In the world of marketing, things are changing fast. Privacy laws, data rights, and business transparency are quickly becoming staples of a good marketing strategy. This is because consumers are rapidly learning about the importance of their data and privacy, and more people than ever are looking for ways to incorporate more peace in their lives, often by limiting screen time or “disconnecting” on a regular basis. All of these changes are positive and healthy and should absolutely be celebrated, but they do require businesses to change their approaches. The following will explore how businesses can reach their customers while still respecting privacy laws.
Learn About The Law
First and foremost, you want to get caught up on what the privacy laws are. If a law seems arbitrary or confusing to you, take a moment to research what event brought on the discussion of the law. Quite often, when you hear about the problem law is trying to solve, it’s easier to grasp why it’s structured the way it is. You also want to keep an eye on the bills currently being presented to your government; this can give you an idea of what future laws you might need to work with as well. It’s important to note that this is not a once-and-done process. You will need to be regularly updating yourself and pivoting if necessary for the foreseeable future. Technology adaption is the fastest it’s ever been, and lawmakers will probably be scurrying to catch up for quite some time. It’s also vital that if you have clients or customers in other countries, provinces, or states, you research location-specific laws as well. Every nation seems to be going at its own pace.
Properly Identify Yourself
Whichever form of outreach you use to contact customers, be sure that you’re properly identifying yourself. If you use the phone to reach clients, you need to find a way to verify yourself via caller ID as so many people get scam calls these days; communication gurus from Truecaller verified business caller ID emphasize that many people have lost trust in unknown numbers because of scams. Similarly, you want to ensure that the email address you send emails from is clear and in reference to your company. For a while, it was common to have business emails come from a particular person within the company (like Roger from CatClothes), but because more and more people are looking at email on their phones, the business name gets cut off, and all they see is an email from Roger; since they don’t know anyone named Roger, they assume it’s a mistaken email address or a scam. Make sure your business is front and center in any outreach you do.
Ask Customers For Their Data
Among the many changes in privacy laws are alterations to cookies. It’s expected that if companies don’t figure out how to legally acquire customer data, these changes are going to result in a loss of income. The good news is that people are willing to share data with companies they trust. If you put in the time to build legitimacy and trust with potential clients and regular customers, people are willing to share their data in exchange for discounts or other perks. Of course, once you collect data, take every step you can to protect it. Data is one of the most valuable resources in our world today, and hackers are getting better at their jobs every day.
Make It Easy To Opt-Out
One of the things that can quickly infuriate a potential customer is if you make it too hard for them to opt out of whatever reach-out system you have. If they ask to be taken off the call list, take them off. Make the unsubscribe link easy to find. When you respect your customers, they respect you in return. Remember what was said above about gaining trust. If that alone doesn’t convince you, then understand that very soon, the laws in this regard could change.
Be Transparent
Finally, people are going to be far less likely to share their data with you if they don’t know what you’re doing with it. No matter the data collection service you have, you want people sharing their contact information to be told when and where, and why they’ll be contacted. You want to be able to tell them how you’re going to protect the data you’re given. And you want to be able to assure them you’re doing all that you can to respect their privacy.
The above tips should help you alter your customer communication methods to respect new and future laws as well as your customer’s valuable information and privacy. It’s also a good idea to ask your customers and clients for feedback; if you know what their needs and expectations are, it will be much easier to make sure you’re meeting them.
