Know Your Customer Without Being Creepy

We’ve all experienced it. You go to a website or look at an ad, and the next time you are on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc., you seem to be “blasted” with ads, even if all you did was look at a product on a website for five seconds. That may not be creepy, but it’s annoying.

But what is creepy is having a conversation with someone about purchasing something or planning a trip, never even visiting a company’s website, but the next thing you know, you start receiving ads related to that conversation. How is that possible? (The answer is in this article!)

Whether or not your phone or smart device is listening isn’t the real issue. What matters is that customers feel as if they are being listened to and watched, and that feeling can destroy trust faster than any bad service experience.

What Defines Creepy

It’s really simple. When the customer doesn’t understand how a company “knows” or how it got the information, it can be perceived as creepy, if not downright intrusive. If you read the “fine print” in the terms and conditions on Facebook, Google and many other websites, you’ll learn that they use your behavior to decide what information to feed you.

When you tune into Netflix, and there are recommendations, and yet you don’t think it’s creepy. Up front, they explain how they came up with the recommendations. They do not say, “Because you searched for” or “Based on your recent activity. …” Instead, they are specific and say, “Because you watched Stranger Things. …” Netflix customers don’t mind the recommendations and personalization strategy because it makes them feel like Netflix knows them, versus how much they know about them. That subtle difference helps customers feel recognized, not monitored (or creepy).

Nobody (Your Smart Phone, Alexa, etc.) Is Listening

To date, no one has proven that the microphone on your phone or other smart device is listening and transmitting information to companies to target you with advertising. To get the microphone to work, there is a word or phrase, known as “wake words,” that activates it, such as “Alexa,” “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google.”

However, there are ways for companies to gather data based on your location, Wi-Fi networks you are on, a combination of searches you’ve made, social media posts and more. For example, you may look at an ad for hiking boots. Then you go to YouTube and watch a video about hiking in parks, and then you Google questions about camping. The system can predict interests, not because it heard you talking to someone about taking a trip, but because it tracked your social behavior and was able to predict, with uncanny accuracy, what you’re interested in. And that can come off as creepy.

How You Get Customer Information Is the Key

Phyllis Fang, head of marketing at Transcend, shared her perspective on ethical data collection on an episode of Amazing Business Radio. She defined the difference between zero-party data and first-party data. Zero-party data is information customers intentionally and willingly share, such as their preferences, intentions or feedback. First-party data is collected through customer interactions and browsing behavior on a website. While both are valuable for creating a customer profile of interests and preferences, the way the data is captured is key to avoiding the creepy factor.

What to Do (and What Not to Do)

The biggest mistake brands make is collecting too much data too soon. Requiring too much unnecessary information in the checkout process, asking too many preference questions and aggressively tracking customers at the start of a relationship can quickly turn them off before it has a chance to form.

The smarter approach is to learn about the customer over time. Don’t ask too many questions up front. Learn what you need as you need it. Each interaction you have with the customer earns you the right to ask the next question or add to their profile. When collecting information seems like a natural part of serving the customer (rather than aggressively extracting it), the creepy factor disappears.

Final Words

Just because you can personalize or tailor your offerings for customers doesn’t mean you should. When customers feel watched, even if they aren’t, they will quickly lose trust and confidence in the brand. The answer to eliminating the customer’s concern is the concept of “less is more.” Don’t stop using data, but use less of it with more intention. Be transparent about what you collect, why you collect it and how it benefits your customer. Ask permission, and honor those preferences. Over time, the relationship with your customer will grow and earn you the right to deeper personalization. This is how to turn your customer’s information into a relationship builder without crossing the line into being creepy.