New digital regulations could harm Illinois small businesses, including mine
Illinois small businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on digital technology and business tools. Doctors, artists, retailers, restaurants and accountants rely on digital platforms and data for marketing, customer service, staff management, payments and more. Digital technology is a key factor in small business success, and one of the main reasons why Illinois small businesses employ more than 2.4 million people.
After several years in corporate advertising, I realized there was an opportunity to apply corporate digital techniques to small businesses. I started a digital marketing agency to help doctors better market their practices. In just a few years, our firm has expanded and we've helped hundreds of small businesses grow in a number of industries. Given the important role social media marketing plays in small businesses, we are concerned that elected officials like Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Richard Durbin may support new digital data laws that would inadvertently hurt small businesses. In Europe, new privacy regulations sent a shockwave through the small business community, and six months after the laws took effect more than 70 percent of businesses are still out of compliance.
One of our firm's specialties is helping clients use the free and low-cost small business tools offered by Google and Facebook. Our clients cannot compete with large competitors' marketing budgets, but by partnering with Facebook and Google, small businesses have access to data and analytics that help reach more potential customers in more efficient and cost-effective ways than ever before. In short, small business owners benefit significantly from digital marketing.
Some Americans support European-style proposals that require businesses to tell consumers when data is collected precisely how their data will be used and to never stray from the original purpose. That would certainly reduce data misuse, but it would also reduce the good work that my firm and others do to improve business service and customer happiness. A business may collect data to build an email list and distribute content, but when we study the data and customer feedback, our analysis often generates new business ideas that consumers embrace.
We also worry that in their zeal to regulate large tech companies and large data collectors, Congress will make it more difficult and more expensive for those companies to work with partners. The natural consequence will be that companies will focus on the largest and most profitable partners and that small business will be left behind. Perhaps policymakers do not understand that when they attack digital platforms, millions of small businesses worry about being collateral damage.
Our firm and our more than 100 clients agree that customer data should be secure and managed responsibly, but laws must balance security and opportunity. Our clients already spend modest amounts of money on digital platforms like Facebook, Google, Hootsuite, SaleForce and Square. They cannot afford armies of lawyers and cyber-experts to help them navigate complex laws with harsh penalties.
Since leaving corporate America, I have enjoyed building my own small business and helping hundreds more. Teaching entrepreneurs how to use digital technology and data has helped them prosper and been rewarding for my team in so many ways.
Protecting customer data in an important issue and must be addressed. But lawmakers must consult with and understand how any new regulations will impact small businesses, before we suffer the fate of unintended consequences.
Salil Gandhi is founder of Chicago-based HCP Buzz, ESQ Buzz and SBO Buzz, which help physicians, attorneys and small business owners build digital presence and enhance online reputations.