Data collection and the invasion of privacy

[Legal Marketer] Data collection is often considered the first step in any good marketing campaign

Businesses are required to collect data of their existing or potential customer base to ensure they gain the active number of conversions per rupee they spend

Essentially, the data will include information about name, phone number, email, age, demographic, spending habits, and interests

This is why advertising through Google Ads or Facebook Ads is so appealing to businesses

But this activity creates privacy concerns

While this activity is legal in most countries, there is an ethical issue in marketing that has received much media attention and uproar in recent times

For eg: Facebook has received extensive public criticism for its 'Lax privacy' concerns

What does it all mean for marketers who’d like to conduct research to find out the demographics and preferences of their target audience?

1) Set up a 'Privacy Policy' section on your website

2) Require your customers or website users to 'I Agree' to it when you collect information from them. (clickwrap method)

3) Once you’ve collected the data, keep it with a reputable cloud storage provider

4) Protect yourself from liability in the case of data loss

Businesses need to become more conscious of the privacy of consumers when collecting data