The ways in which organizations transparently share data about their offerings, take responsibility for the personal data they collect, and use data to their customers’ benefit determine their market position. The trust customers once gave, almost blindly, to brands and institutions has been slipping away for some time. They now demand something else: transparency of data associated with products and services and, in the case of personal data, assurances that it’s used in a fair manner and kept safe.

With data breaches making headlines monthly, if not weekly, data privacy is an important competitive advantage. Customers demand transparency about their personal data today; tomorrow, their expectations could escalate. Organizations that lack trust—cut off from prized personal data—could find themselves slipping further behind.

Torchbearers have moved well beyond understanding customer needs. They are using customer data to transform their workflows to deliver value at every customer touchpoint. In fact, eight in ten Torchbearers are pursuing a singular advantage: they have turned to data to strengthen, to a great extent, the level of trust their customers have in them. Yet, fewer than half of Aspirationals are doing the same.