A

BUSINESS DISSERTATION
ON
“A CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE FOR PERSONALIZED MARKETING"

Submitted to
SCHOOL OF PETROLEUM MANAGEMENT
PANDIT DEENDAYAL PETROLEUM UNIVERSITY
GANDHINAGAR

IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE AWARD OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Faculty Guide
Dr. Somdeb Lahiri

Submitted by
DHRUVI PARESH SOLANKI
[Batch : 2019-2021, Enrollment No.: 20195059]

March, 2021
 DECLARATION

I, Dhruvi Paresh Solanki, student of MBA Batch 2019-2021 School Of Petroleum

Management, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar hereby declare that the
Business Dissertation entitled “A Consumer Perspective For Personalized Marketing”is a
result of my own research work and our indebtedness to other work publications, references, if
any, have been duly acknowledged. I shall be solely responsible for any plagiarism or other
irregularities, if noticed in the thesis.

I assert that the statements made and conclusions drawn are the outcome of my own research
work. I further declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief that the Business Dissertation
does not contain any part of any work which has been submitted for the award of any other
degree/diploma/certificate in this University or any other University in India or Abroad.

Place: Gandhinagar
Date:01-04-2021 Dhruvi Solanki

1
 PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and pretend that it is one’s
own. Dissertation has significant new work / knowledge as compared already published or is
under consideration to be published elsewhere. No sentence, equation, diagram, table, paragraph
or section has been copied verbatim from previous work unless it is placed under quotation marks
and duly referenced. I have used a recognized convention for citation and referencing. Each
significant contribution and quotation from the works of other people has been attributed, cited
and referenced
The thesis has been checked using <Turnitin> (copy of originality report attached) and found
within limits as per PDPU Plagiarism Policy and instructions issued from time to time.
I certify that this submission is my own work. I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to
copy this work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work.

Place: Gandhinagar
Date: 01-04-2021 Dhruvi Solanki

2
TURNITIN Originality Report

3
 CERTIFICATE

I certify that the work incorporated in this Business Dissertation titled “A Consumer Perspective
For Personalized Marketing” submitted by Dhruvi Solanki was carried out by the student under
my supervision/guidance. To the best of my knowledge: (i) the student has not submitted the
same research work to any other institution for any degree/diploma, Fellowship or other similar
titles (ii) the Business Dissertation submitted is a record of original research work done by the
student during the period of study under my supervision, and (iii) the Business Dissertation
represents independent research work on the part of the student.

Place: (Signature)
Date: Dr. Somdeb Lahiri

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am extremely happy to express our deep sense of gratitude to our teacher and guide Dr. Somdeb
Lahiri, who guided my work with scholarly advice and whole hearted enthusiasm.
I am also thankful to our teachers and our friends for their encouragement. We use this
opportunity to express sincere thanks to our parents for their constant support.

Above all, we thank god all mighty for the blessings showered on us for completing this project.

Place: Gandhinagar Dhruvi Solanki

5
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................9

Chapter 1. Introduction and Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................10
1.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................10
1.2 Why Personalized Marketing Matter? ........................................................................................................12
1.3 Statement of Problem .................................................................................................................................12
1.4 Purpose of Research ...................................................................................................................................13
1.5 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework of Research .................................................................................13

Chapter 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................15

2.1 Personalized Marketing ..............................................................................................................................15
2.2 Consumer Perception ..................................................................................................................................16
2.3 Online Consumer Behaviour ......................................................................................................................16
2.4 Privacy Concerns ........................................................................................................................................16
2.5 Past Experiences .........................................................................................................................................17

Chapter 3. Research Objectives and Hypotheses .............................................................................................18

Chapter 4.- Methodology and Data Collection .................................................................................................19
4.1 Research Approach ................................................................................................................................................ 19
4.2 Gathering of Data ................................................................................................................................................... 19
4.2.1 Primary and Secondary Data ................................................................................................................19
4.2.2 Choice of Survey Sample .....................................................................................................................19
4.2.3 The Procedural of the Survey ...............................................................................................................20

Chapter 5. Data Analysis and Interpretations ...................................................................................................22

5.1 Presentation of General Data ......................................................................................................................22
5.2 Detailed Analysis of Results .......................................................................................................................22
5.3 Chi-square test of Independence for Perception towards personalized marketing*Past Information Sharing
and Privacy Concerns .................................................................................................................................26

Chapter 6. Conclusion and Recommendation ..................................................................................................29

6.1 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................29
6.2 Practical Implications .................................................................................................................................29

Limitation and Further Research ......................................................................................................................29

Bibliography .....................................................................................................................................................31
Annexures .........................................................................................................................................................34

