Dive Brief:

• Accenture released its 13th annual Accenture Strategy Global Consumer Pulse Research report which found 41% of consumers switched companies last year over a lack of trust and poor personalization, costing businesses $756 billion per a MediaPost Communications report.
• Other findings from the report include 43% of U.S. consumers are more likely to make purchases with companies that personalize experiences, 31% report finding great value in services that automatically learn about their needs to personalize recommendations, 48% said they would use smart re-ordering services via in-home sensors and 92% state that privacy about personal information is important while 79% are frustrated that some companies can’t be trusted with personal information. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they use digital assistants and 89% of that group are satisfied with the experience although 40% report it can feel creepy when the tech correctly interprets and anticipates their needs.
• The study is based on a survey of more than 25,000 consumers globally and 2,000 in the U.S. on their acceptance of more intuitive, tech-driven brand experiences.

Dive Insight:

For marketers, the key takeaway from the report is that people want and expect a personalized brand experience, but at the same time there is a fine line between being responsive to consumer needs and being creepy. As technology evolves to make personalization easier to accomplish, marketers must pay close attention to the user experience or else risk losing customers because they don't have confidence their privacy is being protected. Businesses should also pay close attention to who they partner with for digital marketing, as some platforms are more trusted by consumers than others. 

One example of how personalization can be a problem for consumers might be re-targeting advertising. Some e-commerce businesses run re-targeting ads on products that people might have already purchased simply because those products were researched at some point and then ads follow those people around the internet. The disconnect between the customer experience and ad campaign can be disquieting for many people.

With consumer privacy, companies should be upfront about what data is collected, how it is used, how it is shared (or not shared) and how long it is kept. For legal purposes a lengthy carefully worded privacy policy is necessary, but there should also be a simple, bullet-point breakdown of the key policy elements provided to consumers upfront. Taking a step as simple as providing a clearly stated privacy policy can go a long way in bolstering consumer trust and understanding the underlying reasons for personalization.