Trust tops consumer data concerns
Building trust with consumers is central to gaining permission to share data, but can also be won by promising not to do so, according to nearly 80 per cent of UK adults.
In the first findings from the newly launched DMA Data Tracking research, sponsored by Equifax and carried out by Fast.MAP, it is clear that trust is a fragile thing – half would lose confidence in a brand’s ability to handle data responsibly following just one bad experience. One-third would lose trust in a company if it got a bad press for a data breach or loss.
“Finding out the barriers to effective consumer marketing has to be a key priority for our industry. And, without doubt, the issues surrounding the use of personal information, are central to that,” says Graham Burdett, sales director, consumer marketing services, Equifax. “We are therefore delighted to be supporting the DMA’s first Data Tracking study on consumer attitudes to the security and uses of their personal information – and even more delighted that the study will be conducted every six months.”
Over 2,000 consumers responded to the first wave of research, revealing that prominently displaying the data protection policy on a web site would lead three-quarters to trust that company to handle their data responsibly. Consumers were also keen to find easy-to-use security features on sites.
“With consumers increasingly aware and concerned about security, it is ever more important to comply with data protection as a means of retaining the brand trust invested in a business. And it is equally crucial to give consumers choice over how their personal data is used through their relationships with an organisation,” says Burdett.
(Further findings from the DMA Data Tracking Study will appear exclusively in the July/August issue of Data Strategy.)
