Stop or Keep Watching Me!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nila Nealy on February 21, 2008 at 9:31pm

Very interesting discussion. There's a lot of intelligence here - as in big brains. I'm in marketing and, frankly, the level of data collected as well as the sorting, segmenting and analysis of it is mind boggling to me. Too much detail for this abstract mind!

I've worked with Claritas a few times and am always kind of in awe that they can take a very detailed profile from a set of ideal customers and pinpoint down to the household more people in whatever U.S. geography I name that look almost exactly like those other buyers. Then I get creeped out because I know my zip+bazillion is in their database and they can find out whatever they want about me with the click of a button.

To weigh in where I stand, I'd say I'm in favor of focused and targeted marketing to me. I believe someone else said this: sometimes I learn about products or services I wouldn't otherwise be aware of via these targeted marketing messages.

I think of Target (name is no coincidence here). They do a nice job of marketing with with their register coupons and other coupons, offers and promotions they send through the mail. I love it when I get a booklet of 20 coupons from them and at least 16 of them are for things that are on my regular list. And, they reward me from time to time with a little surprise gift. I buy the majority of our family's prescriptions at their pharmacy (including the dog's). A few months ago, they sent me a very cool thermometer simply as a thank you. I feel a little like we're having a dialog.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matt Theobald on February 21, 2008 at 11:47pm

I wish I could say STOP, but I think the online environment is almost unusable without being monitored.
So, almost complete transparancy in my mode du jour. Keep watching!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Scott Abel on February 22, 2008 at 6:21am

Watch me. Track me. Collect my data. But for goodness sake, if you bother to collect information, use it. I'm tired of mass mailings and I yearn for personalized, dynamically delivered content. I'm tired of old school marketing. Give me a company that listens to their customers and maintains a relevant conversation with me.

It's not like this technology isn't available today. It is. Today, I work with customers who need to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time in the right format and in the right language. In order to do so, we have to marry information about the prospects with public information, demographic information, and tracking information, so we can deliver messages that are relevant. That's why our direct and email campaigns outperform all others -- by a long shot. We personalize each message -- the graphics, the text, the offer -- to the individual human who we're targeting.

I'll be blogging about these services, explaining how they work, who's doing it, and more on my Smaller Indiana blog (and in a local business magazine, soon).

So, yes. Feel free to pay attention and act up what you learn about your prospects. Anything else is disrespectful.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nicki Laycoax on February 22, 2008 at 9:15am

It is intriguing and disturbing to me at the same time.

Intriguing in that-wow! How did we get to such an internet age, that anyone other than the IRS, FBI, and CIA can track our every moves? That is great advancement!

Disturbing that I question what all is being seen and collected. For instance if Google Maps and Google Earth can place images of your house online, and Sales Genie type companies can track what you spend, where you shop, what you eat, a surgery you've recently had, if you have bad credit, if you are extremely wealthy, have bought a new car, etc.... What's next? Will they be doing in-home virtual tours by placing satellites outside every home? Will I be able to shower without the world knowing about the soap I use and the patterns I follow when brushing my teeth?

All in all, it is amazing to me, but it is also super creepy... I rarely get any "junk mail" that applies to me. Credit card fliers telling me that I qualify for $25,000 instantly.. apparently they haven't done their research... Coin collecting? What the heck! What about me says coin collecting?

Fun times, fun times... :~)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Manash Sahoo on February 22, 2008 at 9:24am

I like permission based marketing for things I am interested in. I want to know when there is a flight or trip deal to florida - so I am on Expedia's emails. I have Cabelas send me a weekly email on their store sales. and so on...This beats constantly digging into web searches finding out who's got what for sale, etc.

I don't like unsolicited emails encouraging me to increase my manhood, my drug supply or getting diplomas without ever going to school. These are things I am not interested in and have not asked for it.

Oh, and no I don't like to be tracked in the sense of the information being sold to other businesses for further unsolicited email. However, I like to be tracked from the standpoint that the collected data helps the store I have given permission to market more precisely to what I am interested in to better my experience with that store. Look at iTunes. I like that it suggests other artists I may be interested in based on my previous selections.

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last