The Importance of Compliance: Understanding Switzerland’s New Data Protection Law

by Buzzfactory Agency | Aug 4, 2023 | Enterprises, News, SMEs

Switzerland has recently enacted the Novel Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP) to safeguard its citizens’ data. Approved by Parliament in the autumn of 2020, the nFADP will become enforceable on September 1, 2023. This fresh legislation represents an essential update to the 1992 Federal Data Protection Act, tailored to shield Swiss citizens’ data in the technologically advanced era of social media and digital advancements. The nFADP harmonizes Swiss data protection law with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in an effort to maintain data flow with the European Union (EU) and bolstering the competitive edge of Swiss companies.

The nFADP introduces various changes for businesses, including the mandatory registration of processing activities and the implementation of the “Privacy by Design” and “Privacy by Default” principles, assuring additional security for personal data. Moreover, in case of a data breach, companies are required to promptly notify the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). Additionally, the nFADP encompasses the concept of profiling and defines genetic and biometric information as sensitive data.

Compliance with this new legislation is important for Swiss companies, as it prevents reputational harm and potential fines. The nFADP empowers Swiss citizens with new rights to safeguard their data, necessitating companies to adhere to a series of steps to align with the new act.

The Path to Compliance with the new DPA

The nFADP presents a significant challenge to Swiss companies, particularly those that process large amounts of personal data. Here are some of the areas that companies need to take a closer look on:

Monitoring: evaluation of the current data protection standards. It is important to take stock of the collected, processed, stored and shared data. It is advised to estimate the data protection risks as well.
Appointing a Data protection advisor: The advisor is responsible for ensuring that the company processes personal data in accordance with the nFADP, advises the company on its data protection obligations and cooperates with the FDPIC.
Keeping records of all processing activities: Companies must keep a record of all processing activities. This includes data on the type of data processed and the purpose of the processing, among others. Companies must also document the technical and organizational measures they have taken to protect personal data.
Educating team members about the new law: Companies must ensure that their employees understand the new law and their obligations under it. This includes educating employees about the principles of “Privacy by Design” and “Privacy by Default,” as well as providing training on data protection issues.
Conducting a risk assessment: Companies should conduct a risk assessment to identify and evaluate the risks associated with the processing of personal data. This assessment should identify the likelihood and severity of harm that could result from a data security breach, and identify the measures that can be taken to mitigate these risks.
Implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures: Companies must implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data. This includes measures such as data encryption, access controls, and regular data backups.
Reviewing contracts with service providers: Companies that use third-party service providers to process personal data must ensure that these service providers comply with the nFADP.

This list is not exhaustive and does not cover all cases, but it should help to navigate through the new legislation. If you require help with reaching nFADP compliance, you can contact Buzzfactory for a free consultation.

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The importance of complying with the nFADP

Complying with the nFADP is essential for Swiss companies, as non-compliance can lead to significant fines. The FDPIC has the power to impose fines of up to CHF 250,000 for serious violations of the new law, and up to CHF 50,000 for minor violations. In addition to financial penalties, companies that violate the nFADP risk damage to their reputation, which can have long-term consequences for their business.

Furthermore, compliance with the nFADP is important for maintaining the trust of customers and stakeholders. By demonstrating that they take data protection seriously, companies can build trust with customers and differentiate themselves from competitors who may not be taking the same level of care with personal data.

The new Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP) is an important legislative change that brings Switzerland’s data protection laws in line with the technological and social developments of our time.

How GDPR has influenced Data protection law internationally

While the new Data Protection Act in Switzerland does not provide the same level of protection as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), both regulations are very similar. Except for companies that exclusively serve the Swiss domestic market, we can say that Swiss companies serving international markets should, in most cases, already be compliant with the nFADP (new Federal Act on Data Protection). This new act can be seen as an alignment with the European regulation, which has been a game changer in the world of data protection since its implementation in 2018. It was designed to give European citizens greater control over their personal data and to bring uniformity to data protection laws across the EU.

