Recherche avancée

Sur d’autres sites (7357)

• Data Privacy in Business : A Risk Leading to Major Opportunities

  9 août 2022, par Erin — Privacy

  Data privacy in business is a contentious issue. 

  Claims that “big data is the new oil of the digital economy” and strong links between “data-driven personalisation and customer experience” encourage leaders to set up massive data collection programmes.

  However, many of these conversations downplay the magnitude of security, compliance and ethical risks companies face when betting too much on customer data collection. 

  In this post, we discuss the double-edged nature of privacy issues in business — the risk-ridden and the opportunity-driven. ​​

  3 Major Risks of Ignoring Data Privacy in Business

  As the old adage goes : Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right.

  Easy data accessibility and ubiquity of analytics tools make data consumer collection and processing sound like a “given”. But the decision to do so opens your business to a spectrum of risks. 

  1. Compliance and Legal Risks 

  Data collection and customer privacy are protected by a host of international laws including GDPR, CCPA, and regional regulations. Only 15% of countries (mostly developing ones) don’t have dedicated laws for protecting consumer privacy. 

  

  Global legislature includes provisions on : 

  • Collectible data types
  • Allowed uses of obtained data 
  • Consent to data collection and online tracking 
  • Rights to request data removal 

  Personally identifiable information (PII) processing is prohibited or strictly regulated in most jurisdictions. Yet businesses repeatedly circumnavigate existing rules and break them on occasion.

  In Australia, for example, only 2% of brands use logos, icons or messages to transparently call out online tracking, data sharing or other specific uses of data at the sign-up stage. In Europe, around half of small businesses are still not fully GDPR-compliant — and Big Tech companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook can’t get a grip on their data collection practices even when pressed with horrendous fines. 

  Although the media mostly reports on compliance fines for “big names”, smaller businesses are increasingly receiving more scrutiny. 

  As Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist and founder of noyb NGO, explained in a Matomo webinar :

  “In Austria, my home country, there are a lot of €5,000 fines going out there as well [to smaller businesses]. Most of the time, they are just not reported. They just happen below the surface. [GDPR fines] are already a reality.”​

  In April 2022, the EU Court of Justice ruled that consumer groups can autonomously sue businesses for breaches of data protection — and nonprofit organisations like noyb enable more people to do so. 

  Finally, new data privacy legislation is underway across the globe. In the US, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia and Utah have data protection acts at different stages of approval. South African authorities are working on the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) act and Brazil is working on a local General Data Protection Law (LGPD).

  Re-thinking your stance on user privacy and data protection now can significantly reduce the compliance burden in the future. 

  2. Security Risks 

  Data collection also mandates data protection for businesses. Yet, many organisations focus on the former and forget about the latter. 

  Lenient attitudes to consumer data protection resulted in a major spike in data breaches.

  Check Point research found that cyberattacks increased 50% year-over-year, with each organisation facing 925 cyberattacks per week globally.

  Many of these attacks end up being successful due to poor data security in place. As a result, billions of stolen consumer records become publicly available or get sold on dark web marketplaces.

  What’s even more troublesome is that stolen consumer records are often purchased by marketing firms or companies, specialising in spam campaigns. Buyers can also use stolen emails to distribute malware, stage phishing and other social engineering attacks – and harvest even more data for sale. 

  One business’s negligence creates a snowball effect of negative changes down the line with customers carrying the brunt of it all. 

  In 2020, hackers successfully targeted a Finnish psychotherapy practice. They managed to steal hundreds of patient records — and then demanded a ransom both from the firm and its patients for not exposing information about their mental health issues. Many patients refused to pay hackers and some 300 records ended up being posted online as Associated Press reported.

  Not only did the practice have to deal with the cyber-breach aftermath, but it also faced vocal regulatory and patient criticisms for failing to properly protect such sensitive information.

  Security negligence can carry both direct (heavy data breach fines) and indirect losses in the form of reputational damages. An overwhelming 90% of consumers say they wouldn’t buy from a business if it doesn’t adequately protect their data. This brings us to the last point. 

  3. Reputational Risks 

  Trust is the new currency. Data negligence and consumer privacy violations are the two fastest ways to lose it. 

  Globally, consumers are concerned about how businesses collect, use, and protect their data. 

  

  • According to Forrester, 47% of UK adults actively limit the amount of data they share with websites and apps. 49% of Italians express willingness to ask companies to delete their personal data. 36% of Germans use privacy and security tools to minimise online tracking of their activities. 
  • A GDMA survey also notes that globally, 82% of consumers want more control over their personal information, shared with companies. 77% also expect brands to be transparent about how their data is collected and used. 

