(Google’s Nest thermostat, for example, autonomously adjusts heating and cooling as it learns home owners’ habits.) The personalization this data allows, such as constant adaptation to users’ preferences, has become central to the product experience. More recently, intelligent technology in physical products has allowed companies in many industries to collect new types of information, including users’ locations and behavior. By tracking users’ activities online, marketers could deliver targeted advertising and content. The internet’s first personal data collectors were websites and applications. Those that conceal how they use personal data and fail to provide value for it stand to lose customers’ goodwill-and their business. Companies that are transparent about the information they gather, give customers control of their personal data, and offer fair value in return for it will be trusted and will earn ongoing and even expanded access. In a future in which customer data will be a growing source of competitive advantage, gaining consumers’ confidence will be key. But our research shows that consumers are aware that they’re under surveillance-even though they may be poorly informed about the specific types of data collected about them-and are deeply anxious about how their personal information may be used.
Disney merchandise shift exchange facebook free#
Having free use of customer data may confer near-term advantages. It’s also not unusual for companies to quietly collect personal data they have no immediate use for, reasoning that it might be valuable someday.Īs current and former executives at frog, a firm that helps clients create products and services that leverage users’ personal data, we believe this shrouded approach to data gathering is shortsighted. Though some companies are open about their data practices, most prefer to keep consumers in the dark, choose control over sharing, and ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Feeding this trend are new smart, connected products-from fitness trackers to home systems-that gather and transmit detailed information. With the explosion of digital technologies, companies are sweeping up vast quantities of data about consumers’ activities, both online and off. Companies that don’t will find themselves at a serious disadvantage, and maybe even shut out. Companies that get this will win consumers’ goodwill and business and continued access to their data. Simple legal disclosures aren’t enough, however companies must actively educate their customers and incorporate fairness into their products and models from the start. To build trust, companies must be transparent about the data they gather and offer consumers appropriate value in exchange for it. If data is used to improve a product, consumers generally feel the enhancement itself is a fair trade, but they expect more in return for data used to target marketing, and the most in return for data sold to third parties. In general, the perceived value rises as the data’s breadth and sensitivity increases from basic, voluntarily shared information to detailed, predictive profiles that firms create through analytics, and as its uses shift from benefiting the consumer to benefiting the company. The results show that the value consumers place on different data depends a lot on what it is and how it is used. It examined what people knew about the information trails they leave online, which organizations they did-and did not-trust with their data, and which data they valued the most. In this article, the three share the results of a survey of 900 people across five countries, which looked at attitudes about data privacy and security. Though that practice may give firms an edge in the short term, in the long run it undermines consumers’ trust, which in turn hurts competitiveness, say authors Morey, Forbath, and Schoop. But they tend to be opaque about the information they collect and often resell, which leaves their customers feeling uneasy. With the help of technology, companies today sweep up huge amounts of customer data.
0 kommentar(er)
