Privacy and personalization: the new marketing automation dilemma

Automation has never been more efficient, nor more challenging. Amid the race for personalization, brands face a delicate question: how to create unique and relevant experiences without exceeding the limit of privacy? With consumers more attentive to the use of their data and increasingly strict regulations, digital marketing is now living one of its biggest dilemmas.

A McKinsey & Company survey showed that 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions with brands, but at the same time, 76% are frustrated when this standard is not met. What's more: companies that invest in customization strategically can generate 40% more revenue than their direct competitors.The problem is that to deliver this type of experience, you need to deal with sensitive data, which requires technical care, transparency and common sense.

Luiz Santos follows this discussion closely.Founder of Unnichat, CRM and automation platform via official WhatsApp API, is a specialist in digital strategies focused on automation, artificial intelligence and communication at scale. After years working with digital marketing and business structuring, Luiz argues that “automatizar well today is as important as knowing how far to automate”. For him, the risk is not only in the misuse of technology, but in the lack of strategy when treating data as mere metrics.

The advancement of AI and automation tools has made it possible to customize messages based on behavior, location, purchase history and even at the time of day. But this is only effective when the customer feels that he has control. “If the user does not understand why he is receiving a certain message, or if he thinks that it has been invaded, the brand loses value at the time”, warns the entrepreneur.

The search for balance goes through a concept on the rise in marketing: personalization with consent. This includes making it clear how data is used, allowing the customer to choose what type of communication they want to receive and offer real value in return. “When automation respects the time, profile and context of the customer, it ceases to be a sending machine and becomes a relationship tool”, explains Luiz.

In addition, the use of strategies such as privacy-first customization, an approach that prioritizes respect for privacy even in automated flows, is growing. According to an analysis published by CMSWire, this practice has been gaining momentum among companies that want to differentiate themselves not only by the effectiveness of their messages, but also by ethics in the use of data.

In Brazil, this theme also becomes more relevant as the LGPD advances in regulation and corporate oversight.This means that misconfigured automations, without explicit consent or with exaggerated data collection, can not only compromise the brand image, but also generate legal sanctions.

The way, according to Luiz Santos, is to use technology as a means, not as an end.“O that makes the customer loyal is not the volume of messages, but how much they make sense to him. Personalization can not seem surveillance. It has to appear careful.”

Ultimately, personalizing with intelligence and respect is no longer a differential. Now it is a basic condition for any automation to work and generate results. The challenge for companies is not only to become more efficient with AI and data, but also more human and transparent in the process.