It’s probably hard to imagine running a business before there were technology solutions to help manage data, but it really wasn’t all that long ago that offices and merchants relied on pen and paper and a heck of a lot of filing cabinets to store important information. Just thinking about digging for a customer’s purchase history or contact information without pushing a button seems daunting. Of course, all of that data, whether you’re still keeping paper records or relying on a more technologically sound solution to store it, is an invaluable business asset. What exactly does this mean?
Aside from the obvious answer, that the pooled data you’ve collected over the years about your customers is an integral part of continued business; it is an asset that must be treated like every other business asset – with the utmost care and security. News headlines as of late have made a lot of customers leery about their information and how it’s stored or shared within the businesses they patronize, and who can blame them? It seems every other day there’s some story dealing with yet another data breach. These headlines are a good motivator for businesses to do some good PR and not only tell customers that their data matters, but perhaps it’s a good time to survey processes and see where and how things can be more secure.
When you collect data from people, assure them you’ll only use it for whatever purpose they are giving it to you. Offer a link to a privacy policy page that states this clearly and in plain English.
Of course, no advice is going to do you any good if you do not have your customer’s trust. If you want to make a quantifiable impact on your bottom line, look deeper than the surface analysis that's often employed; trust is a significant key to building long term relationships, and long term repeat business.
Once you’ve gained the trust and loyalty of your customers, respect that trust. Don't let other people see your customer's information, and never send it or sell it to others unless the people on the list have given you their permission in writing. In case you didn’t know, this practice is illegal.
As some have put it, personal data will be the new “oil” – a valuable resource of the modern day business. It will emerge as a new asset class touching all aspects of society. Treat it with respect and protect it at all costs.