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Classification of various questions posed enquired upon several aspects of personalization ..........................20
Table 2. Case processing summary ..................................................................................................................27
Table 3. Chi-square test output .........................................................................................................................27

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Conceptual frame work of consumer perception towards personalized marketing ..........................13
Figure 2. Age Distribution ................................................................................................................................22
Figure 3. Gender Distribution ...........................................................................................................................22
Figure 4. Profession ..........................................................................................................................................22
Figure 5. Awareness about personalized marketing .........................................................................................22
Figure 6. Attitude towards concept ...................................................................................................................23
Figure 7. Preference for traditional vs personalized marketing ........................................................................23
Figure 8. How often do you encounter personalized marketing? .....................................................................23
Figure 9. Reasons why you will prefer personalization ...................................................................................23
Figure 10. Intrigue of personal information in advertising...............................................................................24
Figure 11. Do you like the idea of personalized search results based on past experiences? ............................24
Figure 12. What particular information included would appeal to you? ..........................................................25
Figure 13. Would you be comfortable disclosing information to website or advertiser?.................................25

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

As a result of constant and overwhelming exposure to the modern consumer, traditional advertising has
persevered through exceptional examination because of its nosy nature. The traditional type of advertising is
more coordinated towards huge client sections in specified areas. Because of innovation marketing has evolved
into an extreme form of segmentation where advertising is targeted towards the individual consumer dependent
on their personal requirements and interests. Interest for personalization is high and has a potential to positively
impact business if offered in correct manner. This has prompted a conversation of whether personalized
advertising is something that make privacy concerns or advantages according to the buyer. The motivation
behind this study is to investigate the customer perception of personalized marketing and how the past
experiences and privacy concerns affects the perception towards it. A conceptual framework was developed
based on earlier research within personalized marketing. A qualitative method with an abductive approach has
been used. Our primary data was collected through online questionnaire and respondents consisted of men and
women in the age span of 18-28 years’ old who had engaged in e-commerce and personalized advertising.Our
observational information has been investigated out of the literature review, which establishes the basis for
our discoveries. Our findings show that the customer's past experiences and privacy concerns influences
perception of personalized marketing.

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

1.1 Introduction

We live in an era of connection and the consumer market isn't any exception. Businesses are anticipated to
now not just meet the desires of clients, however expect and exceed them. Today’s market is continuously
fluctuating and its essential companies adapt by harnessing the power of analytics and artificial intelligence
(AI) to make the vital adjustments to live on and thrive. Having a robust advertising and marketing approach
isn’t enough anymore. As customer expectations change, competition turns into more advanced, and
information gets greater detailed, chief marketing officers (CMOs) are underneath tremendous pressure to
modernize their technique to advertising and marketing. This has brought complexity to their roles and
positioned them on the coronary heart of organizational achievement. Pivoting to a virtual-first mind-set, the
use of AI to create more potent, extra proper interactions with clients, and efficaciously the usage of
technologies to capitalize on information for insights-driven results are just a few challenges for a CMO’s.
The solution for these challenges is a personalized, AI-powered advertising and marketing method. (Jaffery)
Personalized advertising is the implementation of a strategy with the aid of which companies deliver
individualized content to customers through data collection, analysis, and the use of automation technology.
The intention of personalized advertising is to truly engage customers or potential clients by communicating
with every as an individual. (Murray, 2017). Advancements in data collection techniques, analytics, digital
electronics, and digital economics, have enabled marketers to deploy greater effective real-time and extended
customer experience on personalization processes. (Personalized_marketing)
Personalization is becoming more prominent in digital marketing, offering an improved customer experience
by providing information or targeting commercials based on an individual’s activities and interests. In fact, in
keeping with a new report from SmartHQ, 72% of consumers say they now only interact with advertising
messages that customized and tailored to their pursuits. (Wright, 2020).

One-to-one marketing refers to marketing strategies applied directly to a specific consumer. Knowing about
consumer's preferences, empowers proposing specific products and promotions to each consumer. One-to-one
marketing is based on four main steps in order to fulfill its goals: identify, differentiate, interact, and customize.

1. Identify: In this stage, the significant concern is to become more acquainted with the clients of an
organization, to gather dependable information about their inclinations and how their needs can best be
fulfilled.
2. Differentiate: To recognize the clients as far as their lifetime worth to the organization, to know them by
their priorities in terms of their needs, and segment them into more restricted groups.
3. Interact: In this stage, one needs to know by which communication channel and by what means, contact
with the customer is best made. It is important to stand out enough to get the customer's attention by
engaging with him/her in ways that are known as being the ones that he/she appreciates the most.

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4. Customize: One needs to personalize the product or service to the customer individually. The knowledge
that an organization has about a customer, should be incorporated and the data held must be considered in
order to be able to give the client exactly what he/she wants.

