Data should work in both your and the customer’s favor

As a marketer, however, I have to be careful with how I use shared information. As a B2B marketer, I have to be even more careful, since most B2B software purchasers have grey hair like me and tend to be less trusting when it comes to privacy.

The trick is to leverage data in a way that provides the best experience possible, without risking your customer relationships by creeping them out. …

Remember that data should work in both your and the customer’s favor. As long as you’re respectful and responsible regarding boundaries of privacy, using these insights can create a more personalized experience that your customers will not only approve of but also appreciate.

via 3 Rules of Respectful Data-Driven Marketing.

Brillant summary by Heather Zynczak.

And no, I don’t agree with the ignorance of Google CEO Eric Schmidt or Sun Microsystems former CEO Scott McNealy.