How can you become more competitive and gain the trust of your customers?

Although the idea of data privacy is not new, it has recently acquired public importance. Customers are now considerably more hesitant to give their data to companies and much less trusting of what those companies will do with it once they have it. They want you to ensure that their private information is safe from hackers, breaches, and leaks and is only used for authorized purposes by those who need it. When they entrust you with their data, your consumers deserve true data privacy, not just compliance with rules and regulations like GDPR, GLBA, SOC2, and PCI.

Why is the ability to compete dependent on consumer trust?

It's no surprise that building customer trust is essential to running a successful company. Still, you might be surprised to see how consumer trust has merged with data security and how keeping these principles sets one company apart. Over half of customers (57%) say they will quit doing business with a firm if they feel it has betrayed their trust by utilizing personal information carelessly. Additionally, 50% of consumers are prepared to pay more for goods and services safeguarding personal data. A company's competitiveness and long-term success depend on its ability to win and maintain the confidence of its customers by securing their data. But how can businesses start doing that? We'll discuss specific measures you can take to get started below.

Develop a reputation for preserving the privacy of your clients

Your business must first build a solid reputation for safeguarding client information and privacy if you want to transform consumer trust into a competitive advantage genuinely. Another aspect of gaining consumer confidence is positioning yourself as a privacy and security industry leader. Start by clearly outlining your business's efforts to protect client information. When communicating, be open-minded and comprehensive. Inform customers on how to utilize your product or service according to cybersecurity best practices as part of this process.

Be proactive in being open

Transparency is essential to acquiring and maintaining consumer trust when it comes to having a competitive edge in data privacy. Waiting for rules and regulations to force the issue of how you handle and store data is a bad idea. Instead, emphasize transparency to win over clients. We ought to be believers in privacy and regard it as fostering trust. A key trust indicator is how we manage and treat private information. Don't let your privacy policy do all the talking when explaining your data practices. Only around one in five respondents to the 28,000-person Eurobarometer poll read privacy regulations in their entirety, and a third never did, according to the study. Instead, take the initiative to disclose your data policy. Give consumers a thorough explanation of your information about them, including where it came from, how it was gathered, and how it is utilized.

Establish a culture of privacy ethics

Establishing a culture of data privacy ethics inside your firm is one of the most fundamental stages in transforming consumer trust into your competitive edge. Your workers must have a solid commitment to data ethics and privacy if you want data privacy to be at the center of your organization. Because data is considered a business requirement and the preservation and confidentiality of that data is not seen as a consumer right, data ethics breaches have risen (and will continue to develop). According to Gartner, the incorrect use of big data analytics will cause 50% of company ethical infractions. When companies opt to safeguard user data, it's viewed less as a question of user rights and ethics and more as a matter of legal compliance or commercial need. Issues might occur when a company considers protecting user privacy and data a good business, not a fundamental ethical decision. Companies' approaches to customers and rivals might drastically shift when they reframe their stance on data protection as a moral issue.

Conclusion

Data privacy involves more than just following rules and being transparent about how you utilize consumer data. It's all about giving your clients the respect and consideration they deserve. A company's ability to compete and continue to succeed depends on its ability to win and maintain the confidence of its customers by securing their data.