Idea in Brief
The Opportunity
Psychological targeting—the practice of influencing people’s behavior through interventions aimed at personality traits—has come of age as a marketing tool, thanks to an explosion in data that provides insight into consumers’ psyches.
The Peril
While psychological targeting can increase sales by helping a firm communicate with customers in a way that resonates, there is also the risk of backlash if they feel they’re being manipulated or if data is being harvested without their consent.
The Right Way
Leading marketers will put ethics front and center, using psychological targeting only when more prosaic approaches are insufficient, ensuring that they’re offering greater value to the customers they target, and being transparent about what they’re doing and why.