Privacy and trust in the system have been an ever-evolving concept that has gone back and forth over the past century. Privacy fears have been prevalent points of contention when there was distrust on how PII (Personal Identifiable Information) is utilized by business governance. In the digital age, privacy concerns took a back seat as there was an unprecedented level of access to the behavioral patterns of consumers and insight.
In the past couple of years, consumers and governments have become increasingly concerned about individuals' privacy due to consistent maleficence around PII, data breaches causing innumerable harm, and raising awareness around digital consent.
Millions of consumers have tools in the form of third-party plug-ins, permissible data compliance options, and inbuilt tools in major platforms to monitor how their data is stored and utilized. Enterprises with a privacy-first approach and acting responsibly during a breach will have the more significant business edge over businesses.
This article will provide insight into how consumers value privacy and adjust to government regulations and organizational changes.
How Consumers Evaluate Privacy
Many reputable firms are conducting large-scale research on how consumers see privacy and how they weigh various factors about how businesses should utilize their data. The critical idea across the broad spectrum is an overwhelming concern around the data collected, and it plays a crucial role in allowing consent to collect data from them. Here are some of the major takeaways from each research into tailoring your privacy policies-
KPMG- They paint a rather bleak picture for overall belief in the larger ecosystem as a whole, with more than 68 percent of the industries being deemed untrustworthy to sell the data ethically. They believe that corporations should give more power to consumers of their personal data. Many considered their worst fear of having their financial information and social security number leaked.
Here are some of the key statistics to take note of-
- 56% believed that corporations should be willing to provide further control to the end consumer
- 53% believed that corporations would not engage in the ethical collection of private data.
- 54% believed that personal data collected would not be used for ethical means. [1]
Cisco- The key takeaway from their study was an increasing concern about the lack of transparency in Businesses on how their data is handled and utilized. Many seek to take proactive actions by turning off listening devices or changing service providers due to a lack of trust in them. Government intervention and regulatory policies are overwhelmingly seen as a positive measure in ensuring privacy and building ecosystem confidence.
Here are some of the key statistics to take note of-
- 81% considered personal data dealing as indicative of how consumers are valued at any business.
- 39% considered being told how data is utilized as a decisive step in building trust.
- 79% felt they could not secure their privacy due to being unable to check how their data was used.
- 48% decided to change their providers solely on privacy issues.
- 35% considered the Nation States should handle Privacy. [2]
How Organizations can Foster a Privacy Culture
- Creating an Organizational Culture of Privacy
Maintaining the customer's privacy is an important ideal that must be reflected in how every action is taken in the enterprise structure's internal and external activities. Here are some of the critical steps to creating an Organizational Culture of Privacy:
- Ensuring proper education on Privacy
It is essential to ensure that the key leadership of executives are well versed on Privacy and must be passionate ambassadors on the following subject. The organizational structure should contain data privacy teams with a mix of various fields to ensure that any privacy issue can be immediately scanned through the lens of technical and regulatory standards.
- Ensuring compliance and Risk Assessment
Analyze the current data policies of the enterprise and conduct a thorough risk assessment on the collection category. How important is it to have the said data to generate insight? In the case of a data breach, what risk is taken? Balancing privacy and insight will lead to removing unnecessary requests for private data that lead to the erosion of trust. Ensure that data is anonymized by splicing, shielding, and masking any information that could potentially reveal customers' identities.
- Implementing Operational Changes
Businesses can apply for ISO-27001, 27018, and many other certifications can be used to avoid cybersecurity breaches, privacy issues, etc. Furthermore, a robust data mapping tool must be implemented to ensure that the various datasets across the chain can be analyzed effectively. An organized IT infrastructure ensures that the requests for data deletion for a specific customer can be executed.
- Ensuring Transparency
The marketing staff should communicate the privacy policies effectively to customers ensuring that greater trust is upheld. Every form of data collection must be adequately documented and categorized to provide proper disclosures. Consumers can be sent monthly reports to ensure transparency on how the data is utilized across the business chain.
Conclusion
The movement around Privacy is an important tenet that is gaining increasing enthusiasm every year. Lack of compliance can have heavy consequences, with steep fines of up to 4% of global revenue being paid by corporations in case of non-compliance. On the face of it, these policies can be somewhat daunting, but they provide an opportunity for businesses to stand out.
Companies that put privacy at the forefront can gain a competitive advantage over other businesses. Compliance strengthens the security measures at any given enterprise and ensures longer customer relationships due to highly secured data. Ultimately Privacy ensures that the business ecosystem does not suffer due to a few bad apples and leads to customers being hesitant to share essential data through which companies can gain valuable insights. Keeping Privacy imperative ensures businesses are not significantly hampered in their long-term goals and reputation.
Reference
[1] KPMG, The new imperative for corporate data responsibility, https://bit.ly/3eXVbYs.
[2] Cisco, Data Transparency’s Essential Role in Building Customer Trust, https://bit.ly/3srRayx.