No Turning Back When Customer Trust Breaks
- By CDOTrends editors
- July 11, 2022
Brands that deliver relevant and personalized content at the right time can increase customer trust, especially among younger generations. But according to an Adobe survey, those who misuse personal data or invade privacy will see a decrease in customer trust.
The Adobe 2022 Trust Report surveyed 12,066 global consumers and 2,031 senior executives across 15 countries (including U.S., India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, U.K., France, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, and New Zealand) between January and February 2022.
The survey found that more than half (55%) say they will never give the brand their business again when trust is broken. It noted that more consumers (69%) would stop purchasing from a company that used their data without permission, and 68% would do the same if the company did not clarify their data preferences.
The benefits for those brands that know how to increase customer trust were clear. Those who focus on delivering a great digital experience built on relevancy, transparency, and customer control will also see increased loyalty.
In fact, the report shared that most global consumers planned to spend at least USD500 per year with trusted brands. It included 29% who intended to spend an additional USD500 or more every year.
In a digital age where Gen Z and Millennials are the most frequent shoppers, it's become more critical for brands to focus on delivering excellent customer experiences online.
Three-quarters of Gen Z and Millennial consumers said in the survey that relevant, personalized content delivered at the right time would increase their trust in a brand — which is higher than any other generation. Almost three-quarters (72%) of global consumers felt their trust in brands would be increased by technology personalizing their experience. This trend is amplified in the Asia Pacific, where this figure reached 87%.
“The digital economy in Greater China is bigger than ever,” said Tony Ng, managing director for Greater China at Adobe. “The exponential growth in e-commerce has brought the concept of trust exchange sharply into focus. When done right, many customers will reward brands with loyalty and spend. When trust is broken, most consumers will walk away, many forever,” he said.
However, senior business leaders interviewed think it was easier said than done. 75% of executives worldwide shared that they have had difficulty building and maintaining trust with their customers since the pandemic began.
Most of them are also not keen on changing their data practices. 71% of executive leaders agreed that the benefits customers received from companies collecting data about them outweigh the potential risks. However, only 41% of respondents felt that having strong data privacy and governance processes was a top priority for their companies.