A personalized customer experience is the leading choice for businesses, but it presents several challenges for protecting customer privacy. A recent survey revealed that the vast majority of B2B and B2C customers expect companies to personalize their experience. Protecting customer’s data is a key component. With the increase in the use of AI to provide comprehensive service to customers, consumer trust becomes an issue — 60 percent of consumers want businesses to increase their trustworthiness along with their use of technology. By following this advice, companies can achieve the goal of an ideal customer experience without compromising privacy.
Reasons to Protect Privacy During the Customer Experience
Protecting privacy is not just an essential part of meeting increasing government regulations. It is also good business. Customers feel strongly about their control over their data. Research shows that only about one in four customers believe companies take good care of their data. More than 70 percent say they would quit doing business with companies that do not care about customer data.
Younger generations, a growing buying population, show increased interest in working with AI technology. Nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials are comfortable engaging with AI voice agents and other AI services. By prioritizing privacy as part of the customer experience, businesses can build trust and loyalty among their customer base while implementing these practical technologies.
Target Data Collection
The best way for companies to reduce the chances and impacts of a leak of sensitive customer data is to collect less data. Not every aspect of the customer interaction needs to be reserved for later use. Instead, businesses can target the data they need to provide a personal experience and avoid collecting unnecessary details. This process includes setting protocols to delete unused or outdated information so customers can trust that the company keeps only the necessary data.
Provide Transparency Regarding Privacy Policies
Increasing transparency can be an essential tool to restore customer trust, which is lower in recent years, in part due to technological advances. Customers are less likely to trust companies with their data, especially if businesses are unclear about their policies. Instead, businesses should be up-front and clear about when and how they collect data, as well as why they need the information and how they will use it. Customers should be able to review these policies anytime with easy-to-understand language.
Allow Customers Control Over Data Management
Many customers do not feel comfortable providing information to companies, and they should have this option as much as possible. Many businesses are implementing consent management platforms to give customers control over their data. These systems allow customers to identify the types of data the company might collect and toggle off information they prefer not to share. Allowing customers to customize data collection, or even delete existing data, can increase their trust in the algorithm.
Anonymize Data
Data breaches can be more damaging when certain pieces of information are tied to identifying elements, emphasizing the importance of anonymizing data. If a company wants to track the customer’s shopping habits to provide a more personal experience, it can better protect privacy by stripping that data collection from personal identifiers like a customer’s name, address, or birthdate. Similarly, businesses can use pseudonymization to create pseudonyms or fake identifiers, to assist with data collection while protecting customer privacy.
Increase Data Encryption
Increasing data encryption at all stages of the data collection process can minimize opportunities for suspicious users to gain entry. The use of AI on the back end can improve security by maintaining data encryption during testing and other points where data access could otherwise be compromised. Adding encryption to chatbots and other AI services on the service side can improve customer confidence in providing information to these services.
Implement Ethical AI Practices
While AI can be an excellent tool for businesses to improve the customer experience, it is not without flaws and requires oversight. The ethical use of AI includes:
- Minimizing data collection to only what is needed for the customer experience
- Reviewing AI interactions for signs of biases or unfair treatment
- Increasing transparency about how AI is used, with outcomes that can be explained to customers
The right implementation can smooth operations and improve customer engagement.
Customers often delight in a personalized experience, but they worry about what this experience means for their data. Consumers are more likely to trust companies that take data collection and management seriously, with opportunities for customers to opt out or otherwise control their data. By following these tips, businesses can give the best customer experience without putting their customers’ data at risk.