Why data quality depends on user consent
Deliverability Week continues, and it’s my turn to make a substantive contribution today. So, I’m pulling together some of my favorite topics: deliverability, privacy, and consent. Enjoy!
Data is the lifeblood of a marketer’s world, but its true power lies in its quality. Imagine making important decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete information – that’s the risk of poor data quality. However, high-quality data alone isn’t enough. For businesses to thrive in today’s environment, user trust is paramount. That requires transparent data practices with informed user consent.
Why Data Quality Matters
What would you advise a company considering an email marketing campaign that offered an age-appropriate birthday discount on a set list of games that went out to a dataset where unknown birthdates were all input to be “Jan. 1, 1970.” What advice would you have if they were going to send product recommendation campaigns based only on purchase data between five and seven years old? These scenarios highlight the importance of clean, current, accurate data. High-quality data leads to:
- Better Decision-Making: Accurate data fuels reliable insights, empowering businesses to make informed choices. Marketers can predict trends, optimize operations, and innovate with accurate and up-to-date data.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: Clean data ensures smooth interactions and personalized user experiences. High-quality data enables personalized marketing, timely customer support, and relevant product recommendations.
- Reduced Costs: Dirty data can lead to wasted resources and rework. Investing in data quality saves money by minimizing errors and inefficiencies. For instance, incorrect data can result in costly marketing campaigns aimed at the wrong audience or product recalls due to incorrect inventory data.
The Role of User Consent
Data quality goes hand in hand with user consent. Users who understand what data is being requested, why it is being requested, and what will be done with it are more likely to give accurate information.
This is huge when 60% of consumers intentionally gave false information — primarily to protect their privacy — as far back as 9 years ago. Mindi Chihal, Consumers Are ‘Dirtying’ Databases with False Details, MarketingWeek (2015), https://www.marketingweek.com/consumers-are-dirtying-databases-with-false-details/ (last visited Jun 18, 2024). If consumers are intentionally “dirtying” databases to protect their privacy, it is incumbent on marketers to respect those feelings and adjust their tactics to compensate.
This means practicing data minimization. Collect what you need and no more. Don’t collect extra information “just in case we need it one day.” (Side note: some laws, like PIPEDA in Canada, require data minimization. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, PIPEDA Fair Information Principle 4 – Limiting Collection, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (2020), https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/p_principle/principles/p_collection/ (last visited Jun 18, 2024).) Consumers who are told, “this is what we need, and this is why we need it,” are more likely to tell you what you want to know, and the practice also keeps the regulators happy.
Consent and Data Quality Work Together
Data quality and user consent are not opposing forces; they work together. By prioritizing both, businesses can:
- Build Trust and Loyalty: Smart marketers can build trust by respecting user privacy choices and empowering them with control over their data. Trust is a valuable currency in the digital age, and respecting user consent is a cornerstone of building lasting relationships.
- Collect More Valuable Data: Users are more likely to share accurate information when they trust how it’s handled. When users feel confident that their data is used responsibly, they are more inclined to provide complete and accurate information.
- Unlock the True Potential of Data: High-quality data, gathered with consent, fuels powerful insights and drives positive business outcomes. Ethical data practices enhance decision-making and contribute to a positive brand image and competitive advantage.
Conclusion
In the data age, user consent must be the cornerstone of success. By prioritizing both, businesses can build trust, make informed decisions, and unlock the true potential of high-quality consumer data needed to succeed.
For Further Reading
The “January 1, 1970” reference comes from the concept of the “UNIX epoch,” a time marker commonly used in computing generally and programming specifically. Wikipedia contributors, Unix Time, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2024), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unix_time&oldid=1229692058 (last visited Jun 18, 2024).
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