If data can trip up Sony, eBay and John Lewis is anyone safe when it comes to data?

Data protection has become big news; it’s hard to ignore when it’s high profile brands like Sony, eBay and Adobe making the headlines. John Lewis was taken to court over their data collection opt-in process and even the mighty Google have been forced to remove old search results.

The ability to collect and use customer information, behaviour and preferences has been taken for granted whilst becoming part of marketing processes. In the next 12-24 months there’ll be a reform of EU Data Protection set by European Parliament to strengthen the protection of individuals. The changes will regulate and police how data’s collected, stored and processed.

As they currently stand, the reforms will have a big impact on digital businesses and direct marketing, introducing high fines and strong enforcement for firms who break the rules, making it easier for individuals to take legal action against companies who misuse their data.

So, what does this mean for the email marketing industry?

Imagine receiving an untargeted email that doesn’t include your name or being unable to send a marketing email to a new customer on your database - this could be the result if changes aren’t made to how you collect, store and process your data; because your data will become worthless unless you can prove consent.

For marketers, the performance of your email campaigns are also likely to suffer as targeting achieves the best results, getting more to the inbox and more customers to your website.

Take a step back and start from the beginning, thinking about the data you use and the data you need. Collecting a postcode when you don’t have a store and no intention of posting anything isn’t necessary. Similarly, if the full address of a customer was stored, who has no intention of re-ordering just so you can provide regional content is overkill, adding risk should you have a data breach – instead just store the region.

Storage of personal data and for how long is also important. It must be secure, but must also be possible for customers to verify, edit their details and update their preferences. Details must also be easily accessible to respond to complaints quickly and prove consent. Therefore, it’s essential to have a clear and explicit sign up process, explaining exactly how the consumer’s data will be used, keeping a record of Terms & Conditions, website wording and copies of offline sign up forms. Read our second guide about the EU Data Reform

For the consumer there will be the welcomed reduction in the unnecessary risk of identity theft and other online fraud as less personal data will be collected or stored unnecessarily.

These reforms shouldn’t be daunting. Most of the new requirements are already best practice and should require small changes to existing processes. However, the risk of fines and legal action means that you need to get it right. Planning and taking action now will mean you are in the best position for when the regulations change.

For more information on the changes coming click here.

Jenna Tiffany is digital marketing strategist at Communicator and Steve Henderson is compliance officer at Communicator.