Using Customer Data. Do your customers think you are ‘Creepy’?
I was sitting in my office during the week with the Radio on. Work from home polices have given us all new co-workers these days. As I was busy working on spreadsheets and answering customers questions the topic being discussed made me pause and listen.
‘Is your
phone listening to you?” this was the topic being discussed by the presenters,
they had enlisted a Tech Expert to answer peoples’ questions submitted to them.
People texted in ‘Its creepy, I mention something and the next thing I see an
Ad for it’. There was definitely an undercurrent of conspiracy theory, the humour
masking the concern of how much data is being held by businesses.
In the
radio show the ‘expert’ was assuring people your phone is not listening but
rather it was peoples search history, Geo location and search behaviour that
was driving the Ads. Despite the assurances that your phone is not listening, from
the comments that were flooding in it was hard to discern if that gave people
comfort or seemed creepier.
While
listening to the show it highlighted that all businesses collecting their customer
data will need to balance the greatest strength with the greatest challenge. Balance
Customer knowledge with Privacy, Trust and data security.
The
greatest benefits of using customer data in marketing, is the ability to
personalise, micro-target and re-target audiences. At the end of January at RHOCK
we dedicated a full
series on the benefits of Big Data as it is such an important topic.
By using such
tools as Google Analytics, SEO and data collection you can obtain an overview
of what customers are searching for, what items made to their baskets but never
to checkout. No matter what industry you
are in, it allows you to create content that you know people will be interested
in.
On the other
side you need to balance this with trust, think about how you are using customer
information and why you need to collect it. Have a clear privacy policy, ensure
your business is GDPR compliant and find the line between providing what you
know your customers want and them perceiving your business as being ‘creepy’.
At RHOCK we
are full-service marketing agency and you can contact us if you want a review
of your data management.
- Helen Mc Fadden
Love the anecdote at the start of the post, Helen. We have all done this - I know I have anyway and still hear of people being constantly baffled by how their phone has heard them. A nice concise explanation you give there to show how your phone isn't actually listening to you but rather this is big data in action. Makes me think though - we most be so on autopilot using our phones now that we don't even remember searching certain things that we automatically jump to our phones listening to us. I also agree with you that trust is a key issue, GDPR has always been important but failure to comply with this or allow for a breach has a lot of legal issues involved.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant blog, Helen. I have to admit I have definitely been one of those radio listeners, convinced my phone is listening to me when I get an ad for something I'm sure I've never whispered to another person. Great explanation that it is more than likely all of the geo locations and such. Really liked your point about businesses having to balance customer knowledge with privacy, trust and data security. The tide does seem to be turning slowly with regard to people opting out of cookies, or selecting more tailored options, people are becoming hyper aware of how their data can be used. It's a major challenge for businesses to manage that balance or face losing customers from sloppy or unethical data practices.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post, Helen! I love the title - I often think do customers know just how much data is collected on them and if they were to find it, would they think it's a bit much. The radio anecdote COMPLETELY resonates with me too. I am definitely one of those people who freaks out when they see ads for things I mentioned a few days beforehand. The more I learn about digital marketing, the more I can see how my behaviours online are influencing the marketing around me and it all begins to not feel so creepy after all. I'm grateful I get relevant ads (my bank account is definitely not, though!)
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Helen! The title caught my eye straight away. I used to think our phones were listening to our everyday conversions and it really did give me the creeps... when in fact it’s big data doing its magic.
ReplyDeleteGood point about businesses collecting customer data, they need to be vigilant when it comes to protecting their privacy and know when they’re breaching their trust.
Being GDPR compliant is so important for small businesses to be aware of, as the last thing you want is a hefty fine.
Having the ability to personalise, micro-target and re-target audiences is a big benefit for small businesses. Securing sales from customers who left their items in the basket could result in a significant saving for a small business. I know from my personal experience falling victim to retargeting and eventually buying the dress after receiving a reminder email.
Such a good blog post Helen, I enjoyed the anecdote at the beginning. It can be how much data is collected now a days! I checked out your post on Big Data and that was very informative also. I do think your right there is a balance that businesses need to find re collecting customer data - as a business you do have to ask yourself what is the purpose of collecting this data and if it doesn't serve a purpose then don't collect it.
ReplyDeleteI was laughing to myself reading the anecdote at the beginning, because I can definitely recall having conversations with so many of my colleagues, friends and family about my phone listening to me and feeling paranoid. I think many people feel the same so its important for businesses not to portray themselves in a bad light and come across as "creepy" .
I look forward to reading your next blog post Helen!
great post
ReplyDeletegreat tips and some excellent takeaways and food for thought.
Caitriona