One of the advantages of the GDPR for companies is that it has created a level playing field for all businesses operating within the EU. Companies now have clear guidelines on how they should handle personal data, and the regulations ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules. This has helped to create trust and confidence in the digital economy and has improved the confidence of consumers in the companies that handle their data.

Another advantage of the GDPR is that it has forced companies to take data protection seriously. Many companies were previously neglecting their data protection responsibilities, but the reinforced control and reputational damage risks has pushed them to make changes to their policies and practices. This has resulted in improved data protection for individuals and has helped to create a culture of data privacy across Europe.

At a global level, the GDPR is unique in its scope and ambition. It is regarded as one of the most comprehensive data protection law in the world, and its principles are being adopted by countries outside of Europe. For example, California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, and other countries have followed similar models as well since.

The GDPR has also paved the way for greater international cooperation on data protection issues. The regulation includes provisions for data protection authorities to work together across borders, which has helped to ensure that companies are held accountable for their actions regardless of where they are based.

Overall, the GDPR has been a positive development for data protection, both for individuals and for businesses. It has created an environment where data protection is taken seriously, and has helped to improve international cooperation on data protection issues.

In conclusion, the new Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP) is an important legislative change that brings Switzerland’s data protection laws in line with the digital privacy challenges of our time. Its implementation follows the application of GDPR at a European level as necessity to level with this standard. The nFADP presents a significant challenge to Swiss companies, particularly those that process large amounts of personal data. However, by taking proactive steps to comply with the nFADP, companies can protect themselves from fines and reputational damage, build trust with customers, and differentiate themselves from competitors.

If you need assistance with implementing or assessing your current data privacy practices, feel free to reach out to our specialists.

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Goodbye Universal Analytics, Hello Google Analytics 4: The Future of Analytics

by Buzzfactory Agency | May 5, 2023 | News, Search Engine Optimization, SMEs

You might have heard that Google Analytics Universal, the trusty tool that we’ve been using for over a decade, is finally sunsetting, the official date given by Google is July 1, 2023. It’s a bittersweet moment, but don’t fret! Google Analytics 4 is here to save the day.

First, let’s take a moment to appreciate Universal Analytics. It was the go-to analytics tool for website owners and marketers, allowing us to track website visitors’ behavior, including pageviews, clicks, and time on site. It helped us measure the success of our websites and marketing campaigns, but it’s time to move on.

Google Analytics 4 is a new approach to analytics that focuses on the user journey across multiple devices and platforms. It’s like a superhero that can track user behavior and provide more comprehensive and accurate data than Universal Analytics. It uses machine learning to analyze data and provide insights to marketers.

So, why is Google Analytics 4 so important? For starters, it offers improved cross-device tracking, better data accuracy, enhanced privacy, and actionable insights. It uses machine learning to track user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, which is crucial in today’s digital landscape. And, with the cookieless era upon us, Google Analytics 4 is designed to meet the privacy challenges of the future.

But, let’s face it, migrating to Google Analytics 4 it’s not a walk in the park and can represent a technical challenge. It requires careful planning and execution to ensure that all data from Universal Analytics is transferred without any loss or corruption. And, it needs to be integrated with existing systems (website, CRM and others), which can be time-consuming and complicated.

That’s where we come in. As a marketing agency, we’re dedicated to providing our clients with the most advanced analytics tools and helping them achieve their business goals. We offer a comprehensive Google Analytics 4 migration service to help businesses transition smoothly to the new platform.

Our team of experts has extensive experience in Google Analytics and digital marketing. We have the expertise to help you migrate to Google Analytics 4 seamlessly. We work closely with our clients to understand their business goals and help them leverage Google Analytics 4 to achieve their objectives.

We understand that every business is unique, and that’s why we offer a customized migration plan tailored to your specific needs. We ensure that your data remains intact during the migration process, and the integration with your website and other systems is seamless. Plus, we provide comprehensive training to your team on how to use Google Analytics 4 effectively, ensuring that your team has the knowledge and skills to make data-driven decisions and optimize your website and marketing campaigns.

