EMAIL EXPERIENCE
Data handling
79% of Americans are concerned about how their data is being used by companies
Disclose T&Cs at every point during signup
Trust is a crucial factor in customer relationships, especially as privacy violations and security incidents become more common. According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of Americans are concerned about how their data is being used by companies, suggesting that there is much work left to do. Respectful and thoughtful data handling is therefore an important part of the overall customer experience, and it begins during customer acquisition. As regulations including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) demonstrate, it is important to be clear and concise when disclosing what data organizations collect and how they will use it. This means disclosing terms and conditions (T&Cs) at every point during the signup process, promoting honesty and transparency with all potential consumers.
Our research showed some positive signs here, but also revealed there is still room for improvement. All brands hit the basic communications requirement, displaying T&Cs or privacy policies across their sites. Among the brands we evaluated, 65% explicitly disclosed their T&Cs and/or privacy policy at the point of signup. While this is encouraging, we noted brands often failing to disclose them across all points of signup. This was a particular problem for email newsletters — many of these omitted the T&Cs altogether, especially when displayed as a pop-up or located in a footer. An effective privacy policy should state what data you collect and what you will and won't do with it. This is important for something as simple as an email address, which GDPR still considers personal data. It should also include details on how a company processes data, including whether it gives the information to third parties or stores it overseas.
Among the brands we evaluated, 65% explicitly disclosed their T&Cs and/or privacy policy at the point of signup
EXPERT COMMENTARY:
Customers are placing increasing importance on how brands handle their personal data. They are better informed and better protected than ever after a year where iOS 14 and iOS 15 dealt a hammer blow to customer tracking and targeting via apps, websites, and email. There’s more to come with the demise of third-party cookies in Google Chrome planned for 2023. As third-party platforms lose large amounts of data, brands must strengthen their first-party data. They must understand how they will use customer data and the implications regarding data collection and permissions. Think about when to collect data and why your customer might share it at that stage. A good use case is the collection of email addresses during shopping for targeting those who abandon carts.
