Modern online marketing methods use a solid consumer image, and an information network consisting of data brokers and aggregators, websites, trackers, and advertisement networks that collects and stores information about consumers online to enable targeted marketing. However, popular and academic research shows that strategies that are essential for online marketing, such as consumer tracking and data collection are raising consumer concerns.
Predictive technologies and artificial intelligence are becoming common across all industries, allowing us to predict trends, variations in consumer conduct, and the impact of new technologies on strategies for business development. At the heart of this customer growth strategy is data from customers. Being able to interact personally with your customers, sharing information only with those who are interested in them, being able to answer their questions before they are even asked, and offering real value long before the first promotional presentation is made is every marketer’s dream. This requires using a strong internet connection that does not create any lags, or disruptions thereby ensuring accurate and timely collection. Cox internet plans are a good option to consider as they offer a wide range and are economical. Cox is a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) that takes pride in offering strong internet connections with high bandwidths. A good connection will go a long way for your business.
Managers and customers alike expect a value-creating growth plan to contain only relevant and real-time information, shared exactly the way your customers would like to receive it. However, to do this, customers must give the company access to some chunks of their personal information. This is where the privacy paradox comes in.
What is a Privacy Paradox?
This term was made by Barry Brown in 2001, based on a study conducted on the experiences of those using the internet. Barry discovered that there was a paradox between customers’ concerns about their confidentiality and their wish to continue using the loyalty cards given by supermarkets that could also track their behaviour. This paradox simply states that customers do not trust companies with their data, but they still expect to benefit from a customized experience while shopping.
The biggest problem your customers face is that while they know how valuable their personal information is, they do not completely comprehend its worth. They benefit from doing business with your company; however, there is no palpable experience of sharing their data. Therefore, customers do not feel the impact of the transaction in the same way that they do with a product-related data transfer.
Companies have been gathering and keeping customer data for decades and using it to forecast performance, sometimes to the benefit of consumers but also may be an inconvenience. To protect human privacy rights, many governments and regulators around the world have enacted and implemented data protection regulations and laws that govern how companies must assemble, analyze, store, transfer and terminate personal data to restore the privacy of the consumer.
How does this affect businesses?
Ten years after the technological revolution created by the “digital trinity” of mobility, social media, and advanced analytics, many of us are struggling to remember life before we were constantly connected. These three technologies come together to generate a social upheaval where everything we do is observed, analyzed, and quickly translated into usable information.
The rise of this Trinity is quickening as technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and so on are amplifying the already enormous power of big data. This undoubtedly produces exhilarating prospects for today’s organizations. However, it also generates risks for those who do not consider the ethical insinuations and the mismatched expectations of intimacy and privacy.
How can businesses work around the paradox?
To address this conflicting viewpoint, some steps can be taken by businesses:
1. Establish guidelines
Even if their use of data is considered legal, enterprises that make use of the data in a way that does not align with their norms or values and customer expectations, run the risk of losing their customer base and damaging the company image.
Customers may assume organizations use their data to meet their needs, but they also expect them to not disclose that information.
This is particularly true for businesses whose business plans depend on the readiness of their customers to voluntarily provide information.
People may be reluctant to share their details with companies that use them in ways that seem manipulative or intrusive. Creating a structure that ensures the ethical use of data can be a key differentiator and competitive advantage for today’s data-driven businesses.
2. Transparency
Establish an audit committee, aligned with the company’s mission and brand, and comprised of relevant company stakeholders, to support projected data projects. Depending on the company, the data sources, and the particulars of the projected project, the board may also include third-party stakeholders, such as customer representatives.
3. Information governance
Information management or governance must evolve from being the responsibility of a few log managers to an essential part of all processes supported by a company. These efforts should include usage policies, security, risk management, and executive oversight.
4. Give control
It is essential to give your customers some degree of control over how their data is collected and used. This should contain an easy and clear way to opt-out if the user chooses to do so. This also means that they will be compensated if the data collected is incorrect.
Conclusion
Organizations must manage their data usage just as they would any other business-critical asset. The objective of this is to protect the company’s brand, prevent disruption to consumers, and optimize their relationships.
