Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

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Consumers 'not feeling benefit' of sharing their data

The online survey of 1,000 American and 1,000 Canadian consumers found that only 52% said they somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement that companies use their personal data "so they can better serve me". Breaking down these responses, only 9% said they strongly agreed that companies use their information to serve them better.

At the same time, 54% said that they expect improved customer service in exchange for their personal data, and 55% said that they expect access to exclusive events and offers.

The company suggests that marketers need to solve an important perception problem about the benefits that consumers can expect in exchange for sometimes highly-personal information.

Underscoring this perception problem, there were several key areas in which fewer than half of the consumers surveyed acknowledged receiving basic benefits in return for their information, including:

• Tailored offers based on what I buy (49%);
• Advance information on new products and services (41%);
• Communications based on my preferences (41%);
• Easier buying process (39%);
• Preferential treatment (36%);
• Product range improvements based on what they know I buy (36%).

Interestingly, product discounts - a benefit not necessarily associated with the development of a long-term relationship between customer and company - actually scored highest (71%) as the offer that consumers expect to receive in exchange for their information.

"The message isn't getting across to the consumer that the primary reason marketers use customer behaviour data is to enhance the individual customer experience and build a deeper relationship," explained LoyaltyOne's president, Bryan Pearson. Pearson directs six global enterprises at LoyaltyOne, including Canada's Air Miles Reward Programme, and is the author of the forthcoming book, 'The Loyalty Leap: Turning Customer Information into Customer Intimacy' (Penguin Group, May 2012).

The study also found that consumers' actions sometimes speak louder than their words. For example, when asked, "What, if anything, have you done in the past 12 months to protect your personal information?" some 41% said they had used cash instead of a credit card to protect their personal information. Respondents who said they had been notified that their personal information had been compromised were more likely to take such actions to protect themselves and, not surprisingly, those who said they had actually been negatively affected by a compromise of their personal information were even more likely to take action.

Perhaps more worryingly, nearly one in four consumers (23%) said they had previously decided not to make a purchase from a company out of concern about the potential use or misuse of their personal information.

Consequently, Pearson offers five best practices for using customer data more responsibly to help create real value:

1. Be transparent
   Express in straightforward language what you are trying to do, what you're achieving, what's in it for the customer, what's not in it for the customer.
2. Give consumers a choice
   In the loyalty programme arena, to run a value exchange-based relationship with the consumer you need to gain trust. The best way to gain trust and commitment is by giving customers the opportunity to choose whether they share information. Permission-based or not, responsible marketers can add value for the consumer if data is respected. Problems arise when marketers cross the "reepy" barriers into the ultra-personal areas such as health, finance and sex, and marketing to children.
3. Safeguard consumer data
   The best precaution is to keep only the data necessary to serve the customer and take proper steps to protect it. Use data only as directed and always, repeat always, destroy data with care.
4. Monitor frequency of usage
   Don't wear out the consumer's trust. Make sure communications aren't too frequent and are relevant to the customer's needs.
5. Mutuality of value
   Create real value for the customer: a fair exchange of value. It's not about the product exchange, cash, points or coupons. It's about something bigger: personal relevance.

Further details of the survey have been published in a report entitled 'Challenges that Data-Use Marketers Face in a Privacy-Worried World', which has been made available free of charge from LoyaltyOne's web site - click here (free registration required).

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)