Member News: TRANSPARENCY IN HARNESSING YOUR PROSUMERS by Kathy Heslop, Director of Communications at Ve Interactive Ltd
Article Date: 25th Mar 2010
“If you’re going to be naked you’d better be buff” – Wikinomics
Our digital identity, reputation and footprint are valuable, data that is already a mainstream business model for many companies. As mashup* explains:
“The data you give up includes: the search term you type into Google, which link you click on, irrespective of device or connection, PC, mobile or TV; your photos, videos and tags entered on YouTube and Flickr; IM messages on Skype; the comments and interactions on Facebook; content you create and content you consume; what TV channels you watch; which advert you follow; your purchase history; how you react to referrals and recommendations; your comments on Amazon; your attention; your calendar, your email; your rating on EBay and every other digital interaction.”
Nervous? Many online companies are more constrained by fear and legalistic nerves, (both technical and social) than in looking for ways to seize eBusiness opportunities, especially when passive data (ie. the data that you do not actively give up) is becoming more prevalent, as mobile and wireless devices become sensors. However behavioural and technological changes are affecting the marketing and privacy industries in many positive ways. The Cluetrain Manifesto even back in 2000 explained that; “markets are conversations.” Consumers have evolved into proactive participants; communicating with you, getting smarter, more informed and more organised, keen to be informed and listened to, (though at the same time they are not prepared to wait around for answers!) We are prosumers.
In this online environment of consumer self-service, there is now an automatic expectancy of a two–way experience and audience. This is in sharp contrast to the bricks and mortar world of homogenised mass-marketed retail, whose indirect approach alienates its customer base, by force- feeding unsolicited and irrelevant advertising to what is technically a bulk of undifferentiated consumers, (who may not be interested in the first place!) The Internet has reversed this, empowering consumers to search and find, and giving them a platform to compare, evaluate and converse. Likewise e-retailers have developed behavioural merchandising strategies based on their customer and user- journey data, harvested from online analytics tools.
Naturally, digital security is critical. No one wants to be the victim of snooping, identity fraud, lost data, or suffer the subsequent abuse of data. So if you are an ecommerce merchant and do collect data, be transparent and make sure that you comply with the regulations of the Data Protection Act of 1998. By doing this up front and stating clearly your collection and intended use of customer information, you are identifying yourself, and are sending a signal that your business is trustworthy and respectful. It also implies that you also do not operate in an online ivory tower, but instead that you wish to participate in the straight-talking dialogue of today’s net-worked market. After all, the acumen you gain from customer data can go on to vastly improve your services and therefore your customers’ online brand experience. This will then help you to build sustainable relationships going forward.
Post to your social networking site:
