It’s easy to assume there’s an inherent conflict between privacy and performance; between customers’ preferences and advertisers’ desire for clicks. But when Google commissioned Ipsos to interview 7,200 people across Europe about their data concerns, that’s not what we found.
Our research revealed that, when done in the right way, digital marketing can respect people’s data choices while delivering value to brands and customers. We found that people are happy to provide personal information to companies they trust, as long as they know how it will be used and what they’ll get in return.
Unfortunately, many companies fail to meet people’s basic expectations. This has led individuals to become increasingly sceptical about giving brands their data. To build customer confidence, brands should be focused on exceeding expectations rather than just meeting legal requirements for data handling. Brands that surpass expectations will likely gain a competitive advantage over those that consider privacy an afterthought. Brands that don’t give privacy the attention it deserves risk losing the trust and respect of their customers.