Getting Customers to Share Personal Data

Customers are willing to share personal information with companies in exchange for perks like free Internet and mobile services. And the more valuable the benefits, the more information customers are willing to share, according to a recent report from PwC, "Consumer Privacy: What Are Consumers Willing to Share?" Consumers want to be in control of the information they share, which means companies who want to build good relationships have to give them granular control of what and how they share data. And the more transparent a company can be, the more trusted it will be, the survey finds. Targeting various age groups with different perks and making sure information sharing is explicit and done with permission can also help build relationships with customers. Having strong security practices in place is a must for companies that want consumers to share data: Sixty-one percent of the respondents said they would stop using a company’s online services after a breach. More than 1,000 people, ages 18 to 59, participated in the survey and follow-up focus groups conducted by PwC.