.png)
Do you like cookies? Well, of course, everyone does. Now imagine that you’ve got bitten by the “Cookie Monster” and get the Cookie Curse. The only way to go on with your life, work, and productivity is by continuously eating cookies. You can’t get enough of them, and now you need to store plenty of them.
To store your cookies, you partner up with a cookie bank (because its service is free of charge). But the catch is you don’t get to own the cookies. The rules are simple: you can eat them whenever you want, but you can’t take them with you. You can’t even change your cookie bank without losing them, and you’re left in the dark about what the actual bank does with them. Will they resell it? Or worse, what if they start eating your cookies to try to perform as well as you?
Ok, let’s stop here, because of course, when we say “cookie” we mean your customer data. In this blog, we’ll show you some risks of not owning such data and how to prevent falling into those pitfalls.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The price of your data 3 risks of giving away the ownership of your customer data Here’s why it’s worth owning your customer data eGuide: How to Optimize Your Marketing Technology Stack
THE PRICE OF YOUR DATA
Have you ever given away your personal data for a discount?
Like the time you went to a fashion store to buy some new clothes at a reasonable price. When you reached the register, the cashier offered 10% off in exchange for your , date of birth, and some additional data. Sweet! But what’s the price of that data exchange? How is your data going to be used?
Not so long ago, data was perceived as something so abstract that consumers would just give it away without care – and so did many companies. Fast-forward to now, businesses understand that data is their gold mine. It’s become so valuable that companies started to buy more of it and leveraging it in their marketing.
While not being as tangible as money, many companies are tolerable with having a third-party data service or analytics provider owning the data they collect. They probably would not behave the same with their own money. But since the correlation between data and profit is getting stronger, many businesses now treat their customer data as their precious capital and their new motto is: “take your hands off my cookies!”
So why are these businesses trying to take ownership of their data back?
As you continue your read, you’ll see that there are three main reasons why businesses want their data back:
Have the option to export and transfer data
Control, safety, and flexibility on how the data is going to be used
Consumers are simply becoming more concerned about their personal data
3 RISKS OF GIVING AWAY THE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR CUSTOMER DATA
1. YOU CANNOT TAKE YOUR DATA WITH YOU
Just like any MarTech solution, when you sign with a new analytics provider, you don’t usually think about the possibility of moving away. It’s almost like talking about divorce when you’re getting married – no one wants to think about that!
Yet, further down the line there may be a few reasons why you may want to switch to another analytics provider. Some common reasons could be:
You’re not satisfied with the solution
A better service comes up
The technology is not innovative enough to keep up with your needs
Changes in regulations and GDPR
Changes in your industry or business model
Internal restructurings, such as new leaders or strategy
It becomes almost likely that you’ll at least consider changing your data analytics provider. Before buying any solution, it’s only natural if you ask yourself the following questions.
What about all the time, money, and other resources you spent acquiring that data?
What about the downtime you’re going to encounter while rebuilding your database? How much will it cost you in lost sales and customers?
What about the time and money you’ll have to invest in the adaptation of new data structures and formats?
Before committing to a contract, you should always be questioning every potential scenario possible. This point alone tells you that you need to own your customer data, but there are two more you need to be aware of.
2. HOW WILL YOUR CUSTOMER DATA BE USED?
You’re giving away the ownership of fundamental business information. Your revenue and profits depend on your customer data – with the only exception that it’s not really yours anymore. Many marketers are becoming concerned about giving away the ownership of important customer data and how it could be used, so you need to take extra care when thinking about analytics providers.
Be inquisitive, pay attention to detail and ask plenty of questions about data ownership when assessing an analytics provider. It’s best to not leave any stone unturned, so always ask and get visibility over how your data is going to be stored and treated.
3. CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL DATA
What if your customers find out that you share access to their personal data? What if they ask you how that data is used?
Until recently, nobody really cared about their personal data, and everybody was giving it away for discounts and rewards. A KPMG survey reported that consumers are now more concerned with giving their personal data away. Data transparency has become a priority for your customers. And while they may trust your brand, they may not be so comfortable with 3rd party companies that can access their data.
After spending so much time and money on building trust with your customers, why risk damaging your relationships over an analytics service? Afterall, there are many platforms out there that let you own your customer data. It’s important to think about what your analytics provider can actually cost you. Spending a little more in your budget can be worth it if it helps you maintain trust between your customers and your brand, while delivering outstanding experiences at the same time.
HERE’S WHY IT’S WORTH OWNING YOUR CUSTOMER DATA
While there are many analytics providers in the market, let’s look at Mapp Intelligence as an example. The best way to begin is to know if the solution you’re signing for lets you own your customer data.
When it comes to Mapp Intelligence, not only you can export your customer data and create your databases whenever you want, but you can also integrate it with external data models and reports. In fact, we always encourage you to do so to enable you to take it offline for whatever purposes. If you need help in exporting your data, you can have a CSM at hand to help you with that.
Another advantage of Mapp Intelligence is that it has data privacy and GDPR compliance. This ensures that your company can have the ease of complying with data privacy regulations and making your customers feel safe.
Finally, you can sleep well knowing that your data is only yours and nothing is going on in the background without you knowing. And the only access our team has to it is only for the times when you need help.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Mapp Intelligence does more than let you keep and export your customer data. It’s a marketer-friendly platform that collects and unifies your customer data and gives you enhanced flexibility in your analytics.
This article was first published by Mapp. Permission to use has been granted by the publisher.
Comments