  When businesses fail to hold their end of the bargain — collect just the right amount of data and use it with integrity — consumers are fast to cut ties. 

  Once the information about privacy violations becomes public, companies lose : 

  • Brand equity 
  • Market share 
  • Competitive positioning 

  An AON report estimates that post-data breach companies can lose as much as 25% of their initial value. In some cases, the losses can be even higher. 

  In 2015, British telecom TalkTalk suffered from a major data breach. Over 150,000 customer records were stolen by hackers. To contain the issue, TalkTalk had to throw between $60-$70 million into containment efforts. Still, they lost over 100,000 customers in a matter of months and one-third of their company value, equivalent to $1.4 billion, by the end of the year. 

  Fresher data from Infosys gives the following maximum cost estimates of brand damage, companies could experience after a data breach (accidental or malicious).

  

  3 Major Advantages of Privacy in Business 

  Despite all the industry mishaps, a reassuring 77% of CEOs now recognise that their companies must fundamentally change their approaches to customer engagement, in particular when it comes to ensuring data privacy. 

  Many organisations take proactive steps to cultivate a privacy-centred culture and implement transparent data collection policies. 

  Here’s why gaining the “privacy advantage” pays off.

  1. Market Competitiveness 

  There’s a reason why privacy-focused companies are booming. 

  Consumers’ mounting concerns and frustrations over the lack of online privacy, prompt many to look for alternative privacy-centred products and services. 

  The following B2C and B2B products are moving from the industry margins to the mainstream : 

  • Private search engines (Duckduckgo)
  • Password managers (1password, Dashlane)
  • Online identity networks (id.me)
  • Web analytics solutions (Matomo) 
  • And secure messaging apps (Signal) among others 

  Across the board, consumers express greater trust towards companies, protective of their privacy : 

  

  And as we well know : trust translates to higher engagement, loyalty, and – ultimately revenue. 

  By embedding privacy into the core of your product, you give users more reasons to select, stay and support your business. 

  2. Higher Operational Efficiency

  Customer data protection isn’t just a policy – it’s a culture of collecting “just enough” data, protecting it and using it responsibly. 

  Sadly, that’s the area where most organisations trail behind. At present, some 90% of businesses admit to having amassed massive data silos. 

  Siloed data is expensive to maintain and operationalise. Moreover, when left unattended, it can evolve into a pressing compliance issue. 

  A recently leaked document from Facebook says the company has no idea where all of its first-party, third-party and sensitive categories data goes or how it is processed. Because of this, Facebook struggles to achieve GDPR compliance and remains under regulatory pressure. 

  Similarly, Google Analytics is riddled with privacy issues. Other company products were found to be collecting and operationalising consumer data without users’ knowledge or consent. Again, this creates valid grounds for regulatory investigations. 

  Smaller companies have a better chance of making things right at the onset. 

  By curbing customer data collection, you can : 

  • Reduce data hosting and Cloud computation costs (aka trim your Cloud bill) 
  • Improve data security practices (since you would have fewer assets to protect) 
  • Make your staff more productive by consolidating essential data and making it easy and safe to access

  Privacy-mindful companies also have an easier time when it comes to compliance and can meet new data regulations faster. 

  3. Better Marketing Campaigns 

  The biggest counter-argument to reducing customer data collection is marketing. 

  How can we effectively sell our products if we know nothing about our customers ? – your team might be asking. 

  This might sound counterintuitive, but minimising data collection and usage can lead to better marketing outcomes. 

  Limiting the types of data that can be used encourages your people to become more creative and productive by focusing on fewer metrics that are more important.

  Think of it this way : Every other business uses the same targeting parameters on Facebook or Google for running paid ad campaigns on Facebook. As a result, we see ads everywhere — and people grow unresponsive to them or choose to limit exposure by using ad blocking software, private browsers and VPNs. Your ad budgets get wasted on chasing mirage metrics instead of actual prospects. 

  Case in point : In 2017 Marc Pritchard of Procter & Gamble decided to first cut the company’s digital advertising budget by 6% (or $200 million). Unilever made an even bolder move and reduced its ad budget by 30% in 2018. 

  Guess what happened ?

  P&G saw a 7.5% increase in organic sales and Unilever had a 3.8% gain as HBR reports. So how come both companies became more successful by spending less on advertising ? 

  They found that overexposure to online ads led to diminishing returns and annoyances among loyal customers. By minimising ad exposure and adopting alternative marketing strategies, the two companies managed to market better to new and existing customers. 

