Finding the Win-Win with Customer Data 

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Merkle released its Q1 2022 Customer Engagement Report and it reflects the current mindset of consumers about data collection and privacy.

Do they know that we know they know? While it reminds us of the popular 90’s sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S, it also mirrors the consumer sentiment about privacy and data collection. Turns out, consumers, 86 per cent to be exact, are increasingly aware of the data they share with the brands, and are ready to take it up a notch for value exchange.

The market today is rife with headlines about the regulation, collection, and usage of consumer data.

For brands, the accumulation of consumer data empowers them to better personalise the content, creativity, offers, and orchestration of the myriad experiences they deliver to their customers and prospects. For consumers, this personalisation drives their satisfaction and engagement with those experiences

Merkle, Dentsu’s technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management company, has released its Q1 2022 Customer Engagement Report (CER).

The report, which has historically reported on the marketing leader’s point of view, this time turns its focus to consumers, revealing their sentiments around online privacy and data collection and exploring their attitudes about regulations and updates from the big tech platforms.

In this issue of the CER, Merkle surveyed 2,000 consumers to study the amount and extent of data consumers are willing to share, how they feel about emerging data privacy policies, and how well their attitudes align with their own expectations for more connected and contextual experiences.

“Our study shows that consumers are increasingly aware of what personal data they are sharing with brands and have a heightened sense of the value exchange that they receive,” said Michael Komasinski, global CEO at Merkle.

“Brands need to continue to up their game on the customer experiences that they create and be strategic with how data drives value for consumers in both to known and unknown interactions along a customer journey.”

Exploring what consumers really think about data and privacy

The CER indicates that consumers have a sophisticated understanding of data privacy and collection. And, despite negative media perceptions around both, they are open to establishing value exchanges that grant brands access to the data necessary to deliver the tailored customer experiences expected today.

Eighty-six per cent of respondents indicate they are likely to trade their data in order to enjoy personalised offers based on their interests and browsing or purchase history.

The key to unlocking personalisation at scale

With only slightly more than half of consumers willing to simply accept cookies as a matter of course, brands looking to the future must prioritise the development of strategies, practices, and technologies that enable them to establish an opted-in relationship with each customer. When done correctly, with the value exchange clearly articulated to consumers, brands can engage in a mutually beneficial data exchange.

• 90 per cent of consumers surveyed express a willingness to share more data about themselves if they have a positive experience with a brand.
• 70 per cent of respondents reported they expect to receive something for their data.

Once brands establish a value exchange with consumers, they can begin to build and enrich the robust infrastructure of profile data necessary to deliver – in a compliant, privacy-safe manner – experiences personalised to the unique context and preferences of the customer.

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