The European Union (EU) set global standards for data privacy in 2018 with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act. GDPR applies to anyone doing business with a member of the EU. Other regulations swept the globe, including laws in states such as California, Colorado and Connecticut.
Most marketing professionals and small business owners adapted to the change and implemented their own policies to protect customers’ personal information. While collecting and storing information on customers allows you to offer a personalized experience, the number of hacking attempts mean you must also secure details from cybercriminals.
6 Tips for Ensuring Privacy and Compliance in CRM
Data breaches and other types of privacy complaints can damage your reputation and sour customer relationships. Part of your responsibility in having a customer relationship management (CRM) system involves ensuring compliance while still improving communication with your audience.
Here are some starting points for making sure you’re keeping your customer information secure.
1. Start With a Data Audit
You may have collected information on your customers for years. You must set some policies on how long to keep information and ways to secure it. Before you can do that, you need to know what data you have, how far back it goes, and what your company policies are.
Only save info you need to do your business effectively. With Google doing away with third-party cookies soon, you’ll have more first-party details you’ve collected on social media or your website. Data audits will become easier as you’ll get details from limited sources.
2. Pay Attention to Industry Compliance
Data privacy oversight may become particularly difficult for industries like banks and health care businesses. With advances in digitization, brands have more data to work with. However, state and federal regulators are paying attention and giving banks more oversight.
Around 18 states have data usage legislation and six others are in the process. Banks often serve customers across state lines, making compliance a bit tricky as they strive to market to existing and new customers while following guidelines for each location.
3. Ramp Up Security
Whether your business falls under one of the many local or international privacy laws, you have a responsibility to keep your users’ information safe from hackers. Secure your site with the best firewalls and antivirus software you can afford. Even the server you choose can impact how safe your site is. Pay attention to error logs to find the ways criminals try to access your website, and block IP addresses as needed.
4. Provide a Clear Notice
Data privacy laws require businesses to provide a notice explaining how they use data. Most brands just add a link to their website that directs users to their policies. Some of the things you should include in your privacy disclosure are what info is collected, the intended purpose, if info is shared with third parties, and how long you keep the data.
Your privacy policy should also outline how consumers can opt out of the data collection and storage methods and have their personal details erased from your systems.
5. Get Consent
GDPR requires businesses to get user consent before collecting their data. To ensure you’re complying, add a short notice and a checkbox or offer a pop-up that explains the site uses cookies and ask the user to accept or decline the terms. Some website visitors have no problem with you collecting their patterns and personalizing their experience. Others will deny the right to track their activities.
Many of the new data regulations going through legislatures require similar actions. Use GDPR as your gold standard and then cross-check to ensure you’re in compliance in states where your customers reside.
6. Tap Into Software for Compliance
Surveys show around 71% of Americans worry about the data businesses collect about them. Making sure you comply with regulations and keep things transparent for users can be challenging. Fortunately, there are programs you can use that will help you draft notices, collect only the data you need, and sift through old materials to delete.
You can also hire privacy specialists to audit your collections and storage methods. Those in industries collecting sensitive personal details, such as medical fields and banking, may want to invest in regular audits to ensure they’re in compliance.
The Ever-Changing Face of the Internet
As people’s digital use advances, it’s almost certain privacy laws will, too. Marketing professionals in the United States should be aware of the policies recently enacted in various states and the ones making their way through various legislatures around the country.
Even small brands should pay attention to their customer relationship management tools and how they might impact data privacy compliance. With a strong plan of action, businesses can collect what's needed to market effectively while remaining trustworthy and avoiding regulatory fines.