In today’s world of online scams, spam, and data mining, it’s important to let your current and potential customers know that their personal data is safe with your company. The general public has had it with the constant bombardment of emails and telemarketer calls using information gleaned from online databases and lists sold by often unscrupulous website operators. Not having a Privacy Policy in place can be a deterrent in whether they choose to do business with you or not. You can avoid this by creating and publishing an easy to read and understand online Privacy Policy that clearly details how you will handle their information.

For the US, simple guideline recommendations from the federal government show 5 core principals: (1) Notice/Awareness; (2) Choice/Consent; (3) Access/Participation; (4) Integrity/Security; and (5) Enforcement/Redress. You can read more on this at Federal guidelines for privacy

Other countries have different levels of privacy. If you are located in the US and do business with the EU, for instance, are you in compliance with the European Union Directive on Data Protection? They include 7 core principals: (1) Notice; (2) Choice; (3) Onward Transfer; (4) Security; (5) Data Integrity; (6) Access; and (7) Enforcement. Take some time to view some information here: European data protection guidelines

If children will access your website or services, there are more guidelines you will need to follow, called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA for short) and can be viewed here: COPPA

Some of the items you will need to cover in your Privacy Policy include type of Company information, information collected and its use, contact information, conflict resolution, opting out of data gathering, and a few others.

I’m sure by now you’re thinking “Well, it seems like a lot of work to write a policy that covers everyone I may do business with. I’ve been doing ok without one, do I really need to do it?”

The answer is YES! There are several places online to create a policy, including the DMA online privacy policy generator

Only 16 questions to answer and you can choose to receive it either in plain text or html, ready to post to your page. Best of all, it’s free. You can also choose to have it kept on file with the DMA for enforcement purposes with the DMA’s Committee on Ethical Business Practices, the BBB, local consumer protection agencies, and others.

Creating a Privacy Policy is easy and beneficial, it also leads to consumer trust and loyalty. If you don’t have one, take the time to create one today.