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 TNS Electrical Services Ltd.
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 TNS Electrical Services Ltd 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 TNS Electrical Services Ltd
Here at TNS Electrical Services Ltd, some would say that we could be considered as quite a niche business. Because of this, we want to reach out to as many people as possible, and our best asset for this is our website. It allows us to advertise our services and make those interested aware of the benefits that come with hiring from us. As the website is such a useful tool for us, it’s essential that it remains up to scratch in terms of regulations and standards and that our privacy policy is always spot on.
It’s important to us that our website is packed with all kinds of useful information for our audience. This includes information about us as a business, a break down of the services we provide, as well as security tips and a monthly blog where we can discuss topics that appeal to our customers. As a business ourselves, we actually cater to other business owners and we get a lot of our bookings and enquiries coming from the website. Once someone has browsed through the information they need, they can visit our contact page whereby they can get in touch with us. They have the option to either contact us directly by phone or by email, or they can leave an enquiry along with their personal details for us to get back to them. Because of this, it is essential that the site is fully compliant with GDPR so that we are never in breach of any client data and that it remains looked after in accordance of the clients wishes and that it is not used or shared without prior consent.
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, don’t hesitate to get in touch via our contact page and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
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