk is that growth may be lower than originally projected. For example, a business merger or acquisition may result in some customers leaving the company. One way to reduce this risk, in addition to a good preliminary assessment, is to plan for new products or services that will generate long-term sales.

There may be a slowdown period before the planned growth occurs. It is wise to include this in your forecast.

Value that is not easy to quantify

When it seems difficult to quantify the value acquisition, for example when buying a company to acquire a competitor’s expertise, the deal can be strengthened by negotiating agreements with key employees.

For example, more and more entrepreneurs are opting to offer a percentage of the company’s shares (e.g., 5% to 10%) to their key employees. This allows employees to build a strong sense of ownership and feel more engaged.

In any case, if you are considering acquiring a strategic value that is not based on financial logic, you need to look beyond the numbers and ask yourself: what is the price of doing nothing? In a consolidating market, staying small without differentiating features will never be a good option to remain competitive.

Finally, before undertaking a merger or acquisition project, you should also assess the risk of a clash of values and corporate cultures. If management styles are at odds, synergies will be slower and buy-in to change much more complex. Your risk of losing employees is also increased in this context. You can reduce these risks by acquiring a company that shares your values.

What is your best strategy?

The indicators are generally positive? Then you also need to assess whether the acquisition is the best way to invest your financial and human resources before taking action.

The important thing in such a process is to ask yourself all the right questions and consider the risks with the broadest possible vision, while thinking of ways to mitigate them.

In addition, financing solutions should be explored in depth to get the most out of a merger or acquisition strategy. In a context of rising interest rates, the impact is magnified, and it is important to obtain a credible financing scenario before making a decision. Our financial advisory experts can assist you in this process and cover any blind spots.

Updated on May 2, 2023

In some industries, the pandemic resulted in increased rather than decreased demand. How do we manage the challenges of a sudden growth?

Rapid growth may or may not be planned. It could be the result of acquisitions, market opportunities (partnerships, new products, etc.) or even caused by a situation out of your control, such as COVID-19, which triggered the demand to explode in certain sectors.

When an organization’s growth is sudden and unplanned, it can have many impacts, particularly on production, distribution, the supply chain, and human and material resources.

As an entrepreneur, you must be equipped to stay the course and anticipate changes.

Expand your vision

When your business grows rapidly, this can be an opportunity to branch out in a new direction and grow your business model. You could choose to develop new products or, conversely, refocus your production on the most profitable or future-oriented products. However, before revising your strategy, it’s important to know the value of your products and services.

You also need to ask yourself what happens next. Growth can continue exponentially or be a temporary trend. As no one can predict the future, assess the different aspects that could influence the growth curve in order to minimize your risks and help you make the right decisions.

• How will your market evolve?
• What are your clients’ medium- and long-term needs?
• What position would you like to occupy in your market?

The answers to these questions will help determine what sets you apart from the competition and what meets the needs of your niche market clients.

To anticipate the future, leaders must be aware of movements in their market and society, and try to expand their vision to get an overall view.

Often, the main concern of entrepreneurs who are experiencing significant growth is to prepare the next orders and get supplies. However, they must also be aware of the long term. Otherwise, they run the risk of not anticipating future elements that could hinder their growth.

They must also gauge their own ability to pursue growth, even if it means slowing down for a bit if this is more reasonable for the longevity of their organization.

Adopt a dynamic strategy

Your strategy must be thoughtful and consistent with your business goals, but it cannot remain static. Your strategic planning must include a regular review and performance indicators that will allow you to judge results and adjust along the way.

Regular strategic meetings will help you continue to make the right choices for achieving your goals. Take breaks to reflect on your issues and any feedback you receive from clients, employees and partners.

Regularly take the pulse of the market to ensure that you are still in line with its evolution and with the needs of your employees and clients. Their feedback will help you make the right partnership choices and take the most promising paths for your business.

Keep your long-term vision in mind while readjusting short-term goals, even if it means reviewing your action priorities.

Plan for valuation methods

You need to have an overview of your production and assess the mechanisms and tools in place to achieve your goals, including human, material and budgetary resources.

Establish an operating framework and specific procedures and control methods. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each person. Otherwise, you run the risk of exceeding costs, ending up with a lower quality product/service, or surplus, or deviating from your objectives along the way.

Integrate technology into your strategic plan

Nowadays, performance and technology go hand in hand. To achieve its strategic objectives and sustain its growth, an organization must include a digital transformation component in its plan.

This is what will allow you to optimize processes and bolster quick and accurate decision-making, with more precise anticipated results.

Analytics and business intelligence tools can help you plan for operational needs and meet customer demand efficiently.

Furthermore, growth is often hindered by a shortage of labour. Technology is one way to overcome this barrier, as automating certain tasks frees up staff to take on value-added roles.

However, the tools you have in place and those you plan to acquire must align with the long-term strategic vision and reflect the evolution that is underway.

If your business is facing sudden growth, it is even more important to take a step back to see the big picture. A digital transformation audit will allow you to take stock and implement a plan that fits your situation.

To meet your immediate needs, the first step of the plan will prioritize the most profitable solutions for you in the short term. However, these solutions will be integrated into a set of changes spread out over a period of three to five years, since this is a progressive investment that aims to ensure the longevity of your business and achievement of your objectives.

All teams, in every department of the company (including the IT team), play a role in the changes underway. It is important that everyone understand the company’s strategic vision and contribute to the implementation of the action plan and its success.

Know your break-even point

The right tools can help you be more efficient. An effective enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will give you an accurate picture of inventory, cash flows and open orders, and provide you with useful data on your clients and suppliers.

You need to have a clear picture of your costs and understand where your profitability lies in order to calculate your break-even point.

There are many questions to consider, such as:

• Do you have the right system for managing an increased number of requests per day?
• Should you re-evaluate your agreement with certain providers taking into account the volume of products to be offered (e.g., get a volume discount)?
• Should your price be set according to the market share you want to capture?
• Should you reinvest profits into automation?
• Do you benefit from focusing on a single product to increase production capacity or would it be better to expand your product line?

Having a competent CFO is crucial, as he or she will be responsible for ensuring that all clients are charged the right price, all suppliers are paid and that cash flows are well managed.

Your decisions should not only be based on your financial statements. You need to know the profitability of your products and your market and stay focused on the business’s growth objectives.

Assess the new skills needed

As a business grows, it may require more manpower, but you may also want to review the skill profiles you need. New needs may require a different type of leadership, for example.

In the context of change, the most sought-after qualities in employees are agility and versatility. It is essential that newcomers buy into your business culture to help it grow.

When growth is rapid, managers may need to outsource work to meet short-term demand. You will have to prepare and structure your organization’s foundation in order to get the talent you need for the long term.

Include a health component in your analysis

Nowadays, we can no longer afford to neglect the health of employees and managers. This factor carries a lot of weight when it comes to making choices. Not only do we need to consider the resources we have in place, but we also need to prevent burnout, which could otherwise lead to absenteeism and ultimately productivity issues.

Involve your employees in the steps leading to your evolution. Open the dialogue with your staff, be transparent. Communicate with them so that they feel part of the changes, remain engaged and work together in the same direction.

Sudden growth is a source of uncertainty. You need to be prepared for everything, have a long-term vision and be flexible in order to adapt quickly. To do this, effective tools and competent leaders will contribute to your success.