There are various benefits of personalized marketing, for both organizations and consumers. When strategies
are implemented successfully, the following benefits come into play:

1. Improved Customer Experience. Customers are more comfortable providing personal information to
their favourite brands if they get something in return. They fill out forms, download whitepapers,
participate in surveys to get discounts, and indicate their favourite purchases or preferences. With all
of this customer data being offered, the consumer expects brands to protect any sensitive information
and offer more personalized experiences when they come back.
2. Drive Revenue. By identifying and responding to the preferred channel for each customer, companies
can increase ROI. With the right automation technology, marketers can identify which channel
customers engage with, then automatically follow up across channels as part of an omnichannel
approach.
3. Increase Brand Loyalty. When consumers provide information and data, they expect to be treated as
unique individuals with specific preferences. Businesses that dedicate time and resources to implement
successful personalized marketing strategies will benefit from a competitive advantage in both brand
loyalty and customer satisfaction.
4. Create Consistency Across Channels. Consumers are interacting with brands across a number of
channels, including email, social, mobile, etc., sometimes all in a single day. For this reason, it’s more
important than ever for brands to create consistency across various channels. The in-store experience
should match the app experience, which should match email messaging. You get the point.

Personalized marketing is gaining headway and has become a point of popular interest with the emergence of
relevant and supportive technologies like DMP, geotargeting, and various forms of social media. Now, many
people believe it is the inevitable baseline for the future of marketing strategy and for future business success
in competitive markets.
Many people are concerned that companies are using too much personal information to create the personalized
marketing used today by businesses.
More recently, personalized marketing, also known as Individual marketing, has become practical for bricks
and mortar retailers. The market size, an order of magnitude greater than that of the Internet, demanded a
different technological approach now available and in use. Many retailers attract customers to the physical
store by offering discounted items which are automatically selected to appeal to the individual recipient. The
interactivity occurs through the offer redemptions recorded by the point-of-sale systems, which can then
update each model of the individual shopper. Personalization can be more accurate when based solely upon

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individual purchasing records because of the simplified and repetitive nature of some bricks and mortar retail
purchasing, for example grocery superstores.

1.2 Why Personalized Marketing Matter?

As more companies have adopted personalization along the customer journey, from product design to outreach
and from the consumer experience to dynamic pricing, it has created a certain level of expectation for
personalized interaction among consumers. Gone are the days of mass media where general advertisements to
all potential consumers would successfully engage a wide variety of customers. Technology now allows for
every interaction to be unique and personal, and consumers expect a personal connection with the companies
with which they interact.

1.3 Statement of Problem

The notion of benefits and concerns has been widely used in social scientific research in order to understand
self-disclosure behaviour online as well as consumer attitude towards personalized advertising. Most of the
research has been centred around benefits stemming from relevance of personalized messages and privacy-
related concerns caused by them. However, with the wide possibilities companies have to use personal data,
the question arises if such focus sufficiently represents the social mood. Whether personalized marketing is
something that creates privacy concerns or if it is something that builds relationships is a well-debated sphere
of research and there are plenty of studies in this topic. However, there are relatively few studies that address
the consumer attitude towards personalized marketing and how the message is perceived by them. Thus, the
aim of the current study is to look deeper into the benefits and concerns that arise in relation to personalization
and how it affects consumer purchasing behaviour. In order to construct an inventory of benefits and concerns,
I post the following research questions:
RQ1: How do consumers perceive personalized marketing?
RQ2: How does the past experience and privacy concerns affect the perception towards personalized
marketing?

1.4 Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this study is to find out, from an organizational perspective, how customers feel about
personalization, what experience influence their behaviour and what companies can do to better connect with
them to drive business results. This study will help companies to do personalized marketing more
effectively. Currently Many people are concerned that companies are using too much personal information
to create the personalized marketing used today by businesses. So, I also intend to investigate consumers’
sensitivity concerning data gathering on the Internet.

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1.5 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework of Research

The collection of individual information is a fundamental part in the design of the personalized marketing, and
how this is done is dictated by the organization’s CRM technique. The consumer perception describes how
the perception of information works in the eyes of the consumer which can be applied to how personalized
marketing is perceived. Various factors can affect the perception and two of the most common ones are past
experiences and privacy concerns. Past experiences describe the relationship between consumer and company
and how this can affect the perception of personalized marketing. The part about privacy concern is also of
importance since it seeks to answer where the line is drawn for what can be deciphered as intrusive or not.
How the consumer perceives the personalized marketing may affect the consumer decision making process.
Out of this literature, a whole image picture of the perception on personalized marketing and how it affects
the purchase decision-making process is given. With the theoretical framework in mind, an analytical model
has been created (See figure 1).

