There have been some high-profile stories in the news over the past year, and with the data scandal with Facebook and Spotify’s changes to collect even more data from their customers, it’s important that your business is protecting the customers that support you. People are becoming increasingly nervous about the way that companies are using their information, and while for most companies, it’s perfectly innocent and a way to ascertain whether they are giving their customers the best service, vulnerable information can be hacked and used inappropriately. That is, if it’s not being protected properly.
Your business needs to have the appropriate insurances in place to help if you find that there has been a data breach, and cyber liability insurance with Leibel Insurance Group should be a consideration. Today’s marketing teams may well be reliant on the information that their customers provide to give them the best service, but that doesn’t mean that they should compromise that data in any way. To foster a good, trustworthy relationship with your customers, you need to be transparent about your data processes and do all that you can to safeguard their information. No one needs to be spammed or solicited to, and no one needs to become a victim of fraud in the most extreme cases of data infringement. So, what can your business do to ensure that you keep that customer data safe?
A transparent privacy policy is going to help you to increase trust between you and your customers. If your company isn’t being honest about where it’s going with the data your customers provide, they’re not going to trust you and therefore, will not provide you the information that you need. A clear policy can help you to define where their information is being used and can help them to feel secure about it.
Not updating software is going to kill the relationship that you have with your customers. You want to be able to feel reassured that your customer data is safe, but if you’re not updating your IT software and technology, it’s not a guarantee that you can make your customers, is it?
Refusing to encrypt user data correctly is going to come back and bite you if you’re not careful. Your business needs to be seen as professional and watertight but having customer information that isn’t encrypted and then stored on company servers is like throwing water at an electric fence; it’s going to hurt you!
Tightening up the security firewalls and software that your business uses is going to help to minimise the availability of your data. IT departments often struggle to keep up with security risks that are posed to a business, because the intelligence behind cyber criminals is evolving at a faster rate. Keeping on top of the firewalls in your business is going to be a big help in protecting customer information.
Your business needs to make promises and keep those promises – your customers will depend on that.