Security and Privacy Challenges in Digital Marketing

1. Introduction

The widespread adoption of digital marketing is causing consternation among both customers and businesses, due to the inherent challenges it poses. Despite these difficulties, the advantages of digital marketing for both parties remain indisputable. The purpose of this chapter is to create a level playing field with minimal or no digital challenges, as it will propose solutions to the obstacles identified in the findings. As Aral, Dellarocas, and Godes (2013) note, digital marketing is revolutionizing the way businesses interact and conclude sales with prospective clients. The digital landscape has given rise to both challenges and opportunities in the marketing field. One of the key challenges is the creation of digital identity by companies. Digital identity refers to the personal data gathered by an organization to fully identify and authenticate a customer's identity, which can be verified and used throughout the customer's lifetime (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 2015). Another challenge is the use of digital identity, which can make consumers feel insecure as they submit personal information such as names, addresses, payment methods, email addresses, photos, status, and citizenship to organizations before any online transaction is validated (Lee, Goede, & Shryock, 2010). Despite the vast number of research articles in the research depository, limited attention has been paid to fusing digital marketing challenges and solutions with identified challenges and linking these to future opportunities in the digital space. Therefore, this chapter aims to unearth the challenges and opportunities of digital marketing practices for various stakeholders to achieve the set objectives of each party.