Frankie Aniello
I started painting at the age of 15. Word of mouth referrals supported my early career, then I worked in finance and marketing for the next 20 years before eventually returning to what makes me happiest: designing, painting and restoring.
I knew consumer marketing had changed