Customers want personalised services tailored to their individual needs and expectations. However, according to research from Twilio, consumers don’t trust brands to keep their personal data secure and to use it responsibly.
To provide highly personalised service, brands must have a greater understanding of their customers’ needs, purchasing histories and preferences. In other words, they need to store and mine vast amounts of customer data. They need to analyse and act on that data so they can tailor the content and experiences they serve up to their customers.
Twilio’s State of Personalisation Report 2022 found that 62% of consumers expect personalisation, saying that a brand will lose their loyalty if their experience is not personalised — meanwhile, 49% will become repeat buyers if personalisation is offered. Yet only 40% of consumers say they trust brands to use their data responsibly and keep it safe.
First-party data, or data collected directly from customers with their consent, is optimal for privacy. According to the Twilio report, 63% of consumers say they are fine with personalisation, as long as brands are using their own data and not data purchased or rented from third parties.
Companies have long “rented” customer relationships from advertisers and social networks. These companies collect behaviour and demographic data and then resell it as targetable audiences. But sweeping privacy regulations — at both the government and corporate levels — are forcing companies to shift from renting to owning their customer relationships.
This pivot is not a simple one. Half of the companies Twilio surveyed said recent changes to data privacy regulations have made personalisation more difficult. But with Google set to join Firefox and Safari in banning third-party cookies by the end of 2023, the shift to first-party data is no longer optional.
Many companies are already responding to these changes in consumer preferences, regulations, and technology, with 43% of business leaders embracing first-party data because it provides better privacy for customers.
The report surveyed 3,450 respondents from Australia, Singapore and Japan, as well as other global markets. Other findings include:
- 62% of consumers expect personalisation, saying that a brand will lose their loyalty if their experience is not personalised, but only 40% say they trust brands to use their data responsibly and keep it safe.
- 63% of consumers say they are fine with personalisation, as long as brands are using their own data and not data purchased or rented from third parties.
- Many companies are already responding to these changes in consumer preferences, regulations, and technology, with 43% of business leaders embracing first-party data because it provides better privacy for customers.
- The majority of businesses are still struggling to achieve omnichannel personalisation, despite 6 out of 10 respondents reporting increased investment in personalisation in 2022.
- 53% of business leaders are investing in better technology to manage customer data.
