I’m sure over the past few weeks you’ve been receiving tonnes of GDPR emails from companies begging you to stay on their mailing list. Well, there is a good reason for this, and we wanted to tell you a little more about it. The new GDPR came into practice on 25th May 2018 and for us it means that our new website is fully compliant with this and is kitted out with a brand new privacy policy, cookies, and terms of service.
So, here’s all you need to know about GDPR, what it means for small businesses, and how we’re progressing with it here at DG Construction.
What is it?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, and this is a law within the EU that ensures data protection and privacy. It’s basically an introduction of new rights for you as a customer that prevents your data from being shared where you don’t want it to. And on the flip side, a new set of rules for businesses that state what they can and can’t do with customer data. So, for example, this is why you have been receiving emails from companies requesting for your agreement to remain on their mailing list, as without it they are no longer entitled to have your data on their files, nor are they allowed to contact you.
What does GDPR mean for small businesses?
Basically, unless a company is GDPR compliant, they are no longer able to have access to client data. As a small business, you must seek permission from the client first. For example, here at DG Construction we collect client data and so it is essential for us to be compliant with GDPR, and as of last month, our website has been updated so that is in keeping with these new regulations. Before we contract their data, the customer must agree to the terms of what it is being used for, who has access to it, and how long for.
You may see that we have a contact page on our website, where new or existing customers can come become acquainted with us. As a result, this means that we have access to some of their data, such as their name, email address or phone number. However, with these new regulations, we would not be able to do anything else with that data, such as adding them to our mailing list, without them consenting to it first as this would be a breach of privacy. Customers also have the opportunity to cancel or withdraw our access to their personal data at any time they want.
How this impacts DG Construction
Our website is an extremely useful asset to us as a business. It helps us to reach more and more customers online and spread the word about some of the work we do. It contains information about DG Construction as well as the services we provide and how these could be of use to you. So, this is helpful to both new and existing customers, as when they browse the internet looking for these services in particular, they will find us and from then are able to view our gallery, videos and reviews. We find that this is perfect for our target audience as it actually allows them to see some of the work we do, as well as hear feedback from customers we’ve worked with before, to make sure that we are exactly what they are looking for.
Once they have found out all they need to know about our work, they are able to speak to us via our contact page, where they can call and email us directly, or alternatively, leave an enquiry along with their details for us to get back to them. This is one of the main reasons why it is crucial for our website to be fully GDPR compliant. By meeting these regulations, it ensures that we are never in breach of any client data and that it remains looked after in accordance of the clients wishes. Their data can never be used or shared without prior consent from them.
Furthermore, as we mentioned at the start of this blog, we also have fresh and updated terms of service, cookies and a new privacy policy so that we remain in keeping with the new regulations and guidelines and customers old and new have the ability to consent to use of their data.
We hope this information has been useful for you, and if you have any queries or are interested in any services displayed on our website, take a look at our contact page yourself and get in touch with us today!
