Marketing, Data, and Predictions
Posted: Fri 17 February, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Business, Cynicism, Marketing, People, Shopping 4 Comments »Over at Forbes.com, there’s a really interesting article about how companies can make predictions about your life and life-events, based purely on your buying habits.
In this case, the US store Target did analysis on its customers who signed up for their ‘pregnancy club’, and then data-mined their buying habits in the run-up to the birth. Of course, you need something to identify these people by – that’s what ‘loyalty’ cards are for. (Tesco’s Clubcard, Sainsbury’s’ Nectar etc. etc)
And of course it turns out that they could then send out marketing to those people – in one case, knowing a girl was pregnant before her own father did.
It’s always worth remembering, stores don’t give you loyalty cards and ‘rewards’ for nothing. They own all the data about you that the cards give – what you’re buying, why, when, where etc. – and they’re using that for their own profitability.
As David Mitchell said, (and I think I’ve posted it here before) :
When you’re getting something free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product.
Updated : A quick add – this was also something written about in the New York Times Magazine article ‘How Companies Learn Your Secrets‘
If you like thrillers then check out “Library Of The Dead” by Glen Cooper
T£$co are the most sinister miner of data in the UK.
As I’m sure you know, all big companies have highly developed CRM (customer relationship management) software which details every interaction you ever have with them, in any department. And then they swap/join up data.
The state owned banks have a (much hotter than the non-state owned banks) hot-line to HMRC too.
And it’s not just loyalty cards – storage by credit card can be worse. Which is why I never kep any card more than 2 years.
Now, join loyalty and credit card data to FB etc, and what do you have?
The future is not private.
I’m not sure personally whether it’s Tesco or Nectar that’s now most sinister. At least Clubcards aren’t accepted (to my knowledge) in a load of other places too. I know Nectar are linked to Sainsbury’s, Homebase, Argos (I think), Ford garages, Expedia, and a few others.
(Actually, I just found this link to the Nectar site that tells you everywhere it’s used)
Mind you, I’m still surprised at the number of people who think places like eBay are safe for ‘private commerce’ too – that’s another one with lovely records of every transaction you’ve made. Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a connect/back-door to HMRC there too.
I wish there was a back-door from eBay to HMRC… the number of people I know who trade on there as private individuals and aren’t, and don’t declare any revenue for tax is worrying. If you buy and sell, without actually owning a product for a reasonable time yourself, it’s trade and it’s taxable, period. Mind you, the same goes for Etsy, Folksy, and all the other crafty produce stores.