This past month has been chock full of headlines about collecting and managing information, especially from companies with large user bases. Congress is pressing Google on privacy issues; Facebook is making privacy settings more complicated; MySpace is simplifying privacy settings; Facebook is simplifying the settings, wait, what day is it again? The bottom line is this: even in a social media environment, which by definition is devoted to the ability to share information with other people, everyone has a right and an expectation to be able to manage what happens with their own information.
This isn’t just a consumer issue, it’s a business one as well. Information such as business processes and customer lists are the lifeblood of companies, and their well-being is contingent on keeping these types of information safe. That notion competes with the idea that business partners and vendors are beneficial to business growth when the risk of exposing or sharing critical data overshadows what the collaboration should accomplish.
The solution is to establish and document ahead of time what the privacy and operating policies are for any company with which you may share information. As an example, SproutLoud has a simple, clearly stated privacy policy that covers how we handle information uploaded into our system, and it can be summarized in 4 bullet points:
- We provide innovative local marketing programs for the products and services of national and global brands.
- We are an independent company, in no way owned or operated by a brand.
- All customer lists that are uploaded into our system are stored in a personalized and secure location. This data is only accessible by the account holder and SproutLoud.
- We will never sell or share any customer data loaded into our system.
You should expect the same of any partners or vendors wanting to do business with you. Also, don’t overlook security issues when considering who has your data. Connectivity, passwords, and hardware safety are important considerations when sharing information, don’t be afraid to ask about policies addressing any of them. Any potential vendor or partner should have the answers that make you feel comfortable entrusting them with some of your most valuable corporate assets.
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