In the last couple of years there has been a recurring
theme on media press sites covering technology, of companies compromising the
security and belittling the value of their customers information – whether it
be dangerous (i.e. bank cards) or personal. The recent headline that drew my
attention was on BBC News - “Social apps ‘harvest smartphone contacts’”. According
to the report, the Twitter App on the iPhone has been copying entire address
books from the phone to another third party company.
While apologies have been made and policies changed, it highlights
a growing trend in security and private information breaches. This rise has also been
matched in the amount of data that is being captured and stored by companies.
This blog has already covered the issue of Big Data and the difficulties in
controlling and utilizing that information to maximum effect – but perhaps I
left one thing off the list of key challenges of Volume, Velocity and Variety –
and that is Protection.
Without sounding like a school teacher addressing a disobedient
child, thought needs to be put towards ensuring that data security is tight throughout
the whole organisation, but that it is also treated with a level of respect.
The above example demonstrates that this is not always the case.
Managing the customer experience and customer feedback in
particular is no different. Aside from ensuring that all the data is secure and
regional laws are abided by, contact with the customer requires a handling with
respect. Whether this is in how we protect data or in using it to engage with
the customer in a conversation.
For companies to gather data and effectively map the
customer journey it is paramount to ensure that customers feel comfortable and
happy for their information to be stored and used. These recent articles should
be a warning to us all that despite the vast increases in the amount of data
that is being used by businesses and the subsequent challenges that throws up, its protection and responsible use must constantly
be at the forefront of companies minds as well.
Tom Lynam
For more info on NICE Fizzback please visit www.nice.com/fizzback