There’s no question that our personal information has turned into some sort of superfood for the giant insatiable beast that is Big Data. And it’s not hard to see why.
Read through any article, how-to guide, or whitepaper on growing your business, enhancing customer experience, or getting ahead of your competition; you’ll find the same advice woven throughout. That golden thread of commonality tells every business owner, salesperson, and marketing guru to collect and use customer data. Slice it up, segment it, test and measure – whatever you need to do to make sure that you’re making the right business decisions for your target audience.
However, as you’re no doubt aware, to make use of this Elixir of Success, you will need to collect, use, and store this valuable data legally, securely, and ethically. Speaking for the general public, we know that brands are collecting our information, even when they say that they’re not. They’ve been doing this for years. But unless you’re planning some nefarious deed and your internet search history would leave you red-faced – or behind bars – most of us just find this simply irritating and perhaps a little invasive.
That is, of course, unless you’ve fallen victim to one of the dozens of outrageous data breaches that have exposed millions of pieces of personal data and financial information to the public. Then the whole issue of data sharing becomes a little more of an issue!
The powers that be have, quite rightly, implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to safeguard our personal information and ensure that it stays safe. While these regulations have been in place since 2018, the general public and businesses alike still have questions.
We’re tackling a few of these questions – minus the jargon and legalese.