Top Five Actions
Brands Can Take To
Build Brand Loyalty

Brands that treat privacy as a first-class citizen will win customer loyalty in the decade ahead. Privacy isn't something that happens overnight at an organizations, but there are a few simple things you can do to get ahead, today.

1. Be Transparent and Reasonable

Ask for the data you need up-front and explicitly state why you need it. Be transparent and genuine. People are willing to give companies they trust the data they want, when it’s asked in the right way at the right time. Once you have the data, try to minimize how long you store it and why you use it. If you no longer need it, anonymize or delete it.

2. Respect Consumer Preferences

Listen to your consumers, and honor their requests. This is a big one. The number of times people continued to get emails even after unsubscribing went up in 2022 to 89% (from 62%)! Today, about 40% of global internet users report using an ad blocker, and 95% of iOS 14.5+ users in the U.S. opted out of cross-app tracking. (We know this can be hard, which is why DataGrail is here to help. Reach out to learn how.)

3. Make it Easy to Opt-Out of Tracking

These days, nearly every website that you visit needs to ask for consent to track visitors to their website. Check the user interface—is it fair, understandable, and easy? Make it a simple one-click action to opt-out, not several clicks. It should be as easy to opt-out as it is to opt-in. If someone wants something from you, they'll come back. Sephora just got hit with a $1.2M fine for not clearly complying with CCPA’s Do Not Sell requirements. Don't get caught flat-footed, get ahead!

4. Write a Clear Privacy Policy

Write a clear privacy policy that is easy to find and read. The New York Times reviewed more than 150 privacy policies and rated BBC as the best overall. This is a great resource for that: Usable Privacy Project.

5. Make it Simple to Exercise Privacy Rights (CCPA + GDPR)

We estimate that upwards of 30 million people have exercised their CCPA or GDPR privacy rights. Make that process easy. Provide a simple link for a person to start a DSARs. When brands don’t do this, consumers head to Twitter. If you're struggling to automate data privacy, data subject requests (DSRs), or data mapping, consider giving DataGrail a test drive, which automates all of Restoration Hardware’s DSARs.