Past Experience

Privacy Concern

Personalized
Marketing

Consumer Perception

Figure 1. Conceptual frame work of consumer perception towards personalized marketing

Inside the model, a sphere that represent personalized marketing can be seen. Personalized marketing, is the
practice of using data to deliver brand messages targeted to an individual prospect. Within the sphere, a
square that represent the consumer perception can be seen (Quick, 2019). Consumer perception is defined as
a process by which consumers sense a marketing stimulus, and organize, interpret, and provide meaning to it
(G). The marketing stimuli may be anything related to the product and/or brand, and any of the elements of
the marketing mix. In another square, privacy concerns and past experiences is placed in two different
rectangles. This is done in order to separate them as two different factors, as the consumer perception is heavily
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affected by these two factors. Privacy concerns with social networking services is a subset of data privacy,
involving the right of mandating personal privacy concerning storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties,
and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet
(Privacy_concerns_with_social_networking_services). Past experiences, on the other hand, refers to a
consumer’s previous experiences with a company. Beneath the two factors-square, an arrow points to the
consumer perception, which indicates that these factors affect consumer perception of personalized marketing.

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 CHAPTER 2

Literature Review
In this chapter relevant theories, models and terms regarding personalized marketing are presented. In order
to investigate the consumer perception of personalized marketing and how it affects the Consumer
perception, Consumer behaviour online, Privacy concerns and Past experiences are discussed.

2.1 Personalized Marketing

Personalization is the concept of using a combination of customer information and technology to produce
electronic commerce interaction between a company and their individual customers. The company uses
previously obtained or real-time personal information about the individual to best suit the customers’ needs
(Vesanen, 2007). More simply put, it is when a company decides what marketing mix is best suitable to
interact with the individual based on their collected personal data (Arora, 2008).

Personalization research is on the rise, and it is being studied in several disciplines. The terms used for
personalization are still somewhat confusing and make comprehending the phenomenon difficult. However,
concepts have evolved during the past years, and a common understanding about personalization is emerging.
Personalization is regarded as the main concept, and customization is user-controlled personalization in a web-
context. It is unfortunate that mass customization and customization are so similar terms since the similarity
adds to the confusion in the field. In order to clarify the terms, we are suggesting that personalization would
be the umbrella term for both web personalization and mass customizing and customizing of tangible products
(Sunikka & Bragge, 2008).
Study conducted by Ronal E. Goldsmith & Jon B. Freiden in march 2004 on consumer attitudes towards
personalized marketing attempted to initiate empirical research into some aspects of personalized marketing
by assessing consumer reaction and perceptions. The result suggest that, overall this will prove to be a
successful strategy for marketers to pursue as many consumers seem to welcome and respond to mass
customization products. If personalization improves customer satisfaction, which it appears to do, then it will
lead to successful marketing and improved sales and profits as well (Goldsmith & Freiden, 2004).
In order to succeed with the marketing strategies a company must have great knowledge about its customers.
The noise of all advertisements is so high today that companies need to figure out how to get through to
consumers. The area of personalized communication online has started to grow tremendously since it targets
consumers with their own preferences which 65 would instantly attract the consumers more than marketing
for the general public in hope of getting through to them. More knowledge must be provided in order for
companies to excel with their marketing efforts, though. We therefore recommend that practitioners take notice
of the above contributions to make their tailored communication as attractive as possible for consumers and
in the same way know where to put in effort and capital to maximize their revenue. The results from this study
are therefore of high relevance for practitioners working in the field of marketing, just as for scholars who
may have this study as a basis for future research (Påhlman & Waldenskiöld, 2013).
2.2 Consumer Perception

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Consumer perception is defined as a process by which consumers sense a marketing stimulus, and organize,
interpret, and provide meaning to it (G). The perception of the situation tends to be adversely affected if what
actually happens does not meet the expectations. Expectations can also be surpassed if the consumer feels that
the overall experience had added value, which leads to a greater understanding of the situation and thus
increases the chance that a customer will return for further purchases. However, it is important to take into
account that each consumer forms his or her own perception of things, which makes it difficult to predict how
something might be perceived (Dahlén, Lange, F., & Rosengren, S., 2017).
In a case where consumers perceive personalized marketing, the perception may differ significantly as
consumers emphasize different parts of the personal advertising. However, this is very difficult to predict as
it is complex to form an opinion about the psychological aspect and what happens in one’s subconscious. The
way a consumer, unconsciously or not, chooses to focus on something determines how the overall perception
of something becomes. One’s subconscious can thus form the basis for whether the situation is perceived as
positive or negative (Dahlén, Lange, F., & Rosengren, S., 2017).

