Krishan Arora is CEO & Founder at The Arora Project, a globally recognized leader in crowdfunding & scaling high-growth ventures.
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As digital marketers, our goal is to create personalized experiences for customers while respecting their privacy and data. However, with the rise of privacy regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), navigating the world of digital marketing has become more complex than ever before. These regulations have had a significant impact on digital marketing, particularly when it comes to data collection and usage of that data. This has led to some challenges for digital marketers, which I'll dig into below.
GDPR, a privacy law that went into effect in May 2018, applies to any organization that processes the personal data of EU citizens, regardless of where the organization is based. The regulation is designed to give individuals more control over their personal data and requires organizations to obtain explicit consent before collecting, storing or using their data. CCPA is a similar privacy law that went into effect in January 2020. It applies to any organization that collects the personal data of California residents and has annual revenues of $25 million or more.
Challenges
As a result of these regulations, many organizations have had to adjust their data collection practices and update their privacy policies. This has led to some challenges for digital marketers, including:
• Increased transparency: Organizations are now required to be more transparent about their data collection and use practices. This means digital marketers must be clearer about what data they are collecting, how they are using it and who they are sharing it with. A simple way to increase transparency is to have dedicated pages on your website highlighting how you plan on using customer data. You can also inform customers via email how their data is being used. Giving them an opt-out option via email is always helpful as well if they do not agree with your data processing and collection methods.
• Limitations on data collection: GDPR and CCPA place limitations on the types of data that organizations can collect and use. For example, organizations must have a valid legal basis for processing personal data, such as explicit consent from the individual. In recent years, because of data protection regulations, we've seen a rise in the double opt-in for email collection, where users must opt in twice before receiving emails from a brand. We've also seen more transparency around data privacy breaches, where consumers who are impacted are notified more quickly. Also, there are much stricter data privacy and compliance structures in place for keeping the financial data of customers stored. All of these rules play into trying to create a more efficient data privacy ecosystem.
• Opt-in requirements: Regulations require organizations to obtain explicit opt-in consent from individuals before collecting or using their data. Digital marketers must be more proactive in obtaining consent from their customers and must make it easy for them to opt out if they choose to do so. You may notice that nowadays, a lot of companies have an "accept all cookies" pop-up button that allows you to also customize the cookie/data collection process when you visit a website. You can now start taking meaningful strides in how your data is used and what type of data you are providing to different online companies. IOS 14 had a huge impact in this space, which allows you to opt in to share data with any given app. Although this hurt Meta's bottom-line revenue from advertising, this was a huge step in positive data privacy standards that Apple helped create.
• Data access and deletion requests: GDPR and CCPA give individuals the right to access their personal data and request that it be deleted. Digital marketers must be prepared to handle these types of requests and must have systems in place to quickly and effectively respond to them. If a customer does not wish to receive any more email updates, for example, you must include an "unsubscribe" button on every single customer email blast. If a customer does not want their cookies/data collected while visiting your website, you must give them the option to prohibit this data collection without their explicit consent.
Solutions
Navigating these regulations can be challenging, but there are strategies that digital marketers can use to ensure compliance:
• Conduct a data audit: Starting with a comprehensive data audit is a crucial step in ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations. When conducting a data audit in your own company, it's essential to begin by identifying the data you collect, how it is used and where it is stored. You can begin by creating an inventory of all the personal data you process, such as customer information, employee records and vendor data. Additionally, creating a data flow map can help visualize the movement of data within your organization and identify potential areas of risk. By following these steps, you can gain a deeper understanding of your data practices and identify areas where you may need to make necessary changes to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.
• Update your privacy policy: Make sure to outline your data collection and usage practices clearly, and keep your privacy policy up to date. This will help ensure that individuals are fully informed about how their data is being used.
• Implement data access and deletion procedures: Make sure you have procedures in place to quickly and effectively respond to data access and deletion requests. This may require changes to your data management systems and processes.
In a nutshell, privacy regulations have had a significant impact on digital marketing. While navigating them can be challenging, it's important for digital marketers to prioritize privacy and data protection in their practices.
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