In conclusion, the sunset of Google Analytics Universal marks the end of an era. But, it’s a necessary step for Google to meet the challenges of the cookieless era and provide better analytics to marketers. Google Analytics 4 is the future of analytics, and it provides more comprehensive and accurate data than Universal Analytics. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level and make the transition to Google Analytics 4, contact us today to learn more about our Google Analytics 4 migration service. We’ll help you navigate the migration process and unleash the full potential of this superhero of analytics!

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Resilience, Adjustment & Digital Strategy: The best vaccine against COVID-19 for your business

by Marco Portugal | Feb 18, 2021 | Covid19, Enterprises, News

A Different World

In total, the average internet user spends almost 7 hours per day using the internet across all devices, equating to more than 48 hours per week online – that’s 2 full days out of every 7. – The Next Web, 2021

The year 2020 was a real disruptor for all businesses, big and small. What started off as a temporary shift to a different way of working evolved into the “New Normal” for everyone. With lockdowns, restrictions on travel and socializing and an unprecedented increase in customers spending time online, many businesses were hit hard. While we as a society were moving away from the brick and mortar model of business to fully digital services, last year expedited this whole process massively.

The entire customer behavior has evolved in less than a year. Before COVID-19, a business’s website was used for just part of the entire buying journey. However, we’re seeing customers transition from the top funnel all the way to the bottom funnel entirely online. The main reason for this is that physical stores have experienced local shutdowns and consumers have been advised to stay home. Consumers are also spending much more time online because they’re staying home for much longer each day and want some stimulus to get them out of boredom.

This is where businesses have successfully adopted a digital presence, leveraging the situation and embracing the New Normal. Here at Buzz Factory, we recommend businesses to evolve into this digital model so they can thrive and survive. Failing to recognize the need to go digital will be devastating for any business moving forward, as it seems like the customers have become comfortable with buying online.

At a global level, nearly 77% of internet users aged 16 to 64 now say that they buy something online each month. – Global Web Index, 2021

We’ve been helping our clients activate their businesses online. If your business has been struggling because of the events of last year, we are here for you. Our team of experts will work closely with you in helping you recover your business and get on the path of growth. Being a Swiss marketing agency, we understand the challenges of local businesses and we’re here to help you, offering professional services in a variety of areas, including:

✓ Branding

Branding for digital is not the same as branding for conventional channels. With our specialist support, you can get branding that will deliver online. The attention span of online consumers is much shorter and that makes it critical for your brand identity and communication to be distinctive and clear, so that they remember you and you remain top of mind.

✓ Search Engine Optimization

Commonly referred to as simply SEO, this service focuses on optimizing your website for search. Most of the people look for services and products in search engines. If you’re not showing up on Google, chances are you’re not going to attract a lot of customers to your website. That is why your website needs to be optimized.

✓ Social Media Advertising

Social Media Advertising gathers information from social media networks and can bring remarkable success to your business, creating devoted brand lovers and driving leads and sales. This allows the marketers take advantage of preferences information to target different audiences according to their interests. Your customers are already interacting with brands through social media, and if you’re not communicating with your audience directly through social platforms, you’re missing out!

✓ Web Development

Your online efforts rely on a website that delivers. Your website is your online store. With Buzz Factory, you can get a great looking website that is optimized and structured to enhance the customer experience and retention.

✓ Digital Marketing Consulting

Since digital is an ever evolving channel, our consultant service allows you to identify potential opportunities. We will help you understand the platforms that will address your specific business goals and challenges.

✓ Pay Per Click Advertising

PPC ads are used to give your brand and campaigns the extra boost and visibility online. This will help you show up at the top of search engines and in relevant websites as display ads, to attract your customers wherever they might be online.

✓ Customer Relationship Management

CRM systems allow you to better manage your customers, nurture them, convert them into leads and potentially retain them for repeat sales and upsells. We are partners with some of the industry leading CRM solutions, offering you nothing but the best. Being a Pipedrive Elite Partner, you can be rest assured that you’re in safe hands.

