–By Tripti Sharma–
Customer data privacy involves protecting and handling sensitive personal information that an individual provides during transactions. As the internet has evolved as a medium of communication and consumers have easy access to more product information data privacy has become a growing concern. We all are growing in the fast-changing era of technology, our reliance on and comfort with technology is so much that we don’t know what we are losing.
Have you ever thought of, that how companies like Facebook or other online services do not charge you for using their services and still earn billions? It’s the game of data, these companies use customer data to understand customer expectations and behavior through which the next move can be predicted. Think of when you visit a grocery store daily to purchase an item and the next day the owner of the shop keeps an item on its desk that you were thinking of purchasing. What will be your reaction- surprise or shock? it’s like attaching a GPS tracker to track your every move. When more than 450 million records of Facebook users’ data got leaked, the first thing that came to mind of every Facebook user was “Is our Data Protected”?
Digital assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home provide services like sending recordings of your queries back to the respective companies for processing data. What we as consumers of companies don’t realize is that there exist some hidden trackers that are scooping up our personal information. When you search for something, companies exactly know what you want by using the history of keywords. The non-compliance to the data privacy guidelines falls on both customers and companies.
While scrolling on the internet, some pages show pop-ups about using cookies, and without knowing people just click on the “accept” button or show careless behavior towards reading the 6-page privacy policy because they don’t understand it or they don’t want to understand it. It’s like a quid-pro-quo arrangement in which we share our information in exchange for receiving free services.
As the concern for data privacy has grown leaps and bounds, research conducted by Deloitte says that consumers are less likely to take surveys due to privacy concerns. Data collected from consumers is important as it provides in-depth insights into how an organization can enhance customer experience, therefore it is important and needs to be secured.
What should companies do?
Companies while disposing or using consumer data can ensure data privacy by:
• Bringing Transparency about how they intend to use consumer data.
• Allowing consumers to easily opt out of sharing data
• Providing brief and understandable privacy policies and agreements
• Proper monitoring and control of data
• Share relevant insights and not full data
• Make privacy everyone’s business
• Communicate to customers that their information is safe
Conclusion
Consumers while using Internet services can ensure the privacy of their information by taking small steps like reading policy terms before scrolling on any web page or keeping browsing secrets. Sharing and using data has both rewards and risks. Data privacy is something that you can sell but you can’t buy it back. If marketers advocate privacy and transparency as core principles of a user-first digital experience, then the focus can be shifted from short-term leads to long-term trust and brand value.
