The majority (57 per cent) of consumers are happy to share specific information such as personal preferences, dress size or even favourite holiday location, with the brands they trust, suggested Teradata Corp and Celebrus Technologies research. But they won’t give up those details for free.

The research also highlighted some differences in opinion between the UK and Germany.

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It was found that consumers are more willing to share information if it will improve the quality of experience. Some 44 per cent of UK consumers, and 50 per cent of 18-24 year olds across both the UK and Germany, indicated they would purchase from a brand again if companies focused on creating a positive experience.

This included individual, personalised offers. Over 36 per cent of consumers would make a repeat purchase from a brand employing such tactics. A total of 27 per cent would even go on to recommend the brand to family and friends.

Furthermore, 32 per cent of consumers agreed that they would trust the retail banking sector with their data, with telco companies in second place at 25 per cent, if they interacted more with customers.

While German consumers may be reticent to react to positive experiences, they also tend to be more forgiving of mistakes, with only 17 per cent saying they would not purchase from that brand again – compared to 36 per cent of UK consumers.

Ruth Gordon, director of digital marketing of Teradata International, said: “It is clear from the research that consumers are more likely to interact with those brands who treat customers as individuals and get it right. It is also clear that when done badly, consumers would move to a competitor or share their poor experience, negatively impacting sales and brand reputation. 

“In addition, consumers need to feel in control and brands must ensure that personalised experiences comply with customer preferences.”

This is evident by the attitudes of UK and German consumers being closer when it comes to unsubscribing from a brand’s communications following a poor experience, with 32 per cent of German consumers saying they would take this action compared to 35 per cent of UK consumers.

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But the research revealed mixed messages from an increasingly brand-aware consumer base. While they recognise the demands from brands for information and the reasons for wanting that data to improve the customer experience, they have valid concerns regarding data privacy. 

Privacy is a particularly key concern for Germans, with 29 per cent saying that they clear cookies daily and the majority being unhappy with data being shared with third parties. However, with 36 per cent of respondents wanting a brand to know their contact details without having to re-enter them, the research revealed that customer expectations are contradictory.

Katharine Hulls, VP of marketing for Celebrus Technologies, concluded: “In order to enable brands to deliver the quality of experience expected by the customer, brands must combine detailed customer behaviour across all touch-points with customer preferences, and using insight and analytics to make every communication and interaction relevant to the consumer. Those that get it right will reap considerable rewards.”

By Shané Schutte

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