Zoho Privacy Survey Finds 62% of Businesses Aren’t Telling Customers About Third-Party Ad Trackers Collecting Their Data

B2B businesses are more likely to keep third-party ad tracking secret from customers

55% of 1,220 business leaders polled believe their company has a well defined, documented policy to customer data privacy that is strictly applied

Austin, Texas - December 15, 2020 — According to a recent survey, 62% of U.S. and Canadian companies don’t inform customers that they allow tracking code from third-party services on their websites, despite the majority claiming to have well-defined consumer data privacy policies that are strictly applied. Conducted by CRM Essentials and commissioned by global technology company Zoho, the survey results reveal how frequently unethical data collection tactics are used to capture information that's lucrative for advertisers, such as a user's site behavior, location, or device type. Furthermore, the findings expose glaring gaps in policies that don’t adequately protect consumers or give them control over how their data is collected when they go online or use business software.

Polling more than 1,400 business leaders at companies of varying sizes and industries, the survey found that third-party ad tracking is ubiquitous — 100% of respondents said their companies allow it, and 57% are “comfortable” or “very comfortable” with the way third-parties use customer data. Out of 1,220 respondents willing to share thoughts on their data privacy policies, 55% claim to have well-defined consumer data privacy policies that are strictly applied. The findings also show that the more a business relies on surveillance data to drive revenue, the more comfortable they are with the practice.

What's more, the majority of businesses do not see it necessary to inform customers that they are being tracked. B2B businesses are more likely to keep third-party ad tracking secret from customers, with 72% admitting they know tracking happens and don’t inform customers, compared to 58% of B2C respondents. This business practice is also true in California, the only U.S. state with a consumer data privacy law. Nearly 70% of California companies don’t inform customers that they allow third-party ad trackers on their websites, yet 56% say their company has a well-defined, documented policy to customer data privacy that is strictly applied.

"User tracking to serve ads has turned into adjunct surveillance, a term we use at Zoho when companies collect data without consumer knowledge. This trend started with B2C services, but it’s alarming to see it has carried over to the B2B world, especially given how essential SaaS solutions are for working remotely during the pandemic. If you’re using a free service, you’re paying for it with your data. That includes free B2B software and mobile apps you might be using, and we need companies to be transparent with customers about how they track users," explained Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho.

Awareness Level: Most Businesses Can’t Plead Ignorance

While the lack of transparency means consumers may be none-the-wiser to companies using third-party ad trackers, the majority of businesses say they are well-informed:

• 85% are aware that some third-party code automatically installs tracking code onto its website from companies they have no direct relationship with
• 68% said third-party vendors had done a “good” or “satisfactory job” in explaining how the data they collect from digital properties are used
• B2B respondents were twice as likely to say third-party platforms have done a “good” job explaining how their data is being used than B2C respondents

Comfort Level: Ad Trackers Impact on Sales

The findings also show businesses that depend on third-party ad platforms to drive sales are more likely to be comfortable with how third-parties use the data:

• 36% said third-party ad platforms are the primary factor in their ability to meet sales goals
• The same group was nearly four times more likely to say they were “very comfortable” with how third-party ad platforms use data they collect
• Companies that said ad platforms are not a factor in meeting sales goals were almost five times more likely to know that some software automatically installs third-party tracking code onto its website

"It's no secret that data is valuable for powering personalized ads, but we were surprised to find how comfortable companies of all sizes are with unethical data collection methods that leave their customers in the dark and their information in potentially dangerous hands," said Brent Leary, co-founder and partner of CRM Essentials. "It will be interesting to see how shining a brighter spotlight on third-party ad trackers impacts future business models. As more of our interactions take place digitally, organizations will have to recognize how important safeguarding data is to the overall customer experience. And business leaders will need to weigh the risk of consumer backlash and regulatory compliance issues against the benefits of revenue from surveillance data"

In 2019, Zoho completed the process of removing all tracking software from third-parties on its websites and applications. Its privacy policy takes a bold stance against adjunct surveillance, closing loopholes that other businesses are still exploiting to generate revenue from third-party ad trackers.

"Zoho has never sold its customers’ data and never will. We also don't monetize the behind-the-scenes analytics in any shape or form. That means we leave money on the table, but just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to take it," said Vegesna. "We’re proof that you can be successful without profiting off selling consumer data to third-parties."

To view the full study, please go to: https://zoho.to/data-privacy-us

Methodology

Conducted in November 2020 by CRM Essentials, LLC, this study surveyed 1,416 individuals across the United States and Canada. Participants of the study included a range of business leaders from manager roles to the C-level at small and large enterprises across a variety of industries.

About Zoho

With 45+ apps in nearly every major business category, including sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and back office operations, and an array of productivity and collaboration tools, Zoho Corporation is one of the world's most prolific software companies.

Zoho is privately held and profitable with more than 8,000 employees. Zoho is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with international headquarters in Chennai, India. Additional offices are in the United States, India, Japan, China, Singapore, Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.

Zoho respects user privacy and does not have an ad-revenue model in any part of its business, including its free products. More than 60 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies, rely on Zoho every day to run their businesses, including Zoho itself. For more information, please visit www.zoho.com

Media Contact

Sandra Lo
Zoho Corporate PR
slo@zohocorp.com