Collecting data shared by your customers can provide a business of any size with the means to better serve the customers specific needs, speed up transactions at the check out counter or even notify customers with special offers you know they will like. But if those customers believe you are misusing customer data, like sending them irrelevant information, you can drive those customers away, according to a new study reported by MyCustomer.com.
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This research demonstrates clearly that taking care of a customer’s data and using it to better communicate and serve consumer needs both builds trust in a brand and makes it easier for the company to trust the customer…Failure to use data to more efficiently deal with customers not only fosters alienation and dissatisfaction, it actually opens the way to abuses by consumers who see organisations that are not tracking what is going on as careless and ineffective. As a result, they have few qualms about taking an opportunity to keep something they are not entitled to, thus generating hidden costs for the business…The survey also makes clear that using data to better tailor, time and target offers and create a more personalised customer experience helps brands to win trust and expand their relationships with consumers – paving the way for cross-selling and up-selling opportunities, as well as further sales. The findings also plainly show that firms that fail to make good use of personal data by sending out badly timed, inappropriate and poorly targeted messages and offers will suffer the consequences, as their customers turn to more efficient competitors.”
Read full story: Why misusing consumer data is bad for business (MyCustomer.com)
(Featured photo: ntenny via: Flickr.)