With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) quickly approaching, marketers are asking themselves whether this will bring new obstacles to overcome or if it will lead to something good. We thought we would take this opportunity to shed some light on why CCPA may not be all bad.
As with any new privacy regulation, there are both pros and cons. Many organizations and individuals believe that the introduction of CCPA may not be the answer to consumer privacy as it is not constructed in a way that allows for the proper foundation for monitoring the privacy of data for consumers. But, are there components of the regulation that will be beneficial to marketers and consumers alike? Take a look at part one of our two-part series on the pros and cons of CCPA.
With Great Data Comes Great Responsibility.
In an era of online data, any regulation that protects consumer privacy can be a good thing. As seen with last year’s implementation of GDPR in the EU, consumers are becoming wiser on what their data is being used for. In marketing, that data is used to reach them in a more relevant and personalized way. The products we have all become accustomed to such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify are good examples of services that have provided consumers a hyper-customized experience based on the data being provided by consumers whether that be through purchase history, declared data, browsing history...etc. The output of using this data to drive a richer customer engagement has set the bar higher than it’s ever been for marketers. Furthermore…consumers expect this type of experience.
This is not a new reality. However, with this expectation comes the curiosity from the consumer on how advertisers are managing that data and the transparency and choices they’re providing consumers around the use of their data. As marketers, we have proven that data-driven consumer experiences work. Now, we need to prove that the data is being stored, managed and used with the utmost integrity and privacy safeguards possible. Regulations like GDPR and CCPA provide the opportunity for marketers to become accountable for this process and allow us to step up and show what great stewards of data we are.
“CCPA is going to be a turning point for brands. There will be some that view it as a “have” to do while others will take it as an opportunity to reshape their relationship with consumers. If done right, consumer privacy can be a competitive advantage.” Pam Erlichman, Chief Marketing Officer, Jebbit
Education through Transparency.
Introduced several years ago, data-driven marketing is a process by which marketers gain insights and trends based on in-depth analysis informed by numbers. Data-driven marketing refers to strategies built on insights pulled from the analysis of big data, collected through consumer interactions and engagements, to form predictions about future behaviors.
This notion of marketing to consumers in an insightful, relevant way based on data collection has been around long enough for marketers to know that executing marketing campaigns based on data is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. And, through the process of defining and refining data-driven marketing strategies, best practices have been created and implemented as the basis for safeguarding that data and analyzing it in the smartest and most secure methods in order to protect the privacy of the consumer. Organizations such as the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) exist to do just this.
CCPA could be a platform that empowers consumers to understand their rights and become smarter about how data-driven marketing creates the relevant and customized experience they’ve come to know and love. Some of these rights include: right to know all data collected by a business on the individual, right to say no to the sale of information, right to delete data, right to be informed of what categories of data will be collected, right to know the categories of third-parties with whom your data is shared, right to know the categories of sources of information from whom your data was acquired, right to know the business or commercial purpose of collecting your information, private right of action when companies breach your data.
Being that privacy guardrails built around data used for marketing has, in all actuality, been taken very seriously by marketers and rolled out universally for some time now, perhaps CCPA, will lend the opportunity to educate consumers on the practice of smart, data-driven marketing and, in fact, reassure them that their data has been used to create relevant exchanges with them in a respectful, protected way for many years.
Better Data = More Money
In order to meet all the standards being set by the CCPA (i.e. provide consumers with the data being collected upon request), marketers will have to consolidate data from multiple sources into a single record for each consumer, that is easily accessible, portable and able to be reported on.
According to a recent forecast by Cisco, there will be four networked devices and connections per person globally by 2021 and in North America, there will be 13 networked devices and connections per person, up from eight last year. Think about all the places your business may have data on one consumer. If they transact with you online and offline, you are likely to have data in at least two places. Those companies still operating in silo’s, and we know there are a lot, will have data in multiple sources. Additionally, if your organization has acquired any businesses or been acquired itself, that likely means more disparate data.
Having data consolidated in one place, providing that complete view of the consumers activity with your brand, will not only put you in compliance with CCPA, but will enable you to do a better job marketing. There are technologies that exist today that optimize on primary data and provide marketers a better view into the behavior of their customers with first party data. Perhaps this is a great opportunity to begin shifting focus to a more customer-centric approach.
“CCPA will bring marketers back into re-discovering the strategic value of primary data and shift marketing spend towards technologies that leverage it.” Efrain Torres, CFO, NaviStone
Legislation like the Data Protection Act, GDPR and CCPA are all designed to put control in the consumers hands when it comes to their data. Acknowledging this is important. Most consumers today are skeptical of how their data is being used. The data is the consumer's data, not yours. They are trusting you to use it in a way that maximizes the experience they have with your brand. Businesses that can change their mind set to think of data in this way, will create more loyal customers who will ultimately do more business with you for two reasons.
1) Consumers want a better user experience. Having an aggregated view of the consumer data and using that aggregated view of data, will allow you to improve marketing and the consumer experience.
2) Treating consumer data, and ultimately the consumer, with the respect it warrants will create a level of trust that is unique today. Consumers want to feel secure and protected. When they feel that way, they are more likely to do more business with you.
When companies learn of new legislation, they immediately think of the investment needed to become compliant. Most will do the bare minimum to become compliant. Those that do more, will set themselves apart from the rest. Stay tuned for our next blog on the topic of CCPA as we explore the other side of how this may impact marketers.