2.3 Online Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour involves the thoughts and feelings people experience and the actions they perform in the
consumption processes. The advantages of the Internet and online marketing have provided a means for
developing one-on-one relationships with consumers and establishing consumer databases (Peter & Jerry C.
Olson, 2008).
Online consumer behaviour differs from traditional consumer behaviour. Online consumer behaviour refers
to the consumers purchasing habits over the Internet. Factors such as demographics, technology knowledge
and previous experience within ecommerce contributes to the shaping of a consumers’ online behaviour
(Hamid, 2008).

2.4 Privacy Concerns

Invasion of privacy is an important issue in direct marketing and has been shown to affect consumers' purchase
behaviour (Muchira, 2004).
An empirical study of how organizations can respond to consumers’ concern over the threats of online privacy
suggest that consumers who perceive their privacy being threatened still share various amount of personal data
on the Internet. Some of the users are not aware, or do not fully understand, how personal data is being used
for marketing purposes. This, in turn, challenges trust and at the same time it weakens the benefits for this type
of target marketing (Amin & Birgisdottir, 2012).

2.5 Past Experiences

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Past experiences is the second element of consumer perception and refer to the outcome of a consumer’s
experience when interacting with a brand and can affect the consumer’s willingness to repeatedly buy from a
specific brand. When shopping online, the consumer frequently will have to rely on intangible pictures and
promises, which makes past experiences even more important (Gurleen, 2012). One of the main outcomes of
personalized marketing is to create a positive consumer experience. By targeting the individual, the company
tries to make the consumer feel like they understand the consumer’s need and they are able to provide a
solution for it. The reason for companies to put effort into the creation of positive experiences is because
marketers have noticed that it is better to retain consumers instead of recruiting new ones. Positive past
experiences in ecommerce is an important factor in order to build strong relationships between consumer and
company (Gurleen, 2012). This will reduce the perceived risk since it has the ability to create a sense of
increased community. Trust is important when a risk occurs, for example, when consumers interact with e-
commerce. Trust can generate feelings of confidence that his or her personal information is treated with caution
and used for the intended purpose and thus can create a more positive perception in general.

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 CHAPTER 3

Research objectives

And Hypotheses
3.1 Research Objectives

Research objectives are:

 To understand the consumer perception of personalized marketing.
 To study the impact of the privacy concern and past experiences of consumers on consumer perception
towards personalized marketing strategies.
 To understand effect of personalized marketing on consumer behaviour online.
 To find out how companies could react to consumer concerns regarding online privacy and how their
personal data is being used for personalized marketing.

3.2 Hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) of the Chi-Square Test of Independence:
H0: "Perception towards Personalized Marketing is not associated with Past Information sharing and
Privacy Concerns"
H1: “Perception towards personalized marketing is associated with Past Information sharing and
Privacy Concerns"

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 CHAPTER 4

Methodology and data collection

4.1 Research Approach

Under this research report, a wide range of methods are going to be used by me. I will referred to multiple
articles and journals. Quantitative research would help us in determining the consumer perspective of the
personalized marketing in which I specifically concentrate on correlational research and experimental
research. The reason behind choosing this type of research is that it helps in in-depth analysis. For the purpose
of data collection, a chi-square test will be conducted. In order to guarantee efficient models, a minimum
number of samples is required. So, we conducted our research on around 40-50 people to know their perception
of personalized marketing. An online questionnaire was shared via social media and messages were circulated
among the selected respondents. We will use quantitative methods for data collection.

4.2 Gathering of data

4.2.1 Primary and Secondary Data

For this study both primary and secondary data was collected. In this study, the secondary data consists of
findings from different relevant open sources like research papers, journals and articles. The primary data
consists of results from the online surveys sent out to university students in India. Both approaches were used
for this study to consumer perception towards personalized marketing and how factors like privacy concern
and past experience affects it. This in turn, deepens the research and strengthens the validity of the study.

4.2.2 Choice of Survey Sample

Data was collected by an online survey questionnaire using a convenience sample of forty university students
in India. The respondents ranged between the ages of 18 to 28. 55% of the sample were males and the other
45% were females. Using a student sample can be justified since young age group of students between the
ages of 18-28 are more intrigued by personalized marketing. Also, younger people tend to live a large
proportion of their lives in the online world and social networking site. The relative youth of the sample is not
inappropriate as Internet usage is prevalent among younger consumers, with as many as forty per cent of all
Internet users falling within the 18 to 28 age category. Also, younger people have been shown to have lesser
privacy concerns compared to older people (Brown & Rose Muchira , 2004).

