When companies first started collecting large amounts of personal consumer data, many of them became a little inebriated with the potential. Think of what can be done with that data! We can sell it! We can engage in constant blast-marketing on every customer contact point!

When reality set in and companies realized that misusing personal customer information was a great way to drive customers away, organizations became a little more subdued with how they used it. They also realized that by storing large amounts of customer data, they were dangling carrots in front of cyber-criminals.

Successful companies today have had to strike a balance in how they use personal customer data. It’s a goldmine of information, and using it wisely means using it in a way that boosts the customer relationship. Customer insight provider Transactis recently conducted a study that found that responsible and effective use of consumers’ data is a key to not only winning their trust and loyalty, but ensuring that they respect a brand and its procedures.

The study, called “The Two Sides of Consumer Trust,” was based on a survey of more than 1,000 consumers in the UK and found that this attitude was spread across a wide sector of industries and consumer demographics: customers show greater respect for a company’s processes and are more likely to take action in situations that require their cooperation if a firm has demonstrated secure and efficient use of personal data.

According to the study, the secure and efficient use of consumer data provides a springboard for expanding existing customer relationships, with 63 percent of respondents saying they would spend more money with a company that uses their data to create relevant offers and good service and 59 percent saying they would buy more regularly from that brand.

Using the data responsibly might entail personalizing the customer relationship or anticipating customers’ needs based on previous transactions. Timely outbound campaigns – offering filters to a customer who recently purchased a coffee maker, for example – can help build trust while building up the bottom line at the same time.

Interestingly, the study found that earning consumer trust through responsible use of data had a hidden, added benefit: customers who respected a brand reported they would be more likely to point out errors made in the customer’s favor, such as an item shipped by mistake or a discount the customer didn’t earn.

Companies unsure what constitutes “responsible use of data” should first ask themselves a question before they do anything: Will this directly benefit the customer relationship? If the answer is “no,” that’s a clue that the move is a wrong one.