Brands that take consumer privacy seriously have more satisfied customers and deeper loyalty. Consider that strong security can increase customer satisfaction by almost 30% and the vast majority of customers, 87%, will take their business elsewhere if they don’t trust a company is handling their data responsibly.

We’ve entered an era where brands must utilize data properly or risk losing customers— it’s that simple. Privacy protection has serious implications and has become the “new strategic priority.”

Paramount in Healthcare and Finance, over 80 countries and independent territories, including nearly every country in Europe and many in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa, have adopted comprehensive data protection laws. In MarTech, we’re most familiar with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and now the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which goes into effect January 1, 2020.

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Consumers are calling for new rights relating to their personal information and responsible companies are responding. If the consumer wins, the company wins by staying in front of regulations and by honoring the consumer’s privacy.

Golden Rule of Data

We see increased privacy regulations as an opportunity to help the entire Marketing ecosystem. While it’s mandatory to be compliant with regulations, honoring consumer’s privacy is the most critical part of providing an exceptional customer experience.

It’s living by the Golden Rule of Data: Treating consumer data like you’d want your own data treated by another company. The days of spamming customers that lead to bad experiences are coming to an end. The days of the marketer’s voice being at the center are also coming to an end. It’s now about creating value for the customer in the most efficient way possible, and the use of data in the right way will continue to help marketers and create valuable consumer experiences.

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Solutions to Help

Here at Jornaya, we recently extended our compliance product suite to assist companies in meeting the requirements of the CCPA as well as any future state and federal regulations. We see this as an opportunity to help the entire ecosystem with a value-add service that aligns with our vision of making every consumer’s major life purchase journey exceptional.

The most responsible companies collect the information they need to make their customers’ experiences better and commit to quality data compliance. Make sure your organization is trustworthy and compliant. Consider the following action items to ensure your organization is truly honoring the consumer:

• Clarity: Provide clear guidelines on Personally Identifiable Information (PII), which is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual. Trusted organizations have rigorous Terms of Use restricting them from exposing raw or proprietary data. Said in another way (think the Golden Rule), do they expose any data that could hurt the consumer experience or otherwise hurt the consumer?
• Sourcing: As a marketer, you know that activating the right datasets can help you connect with more relevant consumers, ultimately driving higher quality leads and producing higher conversion rates. There are a few ways you typically obtain these datasets – and the same is true for any partner you are considering. One option is to collect the data first-hand on your owned and operated sites to harness inbound engagement and power insights. The other is to expand the scope of your dataset by working with partners ranging from lists to leads, clicks, calls, and audiences. You can also contribute data to other networks via public and private marketplaces or direct partnerships. In every scenario, the timing and relevance of your outreach, as well as the privacy of the consumer and partner data, is paramount to maintaining trusted relationships.
• Storage and Access: Most businesses store data on multiple media types, each technology and format requiring its own type of protection. Discuss storage and access. If the data is in the Cloud, which solution provider(s) are in use and what security measures are enforced? If some or all of the data is not in the cloud, where does it live and how is it protected?

The time is now to make consumer privacy a priority. You ensure your organization stays out of harm’s way by complying with regulations – and, even more importantly, you create trusted, valuable relationships with your consumers by honoring their privacy.

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