Intelligent technologies and services designed to anticipate consumer needs are driving growth in a new era of ‘hyper-relevance’, a report by Accenture has found.
But companies will be unable to deliver the personalised experiences they crave without deeper customer insight which can only come through the consented sharing of personal data.
The thirteenth annual Accenture Strategy Global Consumer Pulse Research gauged the attitudes and expectations of more than 25,000 consumers around the world about their appetite for more intuitive, technology-driven brand experiences.
The key finding, at least for us, was that 58 per cent of consumers would switch half or more of their spending to a provider that excels at personalising experiences without compromising trust.
Forty-three per cent are more likely to shop with companies that always personalise experiences, as long as their trust isn’t compromised, while nearly a third (31 per cent) said they would find great value in services that learn about their needs over time to customise product, service or content recommendations.
The report also found that those that succeed in personalising products or services will hit a ‘sweet spot’ where customers will be willing to share more personal insights into their world, in return for greater value plus confidence that their data is secure.
Building digital trust, as we would expect, is key to opening the gates to this brave new world. Accenture found that virtually all those surveyed (92 per cent) said that it is extremely important that companies protect the privacy of their personal information. Overall, 66 per cent want companies to earn their trust by being more open and transparent with how their information is being used.
Kevin Quiring, managing director, Advanced Customer Strategy North America lead, Accenture Strategy, said: “Customer concerns will inevitably rise, so it’s critical that companies have strong data security and privacy measures in place, they give customers full control over their data, and are transparent with how they use it.”
Two of the report’s conclusions are particularly apt for digi.me, and our mission to return data to individuals for them to own, control and share on their own terms:
- Giving customers full control over their data – As consumers demand greater control over how companies use their personal information, organisations must become more transparent. Customers must be given full access to, and control over, their data which will demonstrate responsible stewardship and ethics. Furthermore, they must ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it.
- Creating new customer value – Companies that distinguish themselves with hyper-relevant experiences look beyond the traditional customer journey. They prioritise areas where they can dynamically deliver something that customers value, at the right moment every time.
We couldn’t agree more that the ability to deliver exactly what individuals want, exactly when they want it, in every area of their lives, is going to become a key competitive differentiator – and we are already developing apps on our platform that will do just that.
Personal data is both the fuel and key to this. Giving individuals back control of their personal data means they can share it, on their terms, when they are offered something of value in return. Businesses, meanwhile, get the fully consented, deep and 100 per cent accurate data that is crucial to innovation and delivering personalisation successfully.
Call it hyper-relevance, call it the future, call it common sense. The key thing is that the ability – and need – to use data in new ways is coming and digi.me will be at the forefront of innovation in this area.