4.2.3 The Procedural of the Survey

An online survey was designed and used, in which respondents’ perceptions, beliefs, concerns and responses
to online privacy were measured on retrospective behaviour to test the theory. As the questionnaire is an
online questionnaire, it is helping us in easily reaching out to the people. The use of online forms would help
in many ways as it will provide time to respondents, help in reaching out to the masses, low cost and easy
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collection of data. The negative aspects researchers have pointed out regarding Internet surveys are that they
might lead to a “sampling dilemma” which excludes individuals not using the Internet. However, for this
research, the targeted population was restricted to Internet users, which validated the use of an e-survey as an
appropriate research method.
Online questionnaire, which can be found in the annexure (pg no. 34), consisting of 16 questions, of which 13
are closed-ended and 3 open-ended enquires upon name, age and profession. The purpose was to acquire a
better understanding of the consumer’s point of view in relation to personalized marketing. The various
questions posed enquired upon several aspects of personalization are classified as follows:

Inquiry into: Further details Question(s)

Background information Name, Age, Gender and profession 1,2,3 and 4

Awareness of concept Whether the respondent is aware of 5

Attitude toward concept
Type of advertising preferred
Encountering personalized
marketing
Preference for
personalization
Attitude toward inclusion of
personal information
Release of information
personalization
Does it lead to improvements and is it a 6 and 9
good idea
Traditional, personalized, or 7 and 8
combination
How often do you encounter 10
personalized advertisements
Reasons why you will prefer 11
personalization
Q12. Will they be more intrigued by an 12,13 and 14
advertisement with some personal
information
Q14. Do you like the idea of
personalizing search results based on
past searches and information from your
social networking sites?
Q15: What particular information, if 15 and 16
included, would appeal to you
Q16: Would you be comfortable
disclosing this information to a website
or advertiser

Table 1. Classification of various questions posed enquired upon several aspects of personalization.

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First of all, demographic information concerning name, age, gender and profession were collected. These
constitute the analysis to discover whether they have an effect on the responses, and might give an indication
on the market segment that personalized advertising should capture.
Then it was important to understand awareness of respondent about personalized marketing.
Consequently, there are a set of questions created to examine whether personalized advertising is seen as a
good idea and a way to improve upon the current promotional format. It is necessary to recognize the opinion
of the respondent on the basic concept before one can inquire into more specific aspects.
The subsequent questions were related to the use of personal information within the advertisement. This will
provide an observation of those features that, if at all, appeal to the consumer.
At this, it becomes imperative to determine the type of information that individuals are willing to disclose.
Even though personalized marketing might be appealing and efficient, the reluctance of the consumer to
release information has proved a great barrier for the marketer.

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 CHAPTER 5

Data Analysis and Interpretations

5.1 Presentation of General data

The questionnaire was completed by 42 respondents consisting of 45% female and 55% male. The age of the
respondents ranged between 20 and goes up 50, with a distribution as shown in the figure 2.

Figure 2. Age Distribution Figure 3. Gender Distribution

25
20
15
10
5
0
Female Male

Figure 4. Profession
Student
Student
Software Engineer
Research student
Persuing MBA
Mechanical Engineer
MBA student
Job
IT
Doctor
Data analyst
Consultant
Cloud Engineer
Chartered accountant
0 5 10 15 20 25

5.2 Detailed Analysis of Results

Before commencing a more thorough and Figure 5.

statistical analysis of the available data, the
responses to several relevant questions must be
presented and examined. Based on the
respondents’ answers, it can be confirmed that
personalized marketing is something that almost
all respondents have been exposed to. Figure 5
displays the responses, which show that
personalization is widely recognized.
Thereafter, the questions concerning the attitude toward the concept showed a relatively positive response by
the respondents taken into consideration. As figure 6 shows, a great proportion of respondents believes that
personalization will improve the information received through advertising, and most consider it to be a fairly

22
good idea. It will be important to examine whether these considerations will then translate into providing
information to then receive personalization.

Figure 6. Attitude towards concept

The next response to be considered are interrelated once inquiring upon do they feel any difference regarding
their reaction to personalized marketing compared to traditional marketing. 83% people feel significate
difference while 16% person are not sure they feel may be there is difference. The subsequent question which
asks about their preference for type of marketing, shows maximum people around 79% prefer combination of
both marketing style.
Figure 7. Preference for traditional vs personalized marketing

The next question was about how often respondent encounter personalized marketing. Most of the respondent
quite often encounter personalized advertisement aimed towards them.

Figure 8. Figure 9.

The Main Reasons why respondents will prefer customization are because customized products express their
personality, they like to buy something that is unique and Usually standard products and services are not what
exactly they want.
The following reactions to be considered are interrelated once asking upon the interest of individual data in
advertising. There is a an almost 60-40 division of feelings, which can be considered as quite negative for

23
personalization. However, the accompanying question which was only asked of those that answered positively
shows that people who are attracted by this type of advertisement will continue to be influenced.

