Taking care of your data is critical to your brand and customers
GDPR brought a whirlwind of change four years ago that required UK businesses to re-imagine customer data handling. Most of that focus was on ensuring security and compliance were of an excellent standard, but an additional benefit is now coming to the forefront – brand invigoration.
Consumers actively search for products and services they need before they commit to a purchase. Imagine how consumer trust crumbles when even only one unfavourable review about the neglect of someone’s private data is posted online. The sale is lost, and the impact on the brand is considerable.
Visualise the opposite. A business that shows cleaner data and compliance processes is instantly trusted and appreciated, becoming a quintessential brand. Organisations with transparent data privacy policies are brands that consumers can trust, attracting new customers. In addition, taking care of your data will also ensure you have thriving marketing campaigns due to an enhanced ability to segment, superior relevancy, and achieving all-around greater success.
The Proof
- Capgemini Research Institute tells us that 92% of GDPR-compliant companies have reported a significant increase in brand awareness and a rise in consumer trust.
- 81% of companies who followed GDPR guidelines closely also reported a positive impact on their overall reputation.
- According to a Ping Identity study, over three-quarters of customers would stop engaging with a brand after a single data breach. Over a third would ditch the brand altogether and go somewhere else.
Understandably, businesses need to be more cautious about marketing at scale and using third-party B2B data providers. Their fears are due to a fear of hefty fines reported in the media. But now is not the time to slow down on your data efforts. With an evolving business landscape where more people work and interact digitally, there’s never been a more pressing time to look closely at data governance.
The key to easing that fear is this simple requirement: GDPR requires businesses to prove that the partners they collaborate with are using the same high data protection and privacy standards.
How are GDPR “high standards” defined?
A B2B data solutions provider must prove how they manage their database, how it is compliant, what they do to verify and how accurate/recent that data is.
Market Location has been trading for over 50 years, a considerable amount of time demonstrating impressive longevity and the ability to adapt to ever-changing B2B data demands. From nostalgic pre-printed labels, floppy disks, and CDs to new-age APIs, web-based count tools and secure portals. Most impressive is that the verification process has consistently been a source of reliability throughout that period. Market Location’s UK-based call centre is best-in-class and has stood the test of time.
When the whispers of GDPR started to fill the corridors of Market Location HQ, a wise decision was made to embrace the subsequent changing of our times, and the following processes were put into place:
- Heavy investment in a dedicated, in-house Compliance team – whose job was to document all processes, create new policies, review all suppliers, train new staff members and annually train all staff.
- Undertake all data and security-led accreditations that would help customers feel secure and relaxed in using Market Location’s UK B2B data – the discussion around fines at this time was intimidating, so accreditations were imperative to ease those concerns.
- ISO27001 – GDPR and PECR compliance that is audited annually, giving customers peace of mind that data and processes are regularly vetted.
- ISO27701 – on top of the 27001 accreditations, this shows the highest possible GDPR and PECR levels available in the UK, as well as including Information Security compliance.
Market Location is the only data owner with a UK Call Centre and both these accreditations!
Partnering with Market Location provides you with the most robust base to market your products and indicates to prospects and customers that you care about THEIR data and how it is processed and used responsibly and ethically.
All those elements are essential for building and maintaining your brand’s reputation, consumer trust and the end goal for all organisations – winning more business!
