Vodafone Permissions & Preferences Key Insights 11 th December 2013
We spoke to over 140 stakeholders, 1500 opinion formers and 10,000 consumers in nine markets 2
Not all customers view privacy in the same way Fundamentalist 23% Pragmatist 62% Unconcerned 15% Puts a high value on personal privacy Rejects the idea that most organisations need individuals information More likely to refuse to part with information when asked for it Favours strong legislation to enshrine privacy rights and control organisational handling of information Thinks about privacy on a case-by-case basis, depending on their perceptions of specific companies and the value ascribed by them to different aspects of their own privacy Interested in knowing the potential risks and benefits of sharing their information in order to make an informed decision Less sceptical about companies motives for wanting individuals information, but would back legislation to make this more regulated in certain scenarios Less engaged with media debates over the use of personal information Feels there are more benefits to sharing information than to retaining it See less need to regulate further on the issue *For more information on context, profiling and classification see http://reports-archive.adm.cs.cmu.edu/anon/isri2005/cmu-isri-05-138.pdf 3
There is a fine line between feeling charmed and invaded 1.1 Reciprocal relationship On the subject of personal information customers are aware that a reciprocal, although not always equitable, relationship exists between themselves and brands Customers provide information about themselves, their interests and their buying habits and brands provide customers with offers, suggestions and better service 4
The relevance and volume of communications contributes to a cycle of value or lack thereof With Groupon you get things like woman s beauty treatments which I m not into at all -Unconcerned, Leeds, Post-pay Low value I like it if there s a perk - Clubcard knows everything but I don t mind because I get airmiles -Unconcerned, Watford, Pre-pay High value Bombarded Invaded Irrelevant Right amount Charmed Relevant If you re getting a tangible perk you re more likely to be happy about getting something. If it s just a random alert, you re not getting anything out of it -Pragmatist, Watford, Post-pay Supermarkets know your purchase history and give you vouchers off the back of it. Like they know what cat food you buy and will give you a voucher for it based on your previous purchase - if you get money off, it s good! -Pragmatist, Birmingham, Pre-pay 5
Many companies are seen by stakeholders as taking advantage of customer ignorance and apathy Corporations are seen to have business objectives rather than customer concerns at heart, while stakeholders see themselves as customer champions, protecting and advocating on their behalf They want to see companies providing more information about their privacy agreements, but in clearer terms with less fine print. [Companies] make things difficult on purpose. It is the way they try to frame users. There is always some very small written clause that was not sufficiently read by the customer. And when you go complaining they say you signed it and there is nothing you can do -Academic, Italy [Google] is just updating their policies, so yes, they are very active, but it s mostly to their advantage, and not to the user s. And the way they ve been going about it is also a bit deceiving, because a lot of people read their message, and they think that s great, they re making it easier for me to understand what I m signed up for, but it s the opposite. -Consumer organisation, Germany 6
Stakeholders are instrumental in setting the agenda for debate; they have the power to catalyse trends into threats Trend: The motivations of companies using customer information are called into question by stakeholders Threat: News stories about misuse and breaches drive the media debate Threat: The value of information sharing is outweighed by the perceived risks Trend: Customers are increasingly engaged with privacy issues 7
This means consumers are increasingly attuned to the risks, rather than the opportunities I know I am not in control of my personal information. Companies that I have never had any dealings with often send me messages not only by emails but letters with my correct address, and that worries me -Pragmatist, UK, Post-pay I just don t feel like at the moment with the attitudes of companies I can feel comfortable that I have proper control of my data -Pragmatist, NL, Post-pay Theoretically, if used cautiously, sharing information can be beneficial to the customer but most of the time it s not done responsibly. So on balance I think it s better not to allow companies to do this -Pragmatist, IT, Pre-pay 8
Both stakeholders / customers want transparency over motives Stakeholders are wary that companies will only present information and choices to their benefit rather than being open about the reasons behind things and demonstrating complete control to the customer Customers want to know why companies need information about them and to what end it will be used, otherwise they view it as a zero-sum instead of positive-sum Transparency and accountability are vital in changing the nature of the relationship between a company and customer They should be transparent in terms of telling people what information is being collected about them, how its being used. If it's possible to give them a choice about which information they would like to be collected, which information they don t want to be collected, then that's better - Consumer group, UK Cut to the chase. Just be sincere about what you are doing, just be honest transparent is the key word for this here in terms of data and information governance -Pragmatist, Manchester, Post-pay Transparency of what they re doing is key...if the way information is being kept and used is more transparent, then the customer feels better about it, whereas if they feel that in some ways the provider has gone behind their back, then they feel deceived in a way that can make them very against how the information is being used - Academic, UK I want to know why they need to tell me why they re doing it and what's in it for them up front - Pragmatist, London, Pre-pay, 9
Engagement with the value of personal information is growing, accompanied with a sense that consumers have lost control Consumers have lost all control over how personal information is collected and used by companies 30 29 21 23 Google Trend Analysis Search for My Data from Jan 2011 to present 48 49 55 50 It is a revenue stream statistical information which might predict customer behaviour is valuable and I would expect companies to use it. To expect otherwise is naive. - UK, 3, HTA, Fundamentalist All of my data is probably circulating around and I no longer have control over it. - DE, Vodafone, HTA, Pragmatist -17-19 -21-22 -4-4 -3-4
Therefore, the extent to which customers are willing to allow 1.2 The value exchange use of personal information depends on feeling that they are in control of the information the volume that is requested is reasonable and relevant they know how it will be used Value exchange This is traded off against the size of the benefit that they will receive in return Equal relationship between the perceived investment/risk of sharing information and the perceived quality of the offer The perceived quality of the offer outweighs the perceived investment/risk of sharing information The perceived investment/risk of sharing information outweighs the perceived quality of the offer 11
Openness to use of personal information The UK and Netherlands feel most in control of their information. Italians are open to its use, but do not feel in control. Germans are neither. Openness to use: High Feeling of control: Low The information is gathered to offer a personalized service but often companies use the data to propose another kind of product that the user did not know about - Pragmatist, IT, Wind Openness to use: Medium Feeling of control: High Most things I participate in offer the option of not passing my information to third parties - Unconcerned, UK, 3 I don t trust the state or corporations. The fact is, government and business use every means possible to make use of my data. The state should be trustworthy, but it isn t in this respect - Fundamentalist, DE, T-Mobile Openness to use: Low Feeling of control: Low I can control what information I wish to share with others. If as a results I can t obtain certain products or services, then too bad! - Pragmatist, NL, KPN, Openness to use: Low Feeling of control: High Sense of being in control of personal information 12
Openness to use of personal information Therefore, the balance between reassuring and empowering customers varies by market Empower Demonstrate the value of control Reassure and empower Motivate to share Sense of being in control of personal information 13
Vodafone s Permissions & Preferences programme 1 2 3 4 5 Policy Privacy Matrix Privacy Promise Customer engagement Customer Experience Platform and capability
Thankyou Stephen Deadman