To improve customer retention, avoid sending irrelevant emails or product recommendations. That is one of the lessons learned from a recent Dynata Survey, commissioned by Redpoint, in which 51 percent of consumers surveyed said that mistargeted information negatively impacts their overall customer experience (CX) with a brand.
Most consumers surveyed (70 percent) reported receiving mistargeted information at least once a month – unnecessary friction in the process that leaves many consumers frustrated by their experiences. More than half (52 percent) of consumers surveyed reported that less friction is a main expectation.
The survey revealed that consumers understand the value of their personal data, and they expect to receive commensurate value in return for sharing it. Asked what would most influence a consumer to share data with a brand, receiving compensation in return in the form of discounts, offers or perks was cited as the top way (by 59 percent) brands can facilitate that exchange. For most consumers, giving away their data without receiving anything in return, or even knowing what it will be used for, is a non-starter. In fact, 73 percent said they either “rarely” or “never” provide data without an explicit understanding for how it will be used.
For consumers who do share data with some expectation for a return in value, trust is an important consideration, meaning that the goodwill gained from discounts, offers or perks will be offset by a brand violating a consumer’s trust. Asked which course of action they would take if they knew their data was subject to being shared with a third-party without their consent, 48 percent of consumers surveyed said they would stop doing business with a brand altogether, and 31 percent said they would share less data – such as completing a check-out as a guest rather than log in.
Presented with several ways a brand can enhance trust with a consumer, the No. 1 way – cited by 54 percent of those surveyed – was to easily allow the consumer to delete any data that has been provided. Coming in at No. 2, cited by 48 percent, was a brand being transparent over data leaks. The third choice (34 percent) was for a brand to provide the consumer with a personalized experience based on the consumer’s data – the aforementioned discounts, offers or perks relevant to the consumer and expected as a condition for sharing data.
Lean on First-Party Data for a Trust Relationship
The research shows the growing importance for brands to invest in customer data and customer experience at all levels of the organization, with a focus on first-party data as the key to demonstrate the deep level of personal understanding that customers have come to expect.
We’ve written extensively about the value exchange between the sharing of first-party data in return for a more personalized experience. The latest survey results further validate previous findings that when brands demonstrate they value their relationships with customers outside of a transactional basis, customers respond in two ways. One, they share more data, and two, they have a higher level of trust that a brand will use their data in accordance with a customer’s permissions granted and for the intended purpose.
The reason first-party data is so closely tied to meaningful experiences that demonstrate an individual understanding of a customer is that first-party data presents a more accurate window into a unique customer – based on behaviors, preferences, intent, etc. This is in sharp contrast to relying on third-party data or lookalike audiences where engagement is much less personalized.
First-party data, as we’ve written, is the fuel that drives the customer experience engine. Every company has data about its customers. The key to building a relationship founded on trust with a customer is to bring data siloed across the enterprise into a single customer view, a golden record that is in real-time, continuously updated, and lets a brand know everything there is to possibly know about a customer.
The better the data, the better the personalized experience a brand delivers, and the better the outcome – for both the brand and the consumer.
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