Figure 10. Intrigue of Personal information in advertising

Privacy concerns and past experiences Figure 11.

are two factors that largely affect the
consumer’s perception. The Internet
makes it harder for consumers to stay
anonymous and their personal data can
easily be collected by companies. This
creates bigger concerns as the control
and choice of sharing information
decreases. At the same time, past positive experiences has a huge impact on the perception where past
experiences contribute to decreased concern and increased trust. So in our next question, respondents were
asked about how they feel about personalizing search results based on past experiences and information from
social networking sites. 69% liked the idea but they do have privacy concerns and 15% feel its invasion of
their privacy.

The subsequent questions, which include a set of responses to be analyzed, can be considered as some of the
most revealing pieces of information to comprehend the consumer judgment of personalization and its
prospective. As shown by figure 11, will be the question which gathers data on the particular aspects that
would appeal to the consumer.

24
 Figure 12.

By observing the above figure, it can be concluded that consumers are not influenced from the inclusion of
simple characteristics, such as the name of the individual. Creating an advertisement by taking into account a
customer’s previous purchases, their age, and their gender provide a clear improvement. However, from the
available propositions, the inclusion of one’s interests or explaining to them why this particular product has
been recommended seems to greatly improve the appeal of an advertisement. As expected, the succeeding
question is related to the information that consumers are willing to release, and shows whether their consent
will be provided.
Figure 13.

We can observe that the disclosing of information will inevitably become a large barrier to personalized
advertising. There is a large number of responders that are never or almost never prepared to provide data and
particularly so when it comes to income, address, and information on their family. Consequently, people are
least disposed to reveal their first and last name, their browsing and purchasing history. They seem most prone
to providing their age, gender, weight, and interests. While considering the inability to collect certain
information, marketers are nevertheless left with quite a fair share to create a personalized advertisement.
Besides the data that consumers are willing to provide, there are certain others that they cannot escape from
disclosing when singing up to a general or retailer’s website. Whatever the amount of information gathered,
even if limited, marketers need to establish techniques to employ them efficiently. The simple age, gender,

25
and location of a consumer, through the combination with market trends and segmentation could then be
sufficient. Thereafter, every additional piece of information will serve in enhancing the targeting efficiency.

5.3 Chi-Square Test of Independence for Perception towards Personalized Marketing*

Past Information Sharing and Privacy Concerns

The Chi-Square Test of Independence determines whether there is an association between categorical variables
(i.e., whether the variables are independent or related). It is a nonparametric test.
This test utilizes a contingency table to analyze the data. A contingency table (also known as a cross-
tabulation, crosstab, or two-way table) is an arrangement in which data is classified according to two categorical
variables. The categories for one variable appear in the rows, and the categories for the other variable appear
in columns. Each variable must have two or more categories. Each cell reflects the total count of cases for a
specific pair of categories.
Hypotheses

The null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) of the Chi-Square Test of Independence:
H0: "Perception towards Personalized Marketing is not associated with Past Information sharing and
Privacy Concerns"
H1: “Perception towards personalized marketing is associated with Past Information sharing and
Privacy Concerns"

Problem Statement

In the dataset, respondents were asked that do they believe that personalization will improve the information
they receive through advertising and do they like the idea of personalizing search results based on past
experiences and information from their social networking sites. There were three answer choices: Yes; Yes,
but they do have some concern about privacy and No, it is an invasion of privacy. Suppose we want to test for
an association between Consumer Perception towards Personalized Marketing that personalization will
improve information they receive through advertising (Yes or No) and personalizing search results based on
past experiences and information from their social networking sites (Yes or Yes, but I have some privacy
concern or No, it is invasion of privacy) using a Chi-Square Test of Independence (we'll use α = 0.05).

Output

The first table is the Case Processing summary, which tells us the number of valid cases used for analysis.
Only cases with non-missing values for both smoking behaviour and gender can be used in the test.

26
 Table 2.

The next tables are the crosstabulation and chi-square test results.

Table 3. Chi-square test output

The key result in the Chi-Square Tests table is the Pearson Chi-Square.

 Value of test statistic is 9.208.

 The footnote for this statistic pertains to the expected cell count assumption (i.e., expected cell counts
are all greater than 5): 3 cells had an expected count less than 5, so minimum expected count is 1.43.
 Because the test statistic is based on a 2x3 crosstabulation table, the degrees of freedom (df) for the
test statistic is

df=(R−1)∗(C−1)=(2−1)∗(3−1)=1∗2=2

27
  The corresponding p-value of the test statistic is p = 0.010.

Decision and conclusions

Since the p-value is less than our chosen significance level (α = 0.05), we reject the null hypothesis. Rather,
we conclude that there is enough evidence to suggest an association between Perception towards Personalized
Marketing and Past Information sharing and Privacy Concerns.
Based on the results, we can state the following:
 Association was found between Perception towards Personalized Marketing and Past Information
sharing and Privacy Concerns (Χ2(2)> = 9.208, p = 0.010).

