Protecting Your Customers’ Data
The number of reported data breaches in the U.S. reached an all-time high last year. Is your brand doing everything it can to keep customers’ data secure? If not, you’re putting your business—and bottom line—at risk.
The cost of a data breach in an organization increases 10% every year. And the longer it takes to identify and contain a breach, the more costly it will be to fix. In 2021, it took businesses an average of 287 days—more than 9 months—to identify and contain a data breach. That cost about $4.87 million.
In other words, successful businesses make preventing and mitigating data breaches a priority. Data breaches cost time, money, and customer satisfaction. If it’s been a while since you’ve audited your customer data security process, here are some tips on how to start:
Update the Amount of Data You Collect
Review closely all of the data that you collect from customers. Is every single piece of data necessary to help you achieve your business goals?
Examine the forms you have customers submit to join your email list, download lead magnets, make accounts, or input other information. How many fields do you ask them to complete? Sit down with your team and assess whether each field is vital to your marketing efforts.
For example, do you really need a customer’s job title and work address? Is their home city, state, and zip code absolutely necessary? This might be relevant data for your business, or you may see that you can accomplish your goals without them.
The point of this exercise is not to eliminate all, or even any, of the data fields you ask customers to complete. Rather, the purpose of this exercise is to ensure you are asking for only the most vital customer information.
Reducing the collection of not-as-essential data accomplishes two things. First being the amount of personal data that your company’s system is storing. This lessens the amount of sensitive data that can be breached. Second, you’ll build more trust from consumers. When customers see that your form only requires a few relevant fields, they’ll be less hesitant to complete it.
Tighten Internal Access to Customer Data
This tip requires more brutal honesty. Look at the people who can access your customers’ data. Be honest: Does every person on that list need data access to do their job? Keep in mind that each person represents a point of vulnerability for your business.
Is it possible to have tighter restrictions on access to sensitive information? This might require you to assign a point of contact who can run reports on behalf of other teams who need customer data from time to time. When fewer people have access to customer data, there are fewer chances that it will be abused.
Store All Customer Data in One Location
Data silos happen when various pieces of information are stored in different places or softwares within an organization. While data silos are common, they make it easier for cybercriminals to breach your data. Why? Because the more places sensitive data is stored, the less secure it is.
It’s also easier to lose track of customer data when it’s spread across these various locations. When you lose track of your data, it’s harder to identify when and where a breach happens. Remember, the longer it takes you to identify a breach, the more expensive it can be for your company.
To remove your data silos, you’ll need to create a company-wide data management plan. A customer data management plan is a set of policies, actions, and tools your company agrees to deploy around collecting, storing, and accessing customer information.
Your customer data management plan should include:
Type of customer data your company collects
Data collection methods
People who can access the data
Data storage process
Customer communications about how their data is being used
Data breach prevention and response actions, including AI and automation tools
Any other necessary measures for your company
Consumer awareness of data privacy is growing fast. 70% of American consumers view their personal data as less secure than five years ago, along with 80% having concerns about how companies use their data. Make sure that your brand is collecting and storing data responsibility, while maintaining transparency with consumers. Though data and personalized marketing is a great tool, customer privacy should remain a priority.
