Twilio report finds companies are struggling to meet consumer and regulatory demands for privacy.
Customers expect personalisation during every brand interaction — but they don’t trust brands to keep their personal data secure and to use it responsibly. That’s the dilemma companies everywhere are currently facing, according to new data from Twilio, the leading customer engagement platform.
The company’s third annual State of Personalization Report 2022 found that 62% of consumers expect personalisation, saying that a brand will lose their loyalty if their experience is not personalised — meanwhile, 49% will become repeat buyers if personalisation is offered. Yet only 40% of consumers say they trust brands to use their data responsibly and keep it safe.
Twilio’s report shows lack of trust is increasingly affecting consumer buying decisions: 60% of consumers say trustworthiness and transparency are the most important traits of a brand, up from 55% in 2021.
According to the Twilio report, 63% of consumers say they are fine with personalization, as long as brands are using their own data and not data purchased or rented from third parties.
Consumer privacy is a generational challenge — and an opportunity
Twilio said in a press statement that companies have long “rented” customer relationships from advertisers and social networks. These companies collect behaviour and demographic data and then resell it as targetable audiences. But sweeping privacy regulations — at both the government and corporate levels — are forcing companies to shift from renting to owning their customer relationships.
This pivot is not a simple one. Half of the companies Twilio surveyed said recent changes to data privacy regulations have made personalization more difficult. But with Google set to join Firefox and Safari in banning third-party cookies by the end of 2023, the shift to first-party data is no longer optional.
Many companies are already responding to these changes in consumer preferences, regulations, and technology, with 43% of business leaders embracing first-party data because it provides better privacy for customers.
Twilio’s State of Personalization Report is based on two surveys conducted by Method Communications between April and May 2022. There were a total of 3,450 respondents from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom and United States, with a minimum of 250 respondents from each country.
