Build Trust Before Asking for Information

In a survey conducted last month by loyalty program consultants LoyaltyOne, the majority of the 2,000 U.S. and Canadian respondents said they feel businesses are using personal information collected about them in order to better serve customers. However, that majority was only 52%, and 88% said they feel businesses are using the personal information primarily for the businesses’ own benefit.
     Serving customers better is certainly to the benefit of the business, so the answers are compatible. The difference between the 52% and the 88% does indicate consumers should be given reasons to tell about themselves.
     Businesses are aware of consumers’ concerns. Although it seems every shopper would welcome personalization, privacy worries are a barrier. Last year, the Ponemon Institute, which conducts independent research on consumer trust, said that over 95% of the companies they surveyed reported not fully exploiting the potential of personalizing because the companies feared customer pushback against the data collection required.
     Research findings from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and Providence College in Rhode Island indicate that a retailer such as you should state to customers what information you’d like to gather about them, how you’ll be using the information to make their individual shopping experiences more efficient and fruitful, and how you will safeguard the security of that information.
     The LoyaltyOne survey asked about possible benefits which might be offered to the shopper who is deciding whether to share information:

• Tailor special offers based on what the customer buys. In the survey, 49% of respondents said they would expect businesses to do this.
• Give advance information on new products and/or services which would be attractive to the customer. About 41% said they’d expect this.
• Modify the merchandise mix in the store based on what the store learns about the customer. The figure for this was 36%.
• Grant preferential treatment because of the willingness to share the information. For this one, too, the figure was 36%.

     (These figures add to more than 100% because each survey respondent could select more than one.)
     For each of these your store does, the consumer builds trust that sharing the information makes a difference, and so the consumer becomes more willing to share additional information about himself.
     If you encounter resistances, pull back on all you’re asking for. Start out modestly. Also see what you can obtain by looking at records of prior purchases to honor individual customers’ likes and dislikes.

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Personalize by Respecting Privacy Concerns