- A new report from InMoment reveals that 38% of brands in Australia admit their personalisation efforts are at least somewhat creepy
- The findings come from InMoment’s study comparing Australian customer and brand attitudes on customer experience (CX)
MELBOURNE (14 JUNE 2018) — A report from InMoment, the leading cloud-based customer experience (CX) intelligence platform, has found that a staggering 70% of Australian consumers admit to finding most forms of personalisation ‘creepy.’ This should come as no surprise to business leaders, with more than a third (38%) of brands in Australia also admitting that their own marketing is somewhat ‘creepy.’
The report compares the perspectives of 500 consumers and 500 brands in Australia, on CX themes including memorability, personalisation and the human element to determine areas of alignment and disconnect.
The data reveals that brands still have a lot of work to do to make personalisation a positive part of the customer experience.
Additionally, the report uncovered that 34% of Australians would stop buying a brand that they felt knew too much and used the information poorly to create a ‘creepy’ experience.
Other findings around personalisation include:
- Australians are more sensitive to creepiness than their US counterparts (34% of Australians will stop using a brand in comparison to just 20% of Americans)
- 44% of consumers have cited staff knowing personal details as creepy, while 40% are put off by technology that recognises personal information
- Over a quarter (27%) of consumers share details of their negative personalisation experiences with friends
- A quarter of consumers (26%) said they would start to look for other options after a creepy experience
Claire Fastier, Australian Country Manager of InMoment comments on the findings:
“Brands have spent a disproportionate amount of effort and budget attempting to acquire new customers in a race for short-term gain. The days of treating customers as targets, as one-time transactions, are over. In order to create long-term value, companies must forge authentic bonds — relationships — with customers across touchpoints and time. Approaching customers and their data from this perspective allows brands to move beyond generating metrics to discovering meaning, so that they can improve relationships and successfully steer the business toward better outcomes.
The research clearly highlights how one negative moment, such as receiving a ‘creepy’ email, can affect how the consumer views the whole relationship. Brands need to be responsible for creating stronger, more valuable customer experiences, rather than weakening relationships through unthoughtful or ‘creepy’ marketing.
For consumers to invest, brands need to be transparent, listen and engage in ongoing conversations.
At InMoment, we empower brands to have always-on, intelligent conversations with their customers at scale. We provide a framework where companies can constantly listen and respond quickly to whether and how they are delivering on customer expectations, and to leverage new opportunities. By gathering and applying complex data science to the mountains of signals and conversations, we support brands in better serving both their customers and stakeholders.”
Additional stats on CX from the report include:
- Brands overestimate their success in delivering positive and memorable customer experiences (80% of brands vs 70% of Australian consumers)
- The largest area of disconnect between a customer and brand in Australia is social media. (just 6.6% of consumers report social media as a contributor to positive memorable experiences versus 31% of brands believing it has the same impact)
- Brands greatly underestimate the impact of emotion when it comes to negative experiences on consumers. Consumers are twice as angry as brands anticipate after a negative CX experience (22% vs 11%)
For more details on the report, you can download it from the website.