Whether it’s shopping, banking or streaming videos, today’s consumers are trained to expect easy, convenient and seamless experience from websites and mobile apps to in-person interactions. This, in turn, requires brands to connect the dots across all points—or channels—of customer interactions, and the cornerstone of a personalized, omnichannel customer experience that delights starts with data.
But, when it comes to data, more isn’t always better.
Besides the challenge of sorting, storing and gleaning useful insights from data—which is admittedly a huge topic for another conversation—collecting customer information that you’re not going to use can be a liability in the regulatory environment highlighted by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act with potential for substantial fines and damage to reputation.
It’s also a balancing act; customers expect brands to know them well enough to have a positive experience but not too much that it gets creepy. A majority of consumers (69%) would not do business with a brand or reconsider their relationship with a brand if their data usage was considered invasive, per an Accenture survey of 8,000 global consumers.
So, what does good data hygiene look like? The digital era makes it all the more important that companies take a human and humane approach to gathering data and use it to create a better experience for customers.
Collect data with purpose
According to Accenture Interactive’s latest research, See People, Not Patterns, the united attitude of consumers towards sharing personal data, regardless of their demographic factors, is that they don’t want brands to go too far and violate their privacy when delivering a custom-tailored experience. For instance, most people aren’t comfortable with their data being collected via a microphone on a voice assistant. The simple and sound approach is to only collect data that will be put to good use. Companies may wish they could stitch together every available data source, but they should resist the urge if it doesn’t add clear value to the customer experience.
Be transparent about the what and the why
An effective route to creating a great customer experience is to use your human senses—respect and empathy—and to use the best combination of rightfully, transparently available information. Brands should be upfront from the start about what data they have collected, how they are protecting it, and how they intend to use it. In fact, the research found that many consumers (73%) are willing to share data if companies are transparent about how it is being used.
Give customers control over their data
People have preferences for how they want brands to interact with them, but one consistent finding is that they want control over their data and have more favorable views of companies that give them that control. Consumers should not be expected to have to opt out of collecting or licensing data. Instead, companies can use fresh opt-in alternatives to track people, such as encouraging consumers to authenticate on websites and mobile applications. Brands must also make it clear how and when consumers can opt out.
“Marie-Kondo” the data that’s no longer needed
Can the data be used to spark joy in customers? If not, toss it. (In case you’re lost, I’m referring to the guru of tidying up.) Destroy data that’s no longer needed as quickly as possible to reduce risks of data breaches which are a sure way to erode trust in brands. Being meticulous about protecting customer data will allow brands to continue to build the trust of the consumers they serve, one interaction at a time.
The holy grail of a great data strategy is to help brands interact with customers the way a familiar salesperson at their favorite stores would—to add value, solve problems, and ultimately make their lives better. In the end, this all comes down to being human and sensitive to the real people they’re dealing with. The more brands use human intelligence and judgement to inform the strategy of their interactions with customers at each touchpoint and technology to enable it, the more successful they’ll be at building brand-loyalists who will keep coming back for more.
Heather Hildebrand is a managing director and digital strategist at Accenture Interactive. She works with brands across various industries, including retail, consumer packaged goods, travel and automotive. Contact Heather at heather.hildebrand@accenture.com and connect with her on LinkedIn.
