• by Seana Mulcahy , April 4, 2005

If you are reading this, admit it: You want information from consumers. I'm not saying you want to be stealth-like or sleazy. However, just think about it for a moment. Wouldn't you love to know how your target audience feels? What they like? What they dislike? When they will be making life changes? If they are brand loyal or brand switchers?

Well as an advertiser, my clients and I constantly struggle to create campaigns that are not intrusive. We search for new ways to cut through the clutter in doing so. We are willing to give up content, tools, ticker bars, applets, white papers, etc. in exchange for what? We typically ask for e-mails but realize it isn't enough. We'd like to know the recipient's name, address, and phone numbers but are often afraid to ask.

I was graciously invited to an event last week. It was held in the wine cellar of a posh Boston restaurant called the Federalist. The hosts were a company named Dotomi and a research group named the Ponemon Institute. Dotomi sponsored a study on consumer permission that Ponemon conducted. The objective of the study was to learn what information consumers are willing to share with an online company they purchase products/services from. Surprisingly, I wasn't aware of any similar studies out there.

I have to say, I was so shocked by some of the information I just had to share it with you. Before I do, I know some of you are sticklers for details like me. Yes, the sample size was large enough. It was a U.S.-based survey of about 1,800 people. It seems consumers are quite willing to share information with marketers they trust. In fact, 22 percent are willing to share banking information, 21 percent are willing to share reading interests, 19 percent are willing to share a special date or anniversary, and 17 percent are willing to share data in regard to interests and hobbies.

It is no surprise that 84 percent of consumers say they want control over the information they receive and how they'd like to receive it. Sixty-four percent of consumers felt that if they had control over the types of online communication they received, they would be more likely to trust the marketers that sent it to them. Fifty-six percent of consumers feel respected when marketers attempt to understand their needs and their individual interests.

So let's get down to business: Only 20 percent of consumers say they would let marketers share information in order to track their buying behavior. However, there is a tremendous amount of information consumers are willing to share with a "trusted" marketer.

Here are the topline (shocking) findings:

92% Home telephone number
91% Home address
88% Business telephone number
79% Date of birth
75% Mother's maiden name
59% Marital status
55% Clothing size
49% Debit card number
46% Social security number
34% Nationality

Can you actually believe this?! Can you imagine giving out your social security number or mother's maiden name before you were willing to give up your nationality?

The bottom line is consumer relationships are built on plain old-fashioned trust. Trust is built over time. Careful attention must be paid to the way consumers want to be communicated with and the frequency that they'll allow us to communicate with them. It sounds simple, but it is terribly hard.

I've know John Federman, CEO of Dotomi for a while now. I asked him to put his money where his mouth is. He showed me an example of a banner ad that flighted in The New York Times. The Motorola banner was personalized with the person's name. Her name was Rachel. She opted in to receive more information from Motorola when she bought her new Palm phone. In the banner, it addressed her by name and asked her to click to find discounted accessories for the phone she had just purchased. Although it is difficult to describe the banner in words, seeing it is believing it. Instantaneously I thought this would come across as a little big brother. John said it was quite the contrary. This piece of creative yielded results that were at least 10 to 15 times higher than the average banner.

Who said banners suck? Well you know as well as I do that they do in most cases. Relevancy, respect, and targeting were key to success in this instance. How can we provide consumers what they want when they want it online? Do you have a case where you were able to establish trust from a consumer? If so, what types of information did you get in return? Post to the SPIN board and join me in thanking both companies for sharing this information with us... even though I had to offer up my mother's maiden name, my dog's name, and my shoe size to get it! (just kidding)