Ethics in Digital Marketing and Personalization
Ethics in Digital Marketing and Personalization
eCommerce is a part of the daily lives of every individual, and soon, every commercial organization. It has become an essential driving force of economic continuity and a large amount of the world’s population has become dependent on it. Numerous platforms and technologies have been created to connect people to products and services, digitally. To level-set, for our purposes, “eCommerce” is the engagement of individuals and companies looking to buy and sell goods and/or services on a digital channel. Digital marketing and personalization are specific aspects of eCommerce that are used to traverse customers to an eventual purchase.
Transactional eCommerce is easier to regulate because consumers are purchasing a product where there are rules and laws around PII and PCI, that get extended into validating a transition for audits. Browsing products and lifestyles along with getting details are all curated based on what the brand desires and is still fact-based. When it comes to digital marketing, it becomes a bit hazier and is done outside of the governance of typical transactional eCommerce, as seen by how technology stacks are organized today. Digital marketing does have rules, however, they are fairly loose and allow companies to use tactics as they please. That extends even further into organizations with how they function, their values, and the approach they use to attract buyers.
We’ll start with talking about data since there are governing rules around that and plenty of examples of the impact of not protecting data.
Customer Data Ethics
While digital marketers are fueled by capturing customer information, specifically email addresses, there are steps in place to inform customers that it may be used. Like most people, I pay little attention to the details outlined in the privacy policy. Marketers are also required to protect the data collected from their clients according to the policy statement.
Protection takes on many forms including the use of SSL to protect the connection between a customer and the website where the transaction may be occurring. It also extends into where the data is stored, mostly now in the cloud. Many cloud providers comply with the privacy policies of the business in order to meet requirements. The use of reputable providers and its transparency for these services certainly increases the trust among customers.
Personalization Ethics
When it comes to personalization, it’s all about how data is captured and how it is used. We’ve all seen examples of “creepy” uses of data and that aside, we can acknowledge there are still good uses of data such as Amazon’s product recommendations or Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” playlists. Personalization is driven by understanding who the consumer is, and then providing a new or updated experience that resonates stronger than the original. Information such as purchase behavior, browsing history, and AGI can be used in targeting.
Of course, there is the option to opt-out from a website being able to use that information to personalize by refusing cookies. Even then there are still many contextual pieces that can be leveraged to still provide some personalization.
Personalization isn’t an all-or-nothing approach. Just as your journey in engaging with a brand can have many steps, personalization may or may not occur within each step along the way.
I’ll use an example.
Klarna is a fairly new company that is offering consumers the ability to split a transaction above a certain amount, currently $35, into 4 interest-free payments. It’s a great offering to those who don’t want to eat the full cost of a purchase immediately. However, this offering may not be compelling to all consumers.
Consumers who are well-off may not be as worried about the cost and are more focused on brand perception and value the product provides. To them, seeing this might be a deterrent. Seeing this might have the well-off consumer questioning the status of a brand and who they may be trying to appeal towards. This may even leave a negative taste with consumers and cause them to not follow through with a transaction.
This is where personalization can come in handy. By targeting on AGI (Average Gross Income) or even zip code, personalization can either choose to show you Klarna content or not allow you to see or use it.
Where is the ethical piece in this?
The ethical part is not whether to show or not to show this to a consumer who is well-off, but it’s about it occurring in the first place. When personalization occurs, we hardly know it’s happening. We don’t know the alternatives or defaults. We only know the personalized content we see. Sure there was a message that said they will provide me with “better experiences” and “serve targeted advertisements”, but that’s hardly any detail on where it’s happening, how it’s executed, and where I can choose to interact with something non-personalized.
Providing greater clarity on the personalization that is being offered or making personalization more obvious can show the mindfulness a brand is taking to provide additional value to a consumer.
Digital Marketing Ethics
Personalization is a part of the larger concept of digital marketing. It is certainly a vague area legally and has little regulation. Digital marketing on the other hand has some additional protections built-in place since the idea has been around for some time. CAN-SPAM guidelines were put in place to protect consumers from digital solicitation that may be deemed malicious, misleading, or a nuisance.
Just as the saying goes with real estate, “Location, location, location” holds true for the digital real estate market as well. Businesses are doing everything they can to get their name, products, and services in your face. Until you buy, and even when you do, they won’t stop. And they know how to get in your face so well, that they don’t bother to stop.
In their eyes, they’re “helping” you with information and content. In reality, it’s to beat out their competition. It’s to put their name in your brain that you could think of it as the one and only name if you were to be under duress.
We’ll use another example to illustrate how helping some see value in a brand or product could be hurting others.
How can discrimination come into play when it comes to digital marketing?
Individuals who grew up in the age of catalogs and shopping through mail order may have a level of technology use that is different from those who grew up with screens from a young age.
Digital interactivity with a site shouldn’t prevent someone who isn’t as tech-savvy from being able to interact with a website or other digital assets.
Oftentimes companies are so focused on increasing the value and perception of the brand for target consumers that they fail to realize the impact it has on those not in the target market.
Does that mean companies should create campaigns for everyone, including those not in the target market? Not necessarily. They should think about the impact that the campaign has on others who may not be on the target and adjust accordingly.
Targeting itself is an exclusive activity, of which the byproduct is consumers who end up being left out. The key is to also consider those who are not in the target and what their experience and journey is within the brand. This creates an inclusive approach to targetting that does not discriminate.
Tackling the few Ethical Issues discussed
There’s a lot of areas that can certainly be addressed and I’ve provided a few quick thoughts on how to be proactive about these issues.
Email providers should be required to surface senders that are not being interacted with by the recipient and provide a convenient way to unsubscribe from senders.
While CAN-SPAM laws require marketing-related emails to contain a way to unsubscribe, the life we all live now has our personal inboxes flooded with very few emails that we actually open and inbox capacities that are being exceeded. Providers should make an effort to easily allow recipients to remove any senders directly from the platform itself.
Digital marketers should focus on the creation plane and not the competitive plane to add value to consumers’ lives. (It will certainly help the perception of being the “big guy”)
COVID has placed an increased focus on the consumer to be mindful of where they choose to spend money and who they support. Now more than never people are looking for brands they resonate with rather than just the cost or product. People are looking for strong experiences to connect with quality products and services from those brands. Consumers are gravitating towards intimate brands that can make those meaningful connections beyond the transactional, logical, and feature-focused approach. It’s in the best interest of brands to create value that resonates with consumers.
Target campaigns holistically to be inclusive and not exclusive
When campaigns are being created, teams are focusing on personas that fit the profile and failing to be mindful of how that may affect others that are outside that view. In some cases, it may even be hurtful or offensive to not be mindful of who is being left out.
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While the emergence of eCommerce has been a revolutionary way to do business it’s still fairly new relative to when global commerce first emerged in the 16th century. As eCommerce evolves and Machine Learning and AI make strong appearances within the digital buying journey, there are some fundamental kinks that need to be ironed out prior to algorithms making independent buying decisions for us. That day is much closer than we think. Ultimately it’s people today who are responsible for the commerce of tomorrow and that requires us to show compassion through commerce.
It’s great to be part of an ever-changing digital world where we have to be more intentional and mindful than ever before. I’m excited to see how people choose to prioritize people over profits as we realize what really matters. If you’re interested in chatting about digital, eCommerce, coaching, or something else that piqued your interest, reach out to me @ malaysapra.com