  The takeaway : There are more ways to engage consumers aside from pestering them with repetitive retargeting messages or creepy personalisation. 

  You can collect first-party data with consent to incrementally improve your product — and educate them on the benefits of your solution in transparent terms.

  Final Thoughts 

  The definitive advantage of privacy is consumers’ trust. 

  You can’t buy it, you can’t fake it, you can only cultivate it by aligning your external appearances with internal practices. 

  Because when you fail to address privacy internally, your mishaps will quickly become apparent either as social media call-outs or worse — as a security incident, a data breach or a legal investigation. 

  By choosing to treat consumer data with respect, you build an extra layer of protection around your business, plus draw in some banging benefits too. 

  Get one step closer to becoming a privacy-centred company by choosing Matomo as your web analytics solution. We offer robust privacy controls for ensuring ethical, compliant, privacy-friendly and secure website tracking. 

• 10 Proven Ways Heatmaps Improve Website Conversions

  20 septembre 2021, par Ben Erskine — Analytics Tips, Plugins, Heatmap
  

  Heatmap analytics are critical in improving website conversions. Why ? Because they provide customer-centric insights. 

  In the online market, businesses that are customer-centric are 60% more profitable than businesses that are not.

  Using heatmaps to track factors such as usability, compare A/B landing pages and content engagement across channels optimises online conversions by addressing issues faced by real users. 

  How heatmaps benefit your customers

  Customer experience is one of the most important factors in business success. 

  Website heatmap software like Matomo offers unique insights into customer behaviour that is then used to improve their experience, usability and engagement. 

  Data analysis captures information on how many people complete a sales funnel or bounce from a website. Behavioural analytics like heatmaps can show you why they bounce.

  This benefits your customers (and therefore your bottom line) because it puts the focus on them and their needs.

  10 ways heatmap analytics help increase website conversions

  #1. Improve UX/Usability 

  Heatmap analytics improve usability by identifying where you are losing customers on your website.

  Forrester research indicates that improving user experience can improve conversions by up to 400%, and on average every $1 spent on UX has a return of $100. 

  For example, you may have a CTA button but customers never click it to reach the payment page. 

  Heatmaps show you how customers interact with your website naturally so that you can adjust it according to their needs.

  Using heatmap analytics to improve usability boosts conversions because it improves customer experiences. 88% of online consumers say that they wouldn’t even bother returning to a website after a bad experience. 

  #2. Website design and content structure 

  Another way that heatmaps can improve conversions is to analyse your website design and content structure. 

  You might be wondering how often a specific ad or a banner was displayed and viewed by your visitors on any of your pages and how often a visitor actually interacted with them. These two parts of the analysis are called content impression and content interaction.

  Ideally, your website elements such as banners, listings, buttons and thumbnails will entice customers to click and find out more. 

  Heatmaps and click maps analyse

  1. How many impressions the content has (e.g. a banner), and
  2. What percent of users that see the content click on it 

  For example, you may have a banner with high impressions but low click-through rates. Tracking content interactions optimises your website by showing which elements or CTAs need more visibility. 

  #3. A/B testing

  Heatmaps provide invaluable data on which landing pages are converting the best. Not only that, but session recordings and heatmap data can show you exactly why one is converting better so that you can replicate the results to increase conversions on other landing pages.

  Tracking heatmap updates on different versions of the same sales page will help confirm creative solutions faster than feedback alone. 

  Ultimately this kind of comparison increases your ROI faster because you are not guessing why some customers are converting and others are not. 

  #4. Conversion Funnel

  Using heatmap software in sales funnels lets you visualise user behaviour at each stage of the conversion process. 

  For example, if many customers are dropping off a payment page, heatmaps can indicate whether it is a usability issue such as pop ups, lack of clarity with payment buttons or something web developers haven’t seen from the back end. 

  These analytics improve conversions by reducing friction in sales funnels as much as possible. 

  #5. Content engagement across channels 

  Optimising websites across all channels is now expected for online businesses. 

  Bad mobile optimisation annoys 48% of online shoppers, and if your web page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 53% of visitors will simply click away. 

  You can use heatmaps to improve engagement by tracking mouse activity, clicks and scrolling. This helps improve conversions by confirming 

  • How invested a user is in the page 
  • How easy it is to navigate your website and content on different devices 
  • What is your most viewed content and what to push more of 
  • How users generally move through your website on different devices 
  • How clear your messaging is (e.g. high click through rate but low engagement could indicate they aren’t finding what they’re looking for once they click on a CTA)

  #6. Above the fold analysis 

  Although a well-used web development term, above the fold is still one of the most important factors in heatmap analysis. 

