"As marketers, we would like to get the more personally powerful data," Pitney Bowes' Kohn adds. "But consumers in the world today are more protective of that data. For those categories where the customer definitely gets something in return, they are willing to make the personal tradeoff. But when it gets closer or more personal, they're not willing to do that yet. Organizations that use data need to recognize that not all data is created equal."

Appropriate Data Management a Balancing Act

Kohn says that successful marketers must recognize appropriately requesting data and applying it to make customers feel valued is a balancing act. Inappropriately requesting too much information or applying information in ways not connected to your message can give consumers an uneasy feeling about your brand. To attain maximum return on investment in multi-channel communications, it is critical, he says, to establish a barometer of consumer willingness, and unwillingness, to share personal information.

Based on the results of the survey, Kohn says Pitney Bowes has divided consumer data into four categories: transactional, physical, secure and intimate.

Transactional data is data consumers commonly share as part of basic transactions like subscribing to a website, subscribing to a mailing list or joining a social media community. Most consumers are willing to share transactional data. The Pitney Bowes survey found that only 10 percent of respondents were unwilling to share their date of birth, 13 percent were unwilling to share their postal address, 14 percent were unwilling to share their email address and 22 percent were unwilling to share their bank details.