Privacy and technology key to earning brand trust, says Nike’s CTO Chris Satchell
Ensuring data is used in a way that respects a consumer’s privacy and providing consistent technology are two key factors in brands earning consumer trust, according to consumer technology officer at Nike Chris Satchell.
Speaking at the Web Summit in Dublin Satchell stressed the importance of handling consumer data in a sensitive manner in order to build and maintain strong relationships, while delivering seamless technology to create credibility.
“Privacy is not just about making sure that data is secure. Because as you’ve seen in the post-Snowden world the thought of consumer privacy being secure is paramount in people’s minds. But it’s more than that, it’s about respecting the consumer and what they want you to do with their data,” he said.
Satchell described each consumer transaction as a “credit or debit in trust” and said that as a brand builds on the number of transactions it has generated via trust, it must continue to deliver that expected level of service or risk alienating consumers.
“As soon as you do something they don’t expect that trust is eroded really quickly so you have to focus on that,” he advised. “You have to be patient and build that investment over time and the key pivot is to not think transactionally about your consumer.
“Even if it seems like a transactional business, you have to think of the lifetime value and realise you’re going to meet this consumer again and again via different channels, and you need to build that relationship and think of the journey they take as they interact with the brand.”
On technology Satchell said that in a digital-first world, a brand must be ever aware that even if its customers only buy a product every six months, they probably interact with it on a daily basis via social media or other brand apps.
“It can seem odd for a company like Nike, that is so much about footwear and apparel, but it really is that your brand [needs to be] consistent with technology, because so many of our consumers are digital first and that’s the way they interact with us every day. So when they interact with you in that way, what they think of your brand is synonymous with what they think of your technology.
Satchell added that Nike has changed its strategy across all touch points of the brand and now puts “the consumer in and not the business out” when considering its marketing and technology development.