✓ Email Marketing

Email marketing continues to be a popular platform for businesses to reach potential customers, despite it being one of the oldest methods of digital marketing. It is effective because it allows you to reach your potential customer’s inbox. It also allows you to build a loyal subscribers list who you can attract by offering special deals and offers. Email marketing is very cost effective and a good tool to have in your marketing efforts.

✓ Marketing Automation

With so many channels and platforms in digital marketing, it can get a little difficult tos schedule and manage everything. With our marketing automation solution, you will be able to better organize and schedule your regular communications going out from the various marketing platforms. This allows you to focus on things that require more attention from you while the communication with the customers is all scheduled and running on autopilot.

With Buzz Factory on your side, you will be able to adopt the latest in digital marketing and be on course to recovery.

But Why Digital?

“4.66 billion people around the world use the internet in January 2021, up by 316 million (7.3%) since this time last year. Global internet penetration now stands at 59.5%.” – We Are Social, 2021

To understand the importance of digital, it is important to see the impact COVID-19 has had on consumers. Suddenly, the internet has become oxygen for businesses – the only platform not impacted by the pandemic. In the last year, we’ve seen substantial growth in social media and search. When businesses stopped doing out of home branding, print ads and on-ground activations, digital marketing soared, with more innovative approaches of reaching the customers coming regularly.

This is the only channel that allows you to have a two-way interaction with your customers. Whatever you do on digital can be tracked, allowing you to make informed decisions with the help of analytics provided in real-time. This is completely different from the conventional marketing methods, in which you have to spend all your marketing budget on a campaign and then have to wait for any results and insights after the campaign finishes. Digital gives you control.

“One of the standout digital stories in 2020 was the rise of ecommerce, with the COVID-19 pandemic driving consumers all over the world to embrace online shopping. At a global level, nearly 77% of internet users aged 16 to 64 now say that they buy something online each month.” – Global Web Index, 2021

Time is of the essence here. Your competitors are already online, reaching your potential customers. If you don’t move fast, you will see yourself losing the market share and the competitive edge that you think you had over your competitors.

person using a smartphone posting on instagram

Time to Embrace Digital

“Working from home looks like it will remain an enforced part of many people’s working lives for the foreseeable future, so we should see further innovation in products and services designed to help with remote working over the coming months, especially in the areas of communication and team cohesion.” – The Next Web, 2021

The time is now. It is your moment to understand that going digital is the only way. The numbers don’t lie. The consumer trends don’t lie. Think about it – how has your own behavior as a consumer has changed in the last one year? Are you more open to buying online? Is Ecommerce more attractive to you? Are you banking online more often? Are you hosting events, webinars and team meetings virtually? All these are signs of things to come. In fact, businesses are also seeing how going digital is cost effective and much more efficient.

Going digital allows you to be much more agile. With resources going digital and the added flexibility on the way you work, you will see new possibilities opening up for you. This will help you diversify your supply chain and look at ways of doing business that were previously not possible. In all this, your own digital and web presence will be integral.

All businesses are looking for well informed decisions and are cautious of how they spend their time and money. This is why it is important to get trusted information, advice and strategy. We are here to help guide you in all these decisions, offering consultancy on what areas of digital will work best for you, your marketing and your overall business operations. We will help you on your digital transformation journey. Together, we will achieve that competitive advantage that is crucial for survival in these testing times.

“In Europe, overall digital adoption is almost universal (95 percent), compared with 81 percent at the start of the pandemic. In normal times, getting to that level would have taken two to three years. Strikingly, the biggest increases came in countries that had previously been relatively cautious about shopping online. Germany, Romania, and Switzerland, for example, had the three lowest online-penetration rates prior to the COVID-19 crisis; since then, usage increased 28, 25, and 18 percentage points, respectively—more than in any other markets.” – McKinsey, 2021

There’s hope for those who get the message. This need for digital adoption means new opportunities. It allows you to get out of the brick and mortar model of your business and reach your consumers in their homes. The first few steps always seem more daunting, but with a partner like Buzz Factory, these steps will be taken with wise insights, ensuring that you are on your way to success.

