In today's world, data security is a major concern for any company. You need to be careful about the use of your customers' personal information to gain their trust and loyalty as well as improve your customer insights. In this context, practicing strict data privacy discipline can give you a competitive edge over others in your industry. This is because it helps you generate customer trust, gain customer loyalty, and improve your customer insights.
Not only does practicing strict data privacy give your company a competitive edge, but it’s also a legal requirement, it's good for your brand and reputation, it benefits customers and employees, and it can be an advantage in your sector or industry.
In order to implement and maintain data privacy discipline, every company should:
- Ensure that employees have multi-factor authentication.
- Implement role-based access control.
- Appoint a data privacy officer to oversee your organisation’s data privacy program.
- Train employees on the importance of maintaining data privacy and procedures for handling sensitive information. This includes how to report suspected incidents of fraud or theft, as well as how to resolve security incidents with vendors who may also be storing sensitive personal information for you.
- Develop processes designed to help ensure that personal information is being handled appropriately by everyone in your company, from the top down. Make sure these processes are always followed accordingly by holding people accountable.
Now that we've gotten a good understanding of what data privacy is and how to think about it, let's discuss how you can develop a corporate culture that cultivates a healthy respect for data privacy.
First and foremost, having a culture of data privacy is not just an issue of compliance or legal protection. It's also not just an issue of security or risk mitigation. In fact, it's not exclusively any one discipline at all—it requires expertise from all domains: business strategy, marketing & branding, customer experience management (CEM), IT operations, and more.
The best way to approach this is by fostering an environment where all stakeholders understand the importance of keeping personal information private as part of the company's core values—and then creating incentives for everyone in the organisation towards achieving this goal together as part of their daily responsibilities within their respective departments or divisions.
It’s also important to help your employees understand that organisations that take data privacy seriously are putting themselves in a better position to succeed. This in turn might be an incentive for employees to be disciplined in this area—leading to future bonuses and rewards.
Data privacy is a core business competency that is critical for long-term success
It’s a competitive advantage, driving loyalty, brand affinity, marketing insights, and customer acquisition. There are a lot of complex ethical questions to be asked and answered regarding data privacy, but it’s clear that the time for action is now. Data privacy is the responsibility of the company, individual, and society as a whole—and we can work together to make sure our digital footprints are protected.
ESET Business Protection products have been developed to protect your company data. Get the multilayered support you need to keep your business safe from internet threats and cyber criminals.