Data privacy has become a major concern for companies because they now have access to huge amounts of customer data. The recent data scandals have caused an uncomfortable spotlight on how companies manage their data and respect their customer’s privacy.

It can lead to serious damage to a company’s reputation, as well as legal and financial sanctions if companies fail to adequately protect the integrity and privacy of their customer data.

In the past few years, many companies have been concerned about their obligations. Even if your company operates in markets that don’t apply, you still need to be aware of your data protection obligations. There are great opportunities for marketers to use customer data to develop highly personalized digital marketing campaigns, but they need to use the best practices for data protection.

Marketing professionals must take steps to protect customer data to ensure that the data is used ethically and legally.

What Is Data Privacy?

It’s unsurprising that questions about data privacy and security have arisen in an age where almost all human data are available and shared online.

Digital marketing needs data privacy since consumer data is very important and crucial for:

• Delivering marketing campaigns
• Gathering insights on consumer behavior
• Developing personalized customer experiences

The ability to determine how data is distributed, used, and shared online can be defined as data privacy. Data privacy is considered to be a human right in some places. Businesses are able to use data as they please.

Personal data can be misused in a lot of different ways such as:

• Sold to third parties for a profit
• Tracking and monitoring user behavior
• Gathered without the user’s consent

Why It’s Important To Protect Customer Data Privacy?

Data privacy is important even if it is not in the jurisdiction. People want reassurance that the data they provide will be handled with care. Many organizations have implemented data protection practices that show their dedication to keeping and running user-generated data with care.

If companies engage in shady customer data management practices or experience a data breach due to a lack of security measures, they may run the risk of ruining their reputation and losing a lot of money.

It is clear that the internet is more powerful today than it has ever been. The internet has made it possible for information exchanges to happen in a matter of seconds. The main problem with this rapid exchange of information is that there is no guarantee of safety.

We know this is true because of the many data breach scandals that have happened in the past decade, including many by the biggest online companies. Actions to remedy or avoid these issues seem to be insufficient as all these issues pile on top of each other.

Customers are likely to be more cautious about sharing their data in response to these concerns. They are unwilling to give up information that internet apps and companies collect to personalize their browsing experience because they have lost their trust.

Whether it’s a small company or a big company, you should never lose your customer’s trust in your business.

Principles Of Data Protection & Privacy

Regardless of where your company markets to and which regulations you have to comply with, it is best to always apply the general data protection principles.

• Data Accuracy
• Data retention
• Data security, integrity, and confidentiality
• Lawful, fair, and transparent processing
• Purpose limitation
• Data minimization

Five Ways To Protect Customer Data Privacy In Digital Marketing

Better customer data privacy protections are crucial to companies that store sensitive customer information. Companies should start their move to better data privacy protections by implementing the five steps mentioned in this article below.

1. Educate yourself about governing laws.

In the last decade, data privacy laws have become more stringent. Privacy concerns have become more common.

A business that doesn’t comply with anti-dumping laws risks receiving hefty fines, and they may also find themselves the subject of public ridicule.

Some countries in the world are more strict about data privacy than others, but in general, the direction is towards stricter controls on data collection and usage.

The GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation, advocates for “Privacy by Design” – a concept that prioritizes privacy over convenience and limits data collection, and involves creating security measures to prevent data breaches and leaks. In addition, the GDPR places a number of strict requirements on data processing. First and foremost, it requires consent and complete transparency throughout the data-gathering process. It also requires companies to have a process for reviewing, auditing, and correcting data collection and storage.

General data privacy principles and criteria for the lawful processing of information should guide your data processing for businesses. Below are data privacy policy examples to help you practice it in your organization.

1. Guiding Principles for Data Processing.

• Lawfulness, Fairness & Transparency
• Purpose Limitation
• Data Minimization
• Accuracy
• Storage Limitation
• Integrity & Confidentiality
• Accountability

Whenever you process customer data for your business, be sure to adhere to the privacy laws of the country you reside in and the country where you store that information.

2. Lawful Information Processing.

• Consent
• Performance of a Contract
• Legitimate Interest
• Vital Interest
• Legal Requirement
• Public Interest

Any prospect of processing personal information provided by an entity should meet these above-outlined criteria. Pushing through with information processing that doesn’t meet all the items in this criteria will get you in trouble with the law.

2) Collecting Only Essential Information

In many cases, just a name and an email are enough to convert a sale. But, If they deliver goods or services to someone’s home, they need more data like phone numbers and addresses.

When small businesses collect this information, they should state what they collect. If a customer has a question, the business must be able to give an answer. It is fairly straightforward to collect information on a website.

But what about an application?

Before an app can be activated on a person’s phone, it asks for permission to access certain data points. There should be a clear statement or document that someone can read, and it should highlight precisely what kind of information it will collect.

3) Privacy Policy Stated Outright

Even if your digital marketing tools use email, website, social media, or text messaging, the business must have a privacy policy to explain what information it collects from you, how it uses that information, and how it protects your information.

Many small businesses can be saved from legal action in many instances.

A privacy policy should state specifically:

• Any and all types of information collected by the website or app
• Details of data transfers
• Affiliated websites, third parties, or organizations (because they might have access to the information)
• Use of cookies
• The purpose of collecting information
• How the data is stored and accessed
• What security is employed to keep the data safe

A cookie policy is also becoming popular, and many companies are adopting it.

4) Limiting Access

Some people on the marketing team don’t need to have access to all the information about a customer. The method of payment is usually stated when the contract comes in. The payment may be made using a credit card, debit card, or other methods.

Who needs access to that information? And how does a company determine that?

It’s important to make sure your data is kept safe, so you should have protocols in place.

You should also have processes in place for what happens if the person who has access to the data gets fired or leaves the company. Finally, if you’re worried about someone getting a hold of your data and selling it to other companies, there are companies that will help you protect yourself.

5) Digital Security Measures

It’s important for small businesses to take precautions to protect against cybercrime by protecting their network and servers.

To succeed in this competitive market, companies need to have security protocols on their computer and mobile devices, as well as their cloud-based software.

To help prevent data breaches, as well as help ensure that your data is properly secured, it’s important to implement some basic cloud security measures.

Having one or more trusted people who have access to your application helps you keep your users safe and prevent anyone from maliciously using your application.

If you’re a small business owner you can benefit from protecting your customers’ privacy for digital marketing.

Conclusion

In a world where data is considered the most powerful resource, it’s no wonder that there will be some strict laws guarding people’s data against big corporations and even the government.

The first thing that should be considered when it comes to data privacy and data security is that there are three main stakeholders involved: Users (customers), Service providers (companies), and Regulators. Data privacy is not just about keeping your own personal information private. The privacy of your customer’s information is also important.