How Personal is Too Personal?

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.