Keeping Customer Data Private Moving Forward

Consumer data should be kept private, and, in this day and age of digital marketing, there is a delicate balance to be struck between engaging successfully with clients while safeguarding their privacy and complying with privacy standards. In today's data-driven environment, marketers should strive to select solutions that help them value privacy. One method is to use hashing techniques.

Hashing is the technique of producing a value from text input using a one-way cryptographic method, which allows for the protection of consumer information and data. Because the hash code has a one-way function, personally identifiable information (PII) - any data that may potentially identify a specific individual - is not visible. As a result, the raw data or personally identifiable information associated with a consumer remains private, as it should. The implications of failing to protect consumer privacy include not simply a loss of faith in the brand, but also a measurable impact on a company's financial line. According to one study, 48% of customers stopped purchasing from a brand due to privacy concerns.

Earning Consumer Trust

Brands that value consumer privacy have more satisfied customers and stronger loyalty. With that in mind, here are some practical steps a firm can take to respect their customers' and partners' privacy.

Give customers more control over their data. Ask for permission to use consumer data for a specified purpose, and then use it only for that purpose. Allow customers to unsubscribe from your database (stipulated in the CCPA for CA residents, but a good practice in every state). Invest in data and security solutions to safeguard your business and customers. In every scenario, follow "The Golden Rule of Data." In other words, only use customer data in the same way that you would want your own data to be used.

The following stage is to implement an effective layer of security. Companies that use hashing technology can assure optimal levels of security while also building consumer trust by being completely upfront about data usage. The hash code produced by a hashing method functions similarly to a message fingerprint of the text input. It has a fixed length and will fluctuate significantly with modest changes in input. Because these algorithms are one-way functions, determining the original input based solely on the hash code becomes practically difficult. Hashing algorithms provide the security of services like internet banking, allowing providers to receive data while protecting client privacy.

The most important aspects of offering an amazing customer experience are respecting consumer privacy and understanding consumer preferences. When a company chooses technologies that preserve client privacy, it is also securing the trust that its consumers have placed in it. Alternatively, neglecting customer privacy concerns has been found to be costly, with 87 percent of consumers shifting their business elsewhere if they do not believe a company is handling their data correctly.

Protecting Consumer Privacy Through Hashing

Responsible businesses consider consumer privacy and data security from both company and customer perspectives. If the client wins, so does the company. And that is no simple task for a corporation attempting to keep ahead of rules and meet today's increasingly severe standards. Not only can there be huge consequences for not complying with privacy requirements, as we noted in Customer Think earlier this year, but studies have shown that consumers are getting more worried about how their data is being used.

And the European Union's (EU) General Data Protection Regulation, enacted in 2018, is becoming a paradigm for behavior in the United States (US). President Biden chose Christopher Hoff as deputy secretary of commerce in his first week in office to negotiate with the EU on how data is transported between Europe and the US. The onus is definitely on digital marketers to build their tactics in such a way that customer privacy and consent are prioritized.

With stricter rules in place, organizations must be acutely aware of how they manage data and where it originates. In an era when expanded collaboration through partnerships is the norm, it's vital to understand how partners obtain, keep, and link data to ensure compliance with company privacy policies and regulations. It all comes down to the requirement for vigilance, which is only feasible through the smart deployment of technology like hashing.

Consensus Across the Industry

The same level of transparency that businesses develop with their customers should be offered to their partners. Partners who offer their data to help companies and their consumers achieve the best consumer experiences will be cooperative because they understand the value of those collaborations. Among the data contributors are:

• Lead Generators
• Comparison Shopping Services
• Identity Resolution Providers
• Customer Interests and Market Research Firms

To retain the level of consumer trust described previously, it is critical for businesses to have agreements among partners to preserve consumer data. Simply think of it as a logical extension of the "Golden Rule of Data." Data from customers and partners can be treated with the same care and respect if the proper technology is in place.

Hashing algorithms provide a method for mitigating the danger of partnership sharing from the start. Because it is a one-way process, hashing goes beyond encryption. Encryption converts data into a string of unreadable characters of varying lengths. If you have the appropriate key, you can reverse-encrypted strings back into their original decrypted form. Encryption is essentially a reversible process, whereas hashed data cannot be "decrypted."

When all data is processed using the same powerful hashing algorithms that large financial institutions employ (a feature available to organizations that use hashing algorithms), the benefits are obvious: Derive data insights based on aggregate counts, calculations, and scores, with the ultimate goal of providing additional value to the consumer in mind.

Protecting customer privacy should be straightforward: never capture, store, or share raw PII. With this understanding, a corporation can activate the appropriate data to give timely and relevant outreach that best matches the demands of the customer throughout their buying trip. It is all about providing a better experience in a safe atmosphere. Everyone benefits when a corporation makes it a goal to exclusively deal with data that is linked to protected, non-sensitive records.

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