28
 CHAPTER 6

Conclusions and Recommendations

6.1 Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to explore the consumer perception of personalized marketing and how past
experience and privacy concerns affects the purchase decision-making process. In order to fulfill the purpose,
a conceptual framework was created out of the literature review. The empirical data collected is related to our
theoretical framework which resulted in an interesting analysis. The analysis laid the foundation for our
conclusions, which are based on the answers of our respondents and secondary study. If Personalized
marketing captures consumers interests, its perceived more positively. Consumer prefer personalized products
and advertisements as customized products express their personality or they like to buy something that is
unique or usually standard products and services are not what exactly they want.
The overall perception shows that personalized marketing, compared to traditional marketing, captures the
interest of the respondents to a greater extent and is perceived as more interesting. The personalized marketing
is perceived as more interesting since it is adapted to the individual’s preferences and needs. It is thus perceived
as helpful and something that creates an added value. companies’ collection and management of personal data
may create privacy concerns if the expectations do not match the outcome. Privacy concerns exists when there
is a lack of control in how the personal information is collected and it affects the consumer perception of
personalized marketing negatively. All of the respondents were well aware of that their personal information
was collected, but they did not feel comfortable with it. This made them more skeptical towards the
personalized advertisement, which generated in a more negative perception. Past experiences also impact
perception towards personalized advertising, positive past experience generate more positive perception, while
negative past experiences generate more negative past experiences.

6.2 Practical Implications

This study contributes with practical contributions through showing how consumers perceive personalized
marketing and how this affects the consumer perception towards it. For practical reasons my findings and the
conclusion can be valuable when creating personalized marketing. The results of my study show how
consumers in the age span of 18-28 perceive personalized marketing and how this can affect the consumers
perception about it. A greater understanding of how personalized marketing is perceived affects the decision-
making process may benefit marketers and is something that their strategies can be based upon. However,
since our research only consist of answers from forty-two respondents in the same age group, it is possible
that the results would have differed for another age group. Since every individual is unique it may also be
difficult to generalize a correct answer on how the personalized marketing should be designed to appear as
appealing to the consumer. Personalized marketing is based on individual preferences and therefore there is
not one correct way to achieve a perfectly designed personalized marketing.

29
 Limitation and future research

Due to the fact that this is an empirical study of exploratory nature, it has some limitations. First, it relies on a
convenience sample of university students, which may limit the validity of the findings. The validity of the
study would have increased if focus groups and interviews had been conducted with the sample, in order to
get a better understanding for the consumers concern. For future research it would be interesting to conduct
the survey on different demographic samples, for example people over the age of 28, instead of focusing on
young people/students. Also, the future of personalized marketing is an interesting field to monitor, and in a
few years perform a follow up study to see how the results have evolved. In addition, it could be interesting to
interview other companies that gather and use vast amounts of personal data to find out what their opinion
towards personalized marketing is, and their prediction for the future of online marketing.

30
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ANNEXURES
The Questionnaire
*Required
1 Name * _____________

2 Age * _______________

3 Gender *
o Male
o Female

4 Profession * ___________

5 Are you aware of personalized advertising? *

o Yes
o No

6 Do you believe that personalization will improve the information you receive through advertising? *
o Yes

32
 o No
o May be

7 Do you feel any difference regarding your reaction of personalized marketing compared to traditional
marketing? *
o Yes
o No
o May be

8 What type of advertising would you rather have? *

o Traditional advertising
o Personalized advertising
o Combination of two

9 How would you categorize personalized advertising? *

1 2 3 4 5
Terrible Idea Great Idea

10 How often do you encounter personalized marketing aimed towards you when you are active online? *
1 2 3 4 5
Not at all Very often

11 Reasons why you will prefer personalisation? *

Customized products express my personality
I like to buy something that is unique
Usually standard products or services are not what exactly I want
None of these
Don’t know

12 Would you be more intrigued by an advertisement with some of your personal information included? *
o Yes
o No

13 If yes, do you believe this attitude will continue if this becomes common practice?
o Yes
o No

33
14 Do you like the idea of personalizing search results based on past experiences and information from your
social networking sites? *
o Yes
o Yes, but I do have some concerns about privacy
o No, it is an invasion of privacy

15 What particular information, if included, would appeal to you? * (From 1 signifying no appeal at all to 5
meaning great appeal)
1 2 3 4 5
Name
Interest
Previous purchases
Gender and age specific products
Reasons why this advertisement is directed to you

16 Would you be comfortable disclosing this information to a website or advertiser? *

Never Almost never Sometimes Almost always Always

Name
Last name
Age
Weight
Gender
Address
Interests
Website visited
Purchase history
Income
Family related information

34