Why Businesses Should Care About Protecting Personal Data
Michael Fertik
Serial Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist michaelfertik.substack.com "Robinhood of the blogosphere, Sherlock Holmes 2.0 of Databanks" - Handelsbatt
Businesses, we already know you care about personal data.
But for most of you, that care is laser-focused on what our personal details reveal about us as potential consumers for your products and services. Will we find your ads charming or memorable enough to buy your product? At what point in the marketing cycle will we be persuaded to commit? What do we, your ideal customers, look like anyway?
New research from the World Economic Forum and its partners reveal conflicting perspectives on trust and privacy online yet the trend line is clear: consumers care about their data, how it’s collected, why it’s consumed, and the impact it could have on their lives.
Here are just a few fascinating takeaways from three reports out last week:
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56.9 percent of people are convinced - correctly, I might add, and I wish this number was much, much higher - that people they don’t know may have access to their online personal information.
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61.5 percent say they have control over the information they disclose about themselves online. No! There is no perfect way to control your information online - once it’s out there, you have relinquished all control.
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45.2 percent say that the personal data they put online is kept safe.
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People trust offline banks and financial institutions - both of which, it’s worth noting, are part of a highly regulated industry - the most with their personal data. Shops and department stores came in last.
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Online news sources are the most trusted sources of information, with search engines coming in second. Social media and citizen blogs are last.
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People care the most about how their data is collected - and then why it’s collected.
People are waking up to the unsettling understanding that their data are not safe in their grasp. More and more, they’re profoundly uncomfortable as they contemplate how that data is collected and for what hidden purposes. And they know some of the places it’s most at risk - social media sites and retailers. Conversely, they’re smartly and instinctively placing their trust in institutions that are highly regulated and controlled with government oversight: banks and financial organizations.
Businesses, take note. This is another signal that privacy’s time is coming. There will be a point when consumers en masse will demand better protections and oversight from their governments - and will judge companies on how transparent and responsible they are with personal data.
If you are a business that relies on data, be a trailblazer and set yourself apart now by handling consumer data openly, honestly and respectfully.
Photo: Wilm Ihlenfeld/Shutterstock
Product Owner at Commonwealth Bank
9yI think that forward-thinking organisations will increasingly accept that there is a causal link between good privacy controls, trust and shareholder value. So much trust and therefore value has been lost even in the last 12 months.
Product Manager, Inventor, PrivacyTech, SaaS, CIPP/E, CIPM.
9yAnd because their concerns have not been listened to, people are increasingly taking their own steps to try and protect their privacy. Often the only tools they have to do this are fairly blunt instruments - which are not good for the overall experience, and terrible for publishers. With true engagement on this issue, and publishers starting to respect privacy preferences, many of the problems could be resolved.
Regarding online privacy, we have heard people say they have nothing to hide and don't care if their privacy is violated. Sadly, they are missing the point.With NSA surveillance programs, the US Government now has the power to arbitrarily track, target, and go after any one of us -- our friends, family, the journalists and activists we depend on -- because they don't like our ideas. In a world without privacy, anything you've written, done, or seen can be used against you, making your life a nightmare. Spying IS censorship.
Senior Content Marketing Specialist at Campaignium
9yEarly in my career, a more experienced colleague gave me the advice to "look for the story" when reviewing data on consumer habits, media consumption, and so forth. In personal selling we are told to begin by listening to the customer, empathizing with them, and addressing their needs, rather than bombarding them with cool facts about our product. Perhaps we should take the same view of aggregated consumer data: it's a resource for learning our customers' stories and what's important to them, so that we can adequately address their needs with our products, services, and content.
Swim Coach , PADI Mermaid, Corporate Governance Enthusiast, Life Coach
9yPOPI