Privacy and one‐to‐one marketing: resolving the conflict

There exists a vibrant literature dealing with one‐to‐one marketing and mass customization. The practice holds the promise of very satisfied customers, and profitable marketers who can create their own unassailable market positions. One of the building blocks of mass customization is knowledge of the customer and his/her complex set of preferences. There is a significant obstacle to gaining this information, namely the growing trend toward consumer privacy. Traditionally, businesses have collected massive amounts of information, hoping to identify responsive market segments. In the process, they have collected data on numerous individuals who would not realistically become customers. One solution to the problem is a strategic management approach involving an exchange of value between customers and marketers. Using a strategic approach, marketers can target the most attractive consumers, avoiding those whose lifetime value to the firm is low. By employing the relationship management processes of one‐to‐one marketing, marketers can avoid privacy issues altogether. This paper discusses the conceptual background of information based value exchange, proposes a new orientation toward customer relationship management and discusses several implications for marketers.