Learn more about our 3 hours of free consulting

What we’re offering

Our team of specialists and consultants work closely with local businesses like yours. Our approach is simple and effective – we consider ourselves an extension of your business. Your success translates into our success. We start with understanding your business, the goals and the main issues that you want resolved. Based on the information you provide, we will provide you with a tailored solution, addressing your specific objectives. We understand that it can never be a “one size fits all” solution and that is why we always treat each client of ours individually.

Here at Buzz Factory, we’ve been actively engaged with Swiss businesses ever since the pandemic started. We’ve helped a number of businesses make the transition from being conventional to fully digital. We are here to help your business make the same move. We are here to help you regain your competitive edge and attract the new customers who are sitting at home, waiting for you to interact with them.

We are so confident that you will love the service we’ll provide and the results we’ll be able to get you that we’re offering a FREE 3 hours consultation with our specialists. You won’t be bound by anything and this consultation is to give you an idea of the potential you can reach if you work with Buzz Factory and help us build your online presence.

We know you want the best for your business. We are here to help you achieve that. If you’re ready to see how we can help you embrace the New Normal and generate strong revenue from your online presence, simply follow this link. We’ll book you for a FREE 3 hours consultation with our specialists. We hope it will be valuable to you and you will gather some good insights for you to make a more informed decision on how you’d like your business to proceed in 2021.

2020: Our Year of Grow, Despite the Pandemic

by Marco Portugal | Dec 15, 2020 | News

Smoothies to energize the team

New partnerships

Hours of virtual meeting

This year, Buzz Factory went through incredible changes: we had 10 times more virtual meetings, helped our clients continue a steady growth despite the pandemic, implemented digital transformation for many of them, and helped not only enhance their strategy but their sales and marketing as well. In 2020, we doubled our customers baseline, gave up on the office desk for our beloved living room sofa, launched the Top 100: Most Influential Swiss Nonprofits on the Internet report, and concluded 5 new key partnerships that will drive business growth for our clients. In a nutshell, we have been positively challenged.

5 New Partnerships

This year we concluded 5 strategic partnerships that will accelerate business for our customers:

Pipedrive CRM, that just achieved the unicorn status in November by being valued at over $1Bn
Mailigen, a leading email software solution
Leadfeeder, a powerful tool for B2B customers
SalesManago, an AI-powered marketing automation tool for e-commerce
Unbounce, a landing page and conversion solution

We are confident that these tools will enable us to deliver tailored solutions to our clients.

buzz factory digital maing nonprofits NGO kids

Top 100: Most Influential Swiss Nonprofits on the Internet

Top 100 Swiss Nonprofits report made waves in the Swiss nonprofit sector, as it’s the first of its kind. This report was aimed at mapping the best practices in the industry and outlined the current performance in digital marketing. Philanthropic giving is increasingly results-oriented, and donors support organizations that can communicate with them in their preferred media. The report was launched in June and had a great reception by its audience and media, registering over 2,000 downloads. Many international and local companies, government entities and nonprofits downloaded the report.

The Buzz Factor

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Nobel Prize winner, once said “research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.” Digital marketing is evolving, but only few are researching and translating phenomena into explanations. Buzz Factory is committed to research and provides leading research in digital marketing in Switzerland.

The Buzz Factor is an innovative global metric that serves to assess the digital performance of companies, organizations and the like. A unique metric that you can follow to understand the overall performance. It’s composed of elements that regard website authority, engagement on social networks and e-reputation.

Plans for 2021

We are coming with new research and reports in digital marketing. For the beginning of 2021, we will prepare a complete guide for companies and nonprofits on the considerations for developing a digital marketing ecosystem. In spring, we plan to launch a global ranking of the best performing nonprofits. By June, we will also be ready with the 2021 edition of the Top 100 Swiss nonprofits.

Despite uncertain times and difficult moments, we strive to serve our customers with the best service possible. We are proud of the achievements of our current partners and are looking confidently towards 2021 as a year full of opportunities to grow, digitally.