By Janelle M. Lewis, Attorney, Business & Legal Strategic Consultant

Data Rights vs. Competitive Advantage

With a growing number of data privacy & protection laws being enacted, no company can ignore their legal responsibilities and liabilities as it relates to the collection, handling and storing of consumer/user data.

With a growing number of data privacy & protection laws being enacted, no company can ignore their legal responsibilities and liabilities as it relates to the collection, handling and storing of consumer/user data. Data rights have given rise to the importance of data as a very valuable resource that needs to be treated very carefully. When collecting data for marketing or pricing strategies, data protection needs to be taken into account at all times. On the other hand, information is power and the data received from consumers gives companies the power to craft marketing and pricing strategies that can achieve competitive advantage. From determining a consumer’s willingness to pay to understanding a user’s preferences, collecting personal data can have a direct positive impact on a company’s profit margin that strengthens its competitive advantage. 

Understanding the legal implications of Personal Identifiable Information and how to incorporate this understanding into a marketing & pricing strategy.

At the heart of data protection and privacy laws is the safeguarding of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Recommendations call for it to be encrypted, pseudonymized or anonymized wherever possible.  Another legal responsibility of companies is how this data is maintained so that, if requested by consumers/users, they can easily receive their data. Further recommendations in this capacity is to make it easy for consumers/users to request or receive all the personal data companies have about them. In this regard, careful thought about what information is needed and how it is used are important considerations for a company’s marketing & pricing strategic purposes. 

Underlying companies responsibilities as it relates to data collection from consumers/users and safeguarding such data is taking the necessary steps to craft data protection and privacy policies. These policies should take into consideration the strategic purposes of the data collected and the legal regime under which the data is being collected. Creating a uniform data protection policy that takes into account the various laws and regulations that are being enacted on regional level (such as GDPR), country level (such as LGPD – Brazil) and state level (such as CCPA in California) is probably the most robust way in which to merge both the legal and business aspects of a company’s strategy while streamlining the legal liabilities of collecting and holding PII. 

Creating a uniform data protection policy that takes into account the various laws and regulations that are being enacted on regional level (such as GDPR), country level (such as LGPD – Brazil) and state level (such as CCPA in California) is probably the most robust way in which to merge both the legal and business aspects of a company’s strategy while streamlining the legal liabilities of collecting and holding PII. 

The truth is, as time progresses, data rights are increasingly being recognized with a greater share of the world populations having the right to control their data and how it is used by companies. Instead of fighting it, there is an opportunity for companies to achieve competitive advantage in their marketing & pricing strategies by creating streamlined data protection and privacy policies that recognize the consumer/user data rights. 

Embracing the Data Privacy & Protection Movement by Rethinking Data Collection Methods and Their Relationship to Consumers/Users

Collecting data for purposes of marketing & pricing strategies has to recognize the rights of individuals in various jurisdictions to know that this is being done and what information is being used. In this sense, it is making more sense for companies to re-evaluate what data they are requesting and also their relationships with their customers. Marketing & pricing strategies is dominated by the need to specify the data needed to evaluate user/consumer preferences and their willingness to pay for goods & services. Being compliant with the law is mandatory and trying to commit legal arbitrage can be costly (including losing the company as a result of heavy fines) so the real solution lies in bridging the gap between data privacy & protection laws and a company’s marketing & pricing strategies.

The truth is, as time progresses, data rights are increasingly being recognized with a greater share of the world populations having the right to control their data and how it is used by companies. Instead of fighting it, there is an opportunity for companies to achieve competitive advantage in their marketing & pricing strategies