According to a recent Click Fox survey, most consumers are willing to trade personal information to companies in exchange for some sort of value. Their survey said 71% would share their location information for giveaways/discounts or improved service.
Also, 84% expect companies to know their purchase history.
The data fits our research showing that consumers are willing to trade personal data for something they perceive as having value, such as discounts or freebies.
But our research also shows most consumers are naive about the use of their private data. We've found when we ask consumers if they are willing to share their private data with companies the majority say yes. But if we then show these consumers how their data is currently being used and how it will likely be used in the future, most change their mind and say no.
The big issues are most consumers don't understand companies are accessing multiple databases to assemble consumer profiles. They are stunned when they find out how extensive the information companies have - and how they are using this data to target them.
In other words, as consumers become more educated on privacy and data issues they become less willing to share their data and more likely to consider the use of their data "creepy".
Our advice to small businesses is go ahead and trade for customer data, but be careful how you use and make sure you don't cross the creepy line.
Thanks for the article. It's always good to remember the customer in all this!
Posted by: Rich Norton | August 17, 2012 at 04:36 AM