It’s all about consumer trust: How transparent data management can build up your brand’s image

Building any amount of trust takes time, and for digital companies this is no different. When it comes to data protection, digital platforms have yet to build a reputation of being at the forefront of data privacy. But this is where dedicated Consent Management tools can help. Studies show a worrying trend for companies: with hundreds of options on innumerable websites, consumers are leveraging their purchasing power by taking their money where they can trust that their data is in good hands. So how can you make sure consumers come back to yours?

The correlation between brand trust and company revenue is becoming ever more apparent.

“Almost 90% of participants stated that they would take their business elsewhere if they had concerns over the data privacy practices of a company.” – a recent study provided by McKinsey reveals.

A whopping 71% said that they would stop doing business with a company that gave away sensitive data without permission.

“If companies wish to remain lucrative with their marketing strategies, they need to be able to show that they are collecting data for the right reasons and they must collect cleaner, more selective data,” says Nerissa Marberry founder of One Epiphany, a digital marketing company.

This new way of looking at privacy as a human right is lifting the lid off a box that companies haven’t previously felt the need to open up, but it makes room for privacy legislation worldwide to gain a foothold. This includes legislative frameworks like the CCPA, GDPR and LGPD, and works such as the OECD’s Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data. This illustrates the crucial importance of data privacy on an international scale. 

Recently, the Information Commissioner’s Office of the UK conducted their annual track survey to take a look at how people across the UK viewed their information rights. The results were overwhelming, but not surprising with the importance of privacy being at the top. Further interviews conducted for the study showed that people’s direct experience of how an organization handles their personal data – good and bad, open or closed — greatly shapes their trust in that organization.

As data privacy legal frameworks tighten, fines are grabbing headlines.This means that because the stakes of subjecting customers to a vague and non-transparent data privacy strategy are so high, firms are making privacy the new normal. However, the ever-changing data privacy regulations can be difficult to keep up with, resulting in poor adherence.

“With the current data privacy framework in the US changing at this speed, you need to make sure you’re not running at a treadmill pace to where you can’t keep up,” says Nishant Bhajria, data privacy architect and author of Privacy Engineering. 

This sounds the alarm for the importance of keeping up with the latest regulatory changes and acting accordingly with the proper privacy tools. Yet one of the main hurdles of providing website users with comprehensive data protection options is that many are confused by the lack of coherent legislation, especially in the US.

“If people understood what exactly the regulations are, people would be able to prepare better,” said attorney Heidi Shadid during an Usercentrics’ Tech That Talks panel. It is precisely this issue that a Consent Management Platform (CMP) can solve.

1. Be transparent – The best way to transparently inform your users is to provide a clear, thorough and comprehensively written privacy policy. Many websites do not fill in all of the information that needs to be in a privacy policy, creating a non-compliant and vague policy outline.
2. Be in the know – Understand which data processing services are being used by your website. This can be done simply by using our Usercentrics website audit. Knowing which data processing services your website sets is the first step to being able to inform your users about how you want to collect data.
3. Collect Consent – Not all consent is created equal. In order to be GDPR- and CCPA-compliant, you as a website provider must collect consent in a specific manner. Take a look at our guidelines for 7 Ways to Collect Consent in order to make sure your consent collection is GDPR-compliant.
4. Provide an opt-out – Saying “no” to data collection must be just as easy as saying yes. This means that the option to opt out cannot be hidden, or worse yet, unavailable to any user on your website.
   

Let users change their minds – People can change their minds and that’s alright. As a matter of fact, it’s expected. Therefore, a legally compliant Consent Management Platform should always have the option for users to change their consent preferences at a later date.

We at Usercentrics think the answer is clear, and building trust between your business and your customers in a simple and transparent manner is the key to success. Users’ digital privacy expectations shouldn’t be seen as a threat, but as an asset to grow opportunities in data collection and data-driven marketing. 

There are many tools out there to aid with your data privacy strategy, such as a Consent Management Platform, which allows your website to collect, manage and store your users’ consent. This is done by displaying and sharing the ways in which users’ data will be collected. Remember, just like with any personal relationship, if people know that they can trust your website, they’ll be more likely to engage more, remain longer, and trust you with their personal information, because they believe you’ll handle it ethically. 

If people dislike the way their information is shared, purchase interest drops. – a study conducted by Harvard Business Review displayed these results.

However, trust enhances consumers’ receptiveness. People who trusted Facebook and saw ads based on transparent measures, such as letting users know why their data was being collected, expressed the highest interest in purchasing the product and engaging with the advertiser. Through this lens, doing data privacy right can build and maintain trust between your users and your brand, enabling growth opportunities to flourish.