Consumers are willing to share data with brands if they feel that the outcome will be a better product or experience. What’s most important is that brands first understand precisely what kind of information they need to deliver these consumer expectations and then be sure to let the community know that their feedback is furthering the evolution of the brand.
Consumers don’t forgive and forget
While the consumers we surveyed are more willing to share data if they see some benefits, they won’t hesitate to act against companies involved in a data breach, whether they’ve personally experienced a breach or detected about it in the media. On average, one in four consumers will take cautionary actions after hearing of a breach to digitally protect themselves and avoid future data breaches. While business observers have long suspected as much, this survey is the first time we have heard this directly from consumers.
Enforce privacy measures to stop breaches in the 1st place:
- Encrypt data at rest
- Destroy consumer data when not needed
Systematically control the damage after a breach has occurred by identifying causes and implementing remedies that hasten recovery;
- Identify affected systems and isolate them
- Gather all available proof, and analyze it to determine cause, severity, and impact
- Document how the incident came to light—who reported it and how he or she discovered the problem—and report findings to relevant stakeholders
- Assess the possibility of insider involvement
- Strengthen network security and improve protocols
- Enhance monitoring to mitigate the risk of future breaches
What can companies do to encourage consumers to take surveys?
Improve survey design:
- Limit the number of surveys you ask your consumers to take
- Limit the number of questions to 20 or fewer
- Keep questions easy to understand and quick to answer
- Ensure that the survey can run on any device
Modify survey content:
- Focus questions more on the transaction rather than the consumer’s personal details
- Request feedback on how to improve data privacy
Offer survey incentives:
- Give a token award to consumers WHO complete the survey
- Communicate potential outcomes—such as ways the survey data are used to improve offerings—to consumers
