DATA

Building Customer Trust through Ethical Data Practices

By Ascend Marketing

OCTOBer 20, 2021 | DATA

As marketers process more data than ever before to create tailored experiences, customers increasingly demand assurance that their information is being handled ethically and securely. Because new data consolidation challenges and opportunities are constantly emerging, now may be a good time to re-examine your company’s data ethics principles.

Changes in the customer data landscape should prompt a fresh look at digital marketing ethics, particularly as martech adapts to a cookie-free future. New technologies like customer data platforms (CDPs) offer ample opportunities for granular analysis by merging diverse customer data from multiple channels into one place (listen to our experts’ take on CDP tech). While these centralized data solutions are often very secure, putting more data into the hands of marketing professionals makes it crucial that marketers a) know how to handle personal information securely and ethically, and b) communicate data protocols and practices effectively to each other and to the customer. The following practices frame a successful customer-first data ethics strategy:

  • Communicate clearly and transparently about how you intend to use customers’ private information. Customers should always have choice over what data they share, but ease of control with respect to data sharing options can build additional trust—this means including clear opt-outs.
  • Use as little data as is necessary for your marketing objective. More data points do not always lead to a more intelligent or effective marketing strategy. Moreover, customers want to know that companies are only asking for relevant information, and not hoarding superfluous private data.
  • Keep informed on data security best practices, and ensure they are implemented. Customers appreciate knowing their data is well-managed, and appreciate quick, decisive responses when a hack or breach does occur.

Data Security for Customer Confidence

Security concerns weigh especially heavily when discussing data ethics, particularly in the wake of high-profile data breaches, but also due to the comparatively low cost of addressing them. The issue is that few marketing leaders know where the most important vulnerabilities exist that could lead to costly data mishaps. Breaches are preventable with the right technology and safeguards, but marketers need to understand the appropriate threats to implement these measures. With data security, small investments can be the difference between stability and catastrophe—and can make or break customer trust. Some effective security practices include:

  • Establish an information security policy, or re-review the policy you already have. Make sure your cybersecurity policy is unified and applies to data in all locations.
  • Ensure that your team knows good security protocol. For ideas on what a comprehensive data security training session should look like, read here.
  • Encrypt all data, when working in-office or remotely. You may want to assign a team to ensure compliance with this and all other security regulations.

Developing ethical data policies and strong customer trust requires going above and beyond what the law requires in terms of transparency and accountability. However, establishing a comprehensive customer-first data policy need not be prohibitively difficult; with transparent communication, attention to detail, and some security foresight, you can provide your customers the knowledge and assurance they need.

Keep Reading: Customer Data Platforms for Customer-Driven Marketing

Interested in more content related to this topic? Learn the ins and outs of Customer Data Platforms, or CDPs, and how consolidating your customer information can generate deeper connections (and revenue).

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