Entrepreneurs are increasingly finding opportunities
to grow their business online.
Each week, more than 80 online shops are launched.
Take Susan for example.
She just started her own online shop.
Her website, inventory, and logistics are all ready to go.
But what about her customer’s privacy and personal information?
As an entrepreneur,
Susan has to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation
or GDPR, known in the Netherlands as “AVG”.
To run her online shop,
Susan collects, uses, and stores her customers’ data.
These form the basis for her business and her marketing strategy.
But,
there are restrictions to when and how she may use this personal data.
Each time she does, she needs a valid reason for doing so.
For example,
in order to send invoices and packages,
Susan needs her customers’ financial information and addresses.
These data serve a clear purpose,
which is why she is allowed to use them by law.
The date of birth of her customers is not relevant for shipping packages,
so she cannot legally request this information.
Susan’s online shop is running smoothly
and she has collected a range of customer information.
In order to spark customer interest in making another purchase,
she sends them an email.
This is permitted,
because the products she advertises
are similar to what they recently bought from the store.
Aside from her customers, Susan has other contacts.
These come from her LinkedIn network,
emails, or via business cards.
Susan is not sure
whether she can freely add these contacts to her mailing list.
She checks the website of the Dutch Data Protection Authority
to find out which rules apply.
She discovers that she needs to ask her contacts for permission first.
She also needs to make sure that she can prove permission was granted.
Finally,
she learns that unsubscribing from future emails must always be an option.
Make use of the opportunity presented by the GDPR,
and show that you handle your customer’s privacy and data with care.
It makes all the difference.