  Above the fold analysis gives you insight into a customer’s first impression of a page. 

  An example of above-the-fold heatmaps in action could be a page with a video explanation. Say you have a landing page with a video below the fold that explains why someone should buy and has a CTA button underneath. If there are a lot of page visitors but very few people scrolling below the fold, you can see why hardly any visitors are watching the video or engaging with the CTA button. 

  Insights like this would inform further development such as including important video content above the fold or updating header copy to encourage visitors to scroll down the page more often.

  

  #7. Session recording

  Recording features go hand in hand with heatmap visualisations. Recording features like Session Recording shows the flow of each user’s time on your website. 

  For example, a session recording replays all clicks, mouse movements, scrolls, window resizes, form interactions, and page changes (e.g. when a popup appears).

  #8. Scroll heatmap 

  A scroll heatmap shows the percentage of people that have seen a part of the page. 

  For example, the top of a website page will be the “hottest” in a scroll heatmap, and it naturally gets “colder” further down.

  Tracking this shows whether customers are staying on the page, whether they are only seeing information above the fold, and whether sales pages are engaging. 

  It is an effective strategy for improving sales pages because it shows where customers are losing interest and which elements receive the most engagement.

  

  #9. Records clicks 

  With a click heatmap, you can find out what your visitors think is clickable on a webpage.

  This improves conversions in two ways. 

  Firstly, it shows whether customers are clicking where you expect them to. For example, if you create a “buy now” or “free trial” button but nobody ever pushes it, it informs your back end developers that it needs an upgrade. 

  Secondly, it indicates any user experience issues. If there are a lot of clicks on an element that doesn’t link anywhere, it shows that it either needs to be changed or have a link included because customers are trying to engage with it. 

  For even more accurate data, combine click maps with hover maps. This shows where users are paying attention but not clicking through. 

  #10. Records mouse movement/hovering

  Is your website distracting users from the ultimate goal of converting ? Does your website have a logical flow and next step ? Recording mouse movement and attention will help you answer questions like these. 

  Mouse move and hover heatmaps identify where your website visitors engage on the page. Are they naturally drawn to your CTAs ? Is the sidebar taking their attention away from the primary content ? 

  This data increases the likelihood of conversions because it shows where you need to remove distractions or draw their attention in. 

  

  Final thoughts on heatmap analytics 

  Heatmap analytics benefit both you and your customers. By identifying issues that stop them from buying and optimise their engagement, you’ll have happy customers and happy stakeholders. 

  Next, check out these guides on heatmap software and using user behaviour analytics to increase conversions and improve customer experience !

  The Ultimate Guide to Heatmap Software

  Heatmap Video

  Session Recording Video

• 10 Proven Ways Heatmap Software Improves Website Conversions

  20 septembre 2021, par Ben Erskine — Analytics Tips, Plugins, Heatmap
  

  Heatmap software is critical in improving website conversions. Why ? Because it provides customer-centric insights. 

  In the online market, businesses that are customer-centric are 60% more profitable than businesses that are not.

  Using heatmaps to track factors such as usability, compare A/B landing pages and content engagement across channels optimises online conversions by addressing issues faced by real users. 

  How heatmaps benefit your customers

  Customer experience is one of the most important factors in business success. 

  Website heatmap software like Matomo offers unique insights into customer behaviour that is then used to improve their experience, usability and engagement. 

  Data analysis captures information on how many people complete a sales funnel or bounce from a website. Behavioural analytics like heatmaps can show you why they bounce.

  This benefits your customers (and therefore your bottom line) because it puts the focus on them and their needs.

  10 ways heatmap software helps increase website conversions

  #1. Improve UX/Usability 

  Heatmap analytics improve usability by identifying where you are losing customers on your website.

  Forrester research indicates that improving user experience can improve conversions by up to 400%, and on average every $1 spent on UX has a return of $100. 

  For example, you may have a CTA button but customers never click it to reach the payment page. 

  Heatmaps show you how customers interact with your website naturally so that you can adjust it according to their needs.

  Using heatmap analytics to improve usability boosts conversions because it improves customer experiences. 88% of online consumers say that they wouldn’t even bother returning to a website after a bad experience. 

  #2. Website design and content structure 

  Another way that heatmaps can improve conversions is to analyse your website design and content structure. 

  You might be wondering how often a specific ad or a banner was displayed and viewed by your visitors on any of your pages and how often a visitor actually interacted with them. These two parts of the analysis are called content impression and content interaction.

  Ideally, your website elements such as banners, listings, buttons and thumbnails will entice customers to click and find out more. 

