Tom Woodnutt
Tom Woodnutt is Founder of Feeling Mutual, the multi-award winning agile online qualitative research specialists. He helps clients and agencies run global studies and offers training in the space. Tom has been a Digital Skills trainer for the Association of Qualitative Researchers (AQR) and is a regular speaker at industry conferences, including the MRS, MRMW and IleX.
Our news feeds are all full of stories about data privacy. But how do consumers really feel about it? There has been relentless media coverage of data privacy and security scandals. And with the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies can no longer assume they’ll get access to the data they want in order to deliver personalised, digital experiences and marketing.
View the full report and video showreel of what the consumers really thought about data privacy.
What we did
In this context, Liveminds, LivingLens and Feeling Mutual joined forces to find out how people really feel about data privacy and what they think companies should do about it. In April 2018 we gathered almost 60 minutes of video from 15 people in 48 hours - from project sign off to completion.
We asked market research industry thought leaders what they would ask consumers about online data privacy and put the following questions to the UK-based participants:
- How do you feel about data privacy?
- What should companies do to inspire more data openness?
- How do you feel about a future in which you use your data to negotiate with companies?
What we discovered
Most people share their data but there are undercurrents of reluctance. Despite the benefits of ‘data openness’ (namely, personalisation and convenience), many people feel powerlessly obliged to share their data with companies and are often uncomfortable about doing so. Overall, I'd describe people's willingness to be 'data open' as 'grudging tolerance with an undercurrent of anxiety'.
Willingness to share data depends on three factors:
- What people get in return
- How much they trust the company
- How personal the data feels
Brands need to proactively broker more mutual and transparent data-relationships:
- Make data policies more digestible
- Prioritise the information that matters most
- Reassure people about data security
- Be more transparent about how personal data is used
- Cede control to people
- Put a human face to it
- Debunk the myths
- Make the value exchange clear
People need reassurances to consider negotiating with companies using their data. The idea of sharing data in return for relevant communications, discounts and other forms of benefit does appeal. However, it also raises concerns about more data security issues and questions of whether sharing data might even result in less favourable terms (e.g. in terms of credit or insurance).
Download the full report and video showreel of what the consumers really thought about data privacy.
