From a customer’s perspective, I
personally believe that there should be a limit to the kind of information
companies are able to obtain. For example,
I do not mind that based on the interest I chose to share on Facebook, I
am suggested products or services that go hand in hand with my selected
interests. What I do feel is a privacy breach, it’s when more personal
information is used such as Facebook conversations, internet posts, or emails
overall. A couple of months ago, I added
new contacts from my job to my
cellphone, a few days later my Facebook app began to suggest to add those
particular individuals as friends. In
that moment I felt that my personal information was on the web, even when I
chose not to put it on the web.I believe Companies should not be able
to monitor people’s lives. If people willingly chose to participate in surveys
or focus groups , or if they want to look at past purchases for their particular
product than that is acceptable. But individually looking at the behavior
of a consumer through their internet
activity is a breach of privacy and it
makes the consumer feel threatened. Consumers feel like they are being watched
24/7 and are becoming more doubtful and less trusting to individual marketing.
I consider that there are other ways
in which companies can use social media and internet platforms to better
attract and maintain loyal consumers. Social media can be a great tool both to
create a relationship with the target
market and to obtain patterns to customize sales. If a company choses to use social media it
needs to be taken as a serious commitment. Once the company lets the customers
know that they will be available through that medium, customers expect to be
heard and to receive a response. Being part of social media platform should be
a two way communication between the costumer and the company. A lot of
companies use Facebook or Twitter to advertise sales or new items that are
being rolled out, but very few take the time to address any complaints or
questions customers may have. This can be challenging considering the amount of
comments and tweets that are written daily, but word of mouth is very powerful
in today’s market place and should be taken seriously.
Consumers are very skeptical about
products and about a company’s offerings.
Reviews and experiences written by other people are very strong in helping
others form beliefs and even in making a purchase decision. People see other people’s
opinions as true and reliable while products description can remain skeptical.
Therefore, when a customer makes a negative comment about an experience or a product
it is necessary for a company to have a response. For example, Southwest
Airlines is efficient at staying with the customer and turning around
situations that could end in negative way into a positive one. They make the
customer feel like they are with them every step of the way and if there is a
problem they can provide information or provide a direct solution to their problem.
Additionally, the rise of data can
also be beneficial to corporations in order to create a customized shopping
experience for consumers. In the past, most consumer behavior has been obtained
by analyzing demographics, now, by being able to see patterns in behavior of
one particular individual it allows companies to do one-to-one marketing. A
perfect example is Amazon, Amazon engages in one-to one marketing that from my
perspective is ethical, by using prior purchases to suggest potential products
to its customers. This allows the consumer to be aware that there are complimenting products
to the ones they are purchasing or a higher variety of choices to choose from. Furthermore,
it helps the company to not only offer other products in the spot but also
create future products that satisfy the taste of their consumers.
Overall, I personally believe that if
corporations can limit themselves to information that individuals chose to
share on the internet (publicly) or
provide for them directly, it is a responsible way to do marketing. If
companies continue to push the bar and obtain more and more personal
information, it will only make consumers more skeptical and less willing to
buy. The are other ways that companies can use social media platforms and the
internet to create meaningful relationships with its consumers. Their activity
and communication on social media is important because it allows individuals to
feel an ongoing customer experience with the company even after they left the
store or service. This can be more important than finding every little detail
about the consumer. Sometimes it could be more beneficial that they know more
the company into detail than for the company to know them through social media.