  Heatmaps and click maps analyse

  1. How many impressions the content has (e.g. a banner), and
  2. What percent of users that see the content click on it 

  For example, you may have a banner with high impressions but low click-through rates. Tracking content interactions optimises your website by showing which elements or CTAs need more visibility. 

  #3. A/B testing

  Heatmaps provide invaluable data on which landing pages are converting the best. Not only that, but session recordings and heatmap data can show you exactly why one is converting better so that you can replicate the results to increase conversions on other landing pages.

  Tracking heatmap updates on different versions of the same sales page will help confirm creative solutions faster than feedback alone. 

  Ultimately this kind of comparison increases your ROI faster because you are not guessing why some customers are converting and others are not. 

  #4. Conversion Funnel

  Using heatmap software in sales funnels lets you visualise user behaviour at each stage of the conversion process. 

  For example, if many customers are dropping off a payment page, heatmaps can indicate whether it is a usability issue such as pop ups, lack of clarity with payment buttons or something web developers haven’t seen from the back end. 

  These analytics improve conversions by reducing friction in sales funnels as much as possible. 

  #5. Content engagement across channels 

  Optimising websites across all channels is now expected for online businesses. 

  Bad mobile optimisation annoys 48% of online shoppers, and if your web page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 53% of visitors will simply click away. 

  You can use heatmaps to improve engagement by tracking mouse activity, clicks and scrolling. This helps improve conversions by confirming 

  • How invested a user is in the page 
  • How easy it is to navigate your website and content on different devices 
  • What is your most viewed content and what to push more of 
  • How users generally move through your website on different devices 
  • How clear your messaging is (e.g. high click through rate but low engagement could indicate they aren’t finding what they’re looking for once they click on a CTA)

  #6. Above the fold analysis 

  Although a well-used web development term, above the fold is still one of the most important factors in heatmap analysis. 

  Above the fold analysis gives you insight into a customer’s first impression of a page. 

  An example of above-the-fold heatmaps in action could be a page with a video explanation. Say you have a landing page with a video below the fold that explains why someone should buy and has a CTA button underneath. If there are a lot of page visitors but very few people scrolling below the fold, you can see why hardly any visitors are watching the video or engaging with the CTA button. 

  Insights like this would inform further development such as including important video content above the fold or updating header copy to encourage visitors to scroll down the page more often.

  

  #7. Session recording

  Recording features go hand in hand with heatmap visualisations. Recording features like Session Recording shows the flow of each user’s time on your website. 

  For example, a session recording replays all clicks, mouse movements, scrolls, window resizes, form interactions, and page changes (e.g. when a popup appears).

  #8. Scroll heatmap 

  A scroll heatmap shows the percentage of people that have seen a part of the page. 

  For example, the top of a website page will be the “hottest” in a scroll heatmap, and it naturally gets “colder” further down.

  Tracking this shows whether customers are staying on the page, whether they are only seeing information above the fold, and whether sales pages are engaging. 

  It is an effective strategy for improving sales pages because it shows where customers are losing interest and which elements receive the most engagement.

  

  #9. Records clicks 

  With a click heatmap, you can find out what your visitors think is clickable on a webpage.

  This improves conversions in two ways. 

  Firstly, it shows whether customers are clicking where you expect them to. For example, if you create a “buy now” or “free trial” button but nobody ever pushes it, it informs your back end developers that it needs an upgrade. 

  Secondly, it indicates any user experience issues. If there are a lot of clicks on an element that doesn’t link anywhere, it shows that it either needs to be changed or have a link included because customers are trying to engage with it. 

  For even more accurate data, combine click maps with hover maps. This shows where users are paying attention but not clicking through. 

  #10. Records mouse movement/hovering

  Is your website distracting users from the ultimate goal of converting ? Does your website have a logical flow and next step ? Recording mouse movement and attention will help you answer questions like these. 

  Mouse move and hover heatmaps identify where your website visitors engage on the page. Are they naturally drawn to your CTAs ? Is the sidebar taking their attention away from the primary content ? 

  This data increases the likelihood of conversions because it shows where you need to remove distractions or draw their attention in. 

  

  Final thoughts on heatmap analytics 

  Heatmap analytics benefit both you and your customers. By identifying issues that stop them from buying and optimise their engagement, you’ll have happy customers and happy stakeholders. 

  Next, check out these guides on heatmap software and using user behaviour analytics to increase conversions and improve customer experience !

  The Ultimate Guide to Heatmap Software

  How to use Behavioural Analytics to Improve Website Performance

  Heatmap Video

  Session Recording Video