In the modern era of business, customers worry about privacy. They’re paranoid about data being shared with other companies or individuals, meaning many people know lots of things about them. A classic example is when companies share contact details with other organizations, leading to cold calls or marketing emails for their customers.
Data privacy is so important there are various regulations in place to ensure you protect customers. Moreover, it’s getting to the point where customers will leave businesses or choose a rival ahead of yours if they don’t think you’re protecting them. This creates the query: what can you do to show customers you’re protecting their privacy? It’s often not enough to tell them their data is secure – you need to make this clear via different actions.
SSL Security Certificates
A simple way to help customers or leads feel safe is with an SSL certificate. This is a digital security certificate that shows a website is encrypted. An encrypted website has layers of security, meaning all information exchanged on the pages are hidden from prying eyes. It’s a must-have for modern business websites – and it’s easy for customers to spot.
Your website with have a little padlock logo in the address bar, or it’ll display the HTTPS starting tag. When people see this, they know that their data is safe. Additionally, sites without an SSL certificate are regularly flagged up by web browsers. Before a person visits your website, they’ll be informed that it’s not safe. You can see how badly this might affect business – nobody wants to take a risk, so they’ll leave.
Opt-In Forms
Presenting your web traffic with opt-in forms is one of the best design elements of a business website. Whenever someone visits your website for the first time, you should have a pop-up that brings up a cookies opt-in form. Here, you should clearly tell people that they can choose if their cookies are stored or not. Cookies are basically little crumbs of data websites and advertising companies use to make browsing experiences more convenient for each user. It’s why you see adverts for things you’re just been looking for. Some people like this, while others see it as an invasion of privacy.
Having an opt-in form means they decide to either agree to this or keep their cookies hidden. It’s a simple way of showing that you care about their privacy and give them full control over things. Similarly, always give them a chance to opt in or out of things like mailing lists, text lists, etc. Basically, these forms help a customer decide what they want to do with their data!
Redacted Details
What do we mean by redacted details? Well, if you ever have to share documents with customers or need to send things to suppliers, you can redact personal details. This is easily done with PDF redaction and it helps customers feel protected. When you send them a bill, you can blur out their name, address, contact details, or anything else private. They’ll see this in the email attachment and feel thankful that you’re going the extra mile. It lets them know that, if this email fell into the wrong hands, people wouldn’t be able to obtain the private data.
Similarly, if you do have to email things to suppliers, be sure to contact the customer first to ask if this is okay. Provide a preview of the document with the redacted information, so they know what the supplier will see. Again, it gives them peace of mind and shows that you’re protecting their privacy.
The Benefits Of Taking Data Protection Seriously
Even if you operate in places without strict data protection laws, it’s highly beneficial to take things seriously. Showing customers that you’re protecting their information will encourage repeat business. People feel comfortable using your service because they know you’re going the extra mile to protect their data.
At the same time, you may see an influx of new customers. Existing ones are likely to leave great reviews highlighting your excellent customer service and commitment to privacy. Other consumers see this and it makes them trust your business. Trust is the key to everything in the business world – if you can get consumers to trust your company, more of them will come along. You end up in the excellent position of retaining customers and generating new ones.
Protecting customer data can have an incredibly positive impact on your business, and it’s not hard to do at all. With a few small tweaks, you can effortlessly demonstrate your privacy policy and leave people feeling at ease when using your site.