Nine out of ten users don’t mind giving their email address for some kind of reward

Ninety percent of users wouldn’t mind giving their e-mail address for a small bonus, such as a discount or a free product sample. This is what the survey, which was conducted jointly by Google and the Boston Consulting Group, has revealed.

Collecting consumer data is becoming more difficult with each passing year because many people have begun to worry about how businesses are using information about them. And both marketing professionals and consumers are interested in the most relevant advertising possible.

The importance of relevance in advertising

The survey found that 65 percent of respondents have experienced the negative phenomenon of irrelevance in advertising. 74 per cent want to deal only with marketing communications that are relevant to them.

Business cannot ensure the relevance of advertising messages without gathering at least a minimum amount of information about the target audience to whom they will be shown. People are aware of this and express a willingness to provide information about themselves, of course, only that which will not harm them.

Research has shown that clients are generally willing to provide data that is not sensitive and identifiable. This includes age, gender, postal code, hobbies, and past purchases.

At the same time, people are concerned about how their data will be used. They are especially worried about the following things:

• What data is collected?
• How is it collected?
• What are they collected for?

Rewards increase users’ willingness to disclose their data

One in three consumers wouldn’t mind giving out their email even without some sort of reward. And if they are properly incentivised, such as a discount on the price or a free sample, 90 percent of those surveyed are willing to keep their “soap”.

In addition to some kind of incentive, companies need to inspire consumer confidence. If a person knows and trusts the brand, they are twice as likely to share their personal details.

All of this matters even more when attracting new consumers. After all, 29 per cent of people have a complete lack of trust in any brand in any sector regarding the sharing of personal information and whether the company will keep it confidential. Sixty-four percent of respondents have no trust in companies in at least one sector of the economy.

Reasons for low levels of trust

Six out of ten respondents think firms trade on their information. However, the results of a Google study show that a very small percentage of companies do so.

Most marketing professionals are aware of the value of customer data and their trust in the brand. They also realise that marketing efforts that focus on the consumer and manage information about the target audience are more effective in achieving commercial goals.

Tips from Google

To get people to agree to disclose information about themselves and for marketing professionals to be able to make advertising messages as relevant as possible, Google offers a number of tips:

1. You need to build trust through transparency. Make it as clear as possible to consumers how your firm will use the data it collects. Always tell them how the information will be handled.
2. Take care to create a first-class user experience by applying data that you collect, not outsourced. Collect this information by exchanging it for rewards that are of interest to customers.
3. Your firm should focus on the accumulation of consumer data, but respect their privacy. If you rethink your role in data protection, it will make your business successful for years to come.