Privacy and security are two hot topics for the upcoming year, especially for marketers who are planning to have a wider reach, whether on a national or global level. Last year, we saw GDPR come into effect, which impacted the way businesses market to audiences in the EU, and we can expect more changes ahead.
But, if we’re to be honest, GDPR did so much more than change how we market and conduct business. It also taught many of us that we need to look and plan ahead for upcoming privacy and security issues. That way, we can be prepared and have time to focus on the work ahead instead of putting out fires.
So, for those of us who want to be prepared, what can we expect to see in 2019? To start, GDPR will continue to be a trending topic and growing concern for marketers in the upcoming year. We are also likely to see similar regulations pop up worldwide, and as a result privacy and security will become a priority for many of our organizations.
While dealing with the changes ahead may seem like an overwhelming task, today we’re going to help you take out some of the guesswork so you can hit the ground running in the new year. Here are a few ways we can expect privacy and security to affect the way we do business in 2019.
GDPR Will Become Even More Relevant
Think that EUs General Data Protection Regulation (better known as GDPR) is no longer relevant? Than think again! Many of us were caught off-guard when GDPR went into effect on May 24th of this year, and 2019 may be just as full of more changes. With the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) in every member state of the EU getting fully staffed, businesses marketing in the EU can expect to see more things happen and the rules to become more obvious and defined in the upcoming year.
Get Ready for CCPA and Other Privacy Laws Around the U.S.
The California Consumer Privacy Act, which requires companies doing business in California to improve transparency in how they collect, use and share data, will go into effect January 2020. However, companies should be prepared to comply by June 1, 2019. Many of us who market to a US-based audience have been aware of and are preparing for CCPA, but this regulation may just be the beginning of how we can expect to market to customers around the United States.
Similar laws seem to be popping around the United States, with Vermont expected to put a data vendor law in place and New Jersey considering legislation that will change data privacy as well. Although all these various privacy regulations may seem like a hassle to deal with, there may be a push to create a federal data bill which will preempt state bills and result in more general guidelines across the US.
Look Out For Privacy Laws to Pop Up Worldwide
Marketers can expect to see more regulations inspired by GDPR to be implemented in countries all over the world. Currently 12 countries are considering similar regulations to those of GDPR, including Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Japan, Thailand, India, Australia, China and South Korea. Although the proposed changes are very similar to GDPR, they have slight nuances, which means marketers who do business worldwide will have to be knowledgeable and careful about how they approach each audience.
All this Means An Increased Need for Security
On top of improving transparency around the way we collect and use data, companies have to be prepared against data breaches to keep our customers’ information secure.
In the upcoming year, it will become more crucial for vendors that use CRM data integration to not only help companies comply with regulations such as GDPR and the CCPA, but also equip businesses to deal with any security issues that may arise. For example, we’ve designed our platform to ensure that our customer’s data is fully protected. And, in addition, we make it so that you can easily build compliance forms to help you ensure you’re meeting regulation.
Companies Will Experience Improved Customer Loyalty and Better Results
Although complying with these various regulations regarding privacy and security may be difficult at first, we can only expect the outcomes to benefit our business. Improving transparency about the way we collect and use data, and making an effort to protect our customers overall, only helps to enhance their trust and loyalty in our business.
After all, our job as marketers is to ensure that customers feel like their best interest is always at the top of our mind, and reassure them that choosing us is better than doing business with our competitors. And if investing time and effort in privacy and security ensures that is the case, why not do it? Especially if it leads to more opportunities and closed deals in the future.