Data… Worth Its Weight in Gold

There is a growing movement that is trying to convince consumers that they are sitting on a veritable goldmine by doing nothing more than going online. 

I’ve come across a pair of articles in the past week or two that spotlight the trend of start-up companies looking to help consumers monetize their personal data.

Who knew that viewing funny pictures of cats could be the yellow brick road to retirement?

For auto lenders, this is an interesting development on a couple of different levels.

Firstly, how can lenders capitalize on this trend? How can they target potential car-buyers and let them know about a specific offer before other lenders get to them?

A recent report released about online advertising highlighted that companies are not doing enough to target specific consumers with specific offers. A consultant working with the World Economic Forum studying the economics of personal data thinks that a killer app will be released within the next 12 months that helps companies increase their targeting of consumers by harnessing the massive amount of personal data that exists online. 

Think about how powerful it would be if you knew that a consumer had posted on Facebook asking friends about where they have their car loans, and if they had visited a site that has auto loan calculators, and had agreed to receive auto loan offers via email. How much would you pay for that kind of lead? 

A recently released report from KPMG said that more than 60% of consumers are willing to have their actions online tracked by companies, as long as they receive some value from the partnership. 

Above and beyond the lead-generating opportunities that exist by targeting consumers’ personal data, there is the larger concern of privacy. When it comes to consumers’ financial information, privacy is paramount. How much of an individual’s information will be available and what will lenders be able to see and control? 

Data is what is going to drive the next boom cycle for auto lenders. Those who succeed, especially in the direct market, will be those who can wade through the morass of data to identify potential leads before anyone else can. 

There is a growing movement that is trying to convince consumers that they are sitting on a veritable goldmine by doing nothing more than going online. 

I’ve come across a pair of articles in the past week or two that spotlight the trend of start-up companies looking to help consumers monetize their personal data.

Who knew that viewing funny pictures of cats could be the yellow brick road to retirement?

For auto lenders, this is an interesting development on a couple of different levels.

Firstly, how can lenders capitalize on this trend? How can they target potential car-buyers and let them know about a specific offer before other lenders get to them?

A recent report released about online advertising highlighted that companies are not doing enough to target specific consumers with specific offers. A consultant working with the World Economic Forum studying the economics of personal data thinks that a killer app will be released within the next 12 months that helps companies increase their targeting of consumers by harnessing the massive amount of personal data that exists online. 

Think about how powerful it would be if you knew that a consumer had posted on Facebook asking friends about where they have their car loans, and if they had visited a site that has auto loan calculators, and had agreed to receive auto loan offers via email. How much would you pay for that kind of lead? 

A recently released report from KPMG said that more than 60% of consumers are willing to have their actions online tracked by companies, as long as they receive some value from the partnership. 

Above and beyond the lead-generating opportunities that exist by targeting consumers’ personal data, there is the larger concern of privacy. When it comes to consumers’ financial information, privacy is paramount. How much of an individual’s information will be available and what will lenders be able to see and control? 

Data is what is going to drive the next boom cycle for auto lenders. Those who succeed, especially in the direct market, will be those who can wade through the morass of data to identify potential leads before anyone else can.