Today, we’re awash in data. In many ways, the staggering growth in the amount of data created, captured, and consumed globally—which will reach an estimated 181 trillion gigabytes by 2025—has transformed our lives for the better. How we receive medical care, travel, shop, make decisions, consume information, and tackle big policy questions are just a few examples. These are massive impacts, but they’re not without negative consequences, too.
More data isn’t always a good thing. Issues of excessive collection, storage, and use have shone a bright light on privacy concerns. At the same time, valuable personal information has become a top target for cyber theft and attack. Renowned security technologist Bruce Schneier once referred to data as the “pollution problem of the Information Age” and privacy protection as its “environmental challenge.”
For customer-facing organizations, this means walking a fine line between delivering great personalization and respecting privacy. Customers want personalization—and more of it. But as they become aware of the value of their personal data, they also expect privacy and protection. Here exists a natural tension and one that companies must navigate to attract business while also maintaining customer trust.
62% of consumers want more personalized experiences, but only 21% strongly agree that businesses are doing enough to protect their data, according to our CX Trends report.
Finding the right balance
It’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle. Expectations around personalization evolved without any strict limitations in place. And the scale and availability of data is directly responsible for critical innovations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and healthcare analysis. Even having Netflix know exactly what you should watch next would not be possible without data on what you watched previously.
Now, amid increased government regulations and consumer backlash, businesses must re-evaluate their approach. Personalization isn’t possible without data, but the onus is on companies to ensure it’s handled properly and used only in ways that customers approve. This will become even more critical with the increased adoption of data-driven technologies like AI.
It is possible to thread that needle. In the past, we thought that demographic data was essential to collect—that we needed to know exactly who a person was to create a personalized experience for them. Now, we’ve come to understand that data around intent and history, even if it’s anonymous, is all that’s really needed. The result is a better experience that sidesteps the need to worry about privacy concerns.
Embracing change: 4 tips for CX leaders
Safeguarding customer information has never been more critical. Here are four ways to ensure that you’re meeting the mark.
1. Comply with regulations or lose customers and get fined
Increased regulations will force businesses and CX leaders to truly embrace and implement privacy measures or risk their customer base. Good privacy measures are fast becoming table stakes (and a competitive advantage). According to Gartner, 84 percent of businesses say that data privacy is the most important factor when buying software. Without it, they’re likely to fall behind their peers—perhaps for good.
2. Give consumers and businesses the right to control their own data
As we prioritize privacy further, data should become more and more ephemeral. Rather than data being something you collect and store for later use, companies will need to think about data as something they can access only after they’ve been given permission to do so.
3. Instead of collecting all the data, focus on collecting the right data
For years the priority has been to collect any data you can—even if you have no immediate use for it. This will no longer be an option. Instead, CX leaders must figure out what data they actually need and communicate clearly about why they’re collecting it.
4. Implement privacy by design
Looking ahead, CX leaders will need to seamlessly integrate privacy-enhancing measures into all aspects of their customer journey. Features such as masking, redaction, minimization, anonymization, visibility, and field-based permissions will be critical. This will get easier as better technologies become available, like we’re investing in at Zendesk.
A more proactive approach
Data privacy and security can no longer be an afterthought. Change is coming, whether you’re ready for it or not. Instead of falling behind, companies should strive to make privacy by design a cornerstone of their customer experience and a true competitive advantage.
To do so, it’s key that leadership promotes a culture of privacy and transparency across the entire company and CX organization. No longer just something that the security team tackles and worries about, good privacy measures must be upheld by every member of your team. Your business depends on it.
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