A short while ago, I received some seriously bad service from a large retailer. The manager was not available to assist me at the time and the employees on the floor didn't seem too fazed by my ire or annoyance. In fact, there was even a muffled giggle or two.
On leaving the store, I used my phone to navigate to the retailer's Web site. Finding its contact details, I proceeded to write an immediate e-mail of complaint. Still not quite satisfied, I then popped on over to the retailer's Facebook page and wrote a message on the wall. If I had a Twitter account, I probably would have sent a tweet as well - that was my level of annoyance.
In those 15 to 20 minutes, I generated a huge amount of passive data.
Simply put, passive data is data that is generated in the background. However, to me, passive data is more than just keystrokes on a computer. It is all of the information that people leave in their wake. Birthdays, identity numbers, telephone numbers, address information, etc, that people are quite happy to leave on a Web site, form or social media platform. From my GPRS location to my account details, Facebook and Twitter feeds, to information about the store and its employees, this data goes all the way through to my friends and followers on Facebook.
Handy hints
The trail of detailed passive data left behind could be collected using reasonably sophisticated Web technology, and could even contain information that would help a smart business analyse behaviour and predict preferences.
Analysis could be conducted using historical profiles, how long people spend on a page, whether they print, save or e-mail the page, and what links are used to navigate away from that page. Cookies and HTTP logging can be examined, Web site traffic can be tracked and monitored - visitors per day and hour, what is popular and what is not, data quality, global location, IP addresses, downloaded files, and so on. If the retailer was really interested in my complaint, it could have gleaned a lot of information about me - the list is reasonably scary in a 'big brother' kind of way.
Nowadays, with the cost of storage at an all-time low, it is common for most businesses to collect - with varying degrees of success - and keep these huge volumes of passive data. Filed and stored away, it is sometimes completely un-indexed, dirty, un-contextualised, and on occasion, even forgotten. However, could this kind of data be useful in any real and tangible way?
The answer is yes, and perhaps more so than can be imagined. With robust and well trained sentiment analysis, customer lifetime value and network influence rating tools in place, some manpower, polish, smoke and mirrors - the store with which I had a complaint could have offered me a small freebie exactly tailored to my tastes. With minimal intervention, my frustration could have been addressed before I had even left the mall.
This passive data that people create and leave behind will lead to new and improved customer-centric policies, procedures and brand management, and in return, reputation could be boosted or negativity negated in an instant.
As much as people believe they are wholly unique, humans are predictable. This means passive data contains a whole set of quantifiable variables that can be used to predict even more about them. Where they are, what they like, how often they access the Web, their connections and followers - this all forms part of a literal Web, saturated with information that can be mined.
Some passive data people do not even provide voluntarily - it just sits there for the taking. My Facebook page has details on it that I would not want strangers having access to. However, in the fake intimacy that Facebook thrives on, the fact that strangers see those intimate details gets completely lost in the hunger for information about who got married, who is in a relationship, who is single, etc. The list really is endless.
Strike it lucky
Correctly harnessed and in the right hands, entire marketing strategies could be leveraged from this passive data goldmine. In the wrong hands, the thought occasionally makes me think about deleting my social media accounts. However, I have hope, perhaps unfounded and blind, that the information I inadvertently as well as purposefully leave lying around is used for my benefit. Used by the big retailer to correct a wrong, used by administrators to improve a Web site experience, or used by a Web site creator to give me better service.
This passive data that people create and leave behind will lead to new and improved customer-centric policies.
The value of information like this is in the eyes of those who use it. Extremely powerful, passive data comes into its own when it is harnessed by smart marketing, forward-thinking policies, and trend-setting corporations.
As for my big retailer? Well, I am still waiting for a reply to my mail and Facebook post. In the meantime, I will not shop at one of its many stores. I regale all my friends and family with stories of that one time I was so angry, etc. Yes, I am just one dissatisfied customer and the loss of revenue and damage to the retailer's brand from me is so minimal when looked at from that point of view.
However, today's world is beyond connected. This is a world where my Facebook message could be viewed by thousands of potential customers. All it would have taken is an apology, a reply, a phone call, or - even better - a bit of analysis of that passive data it already has, and a personalised compensatory gift to suit my tastes would have made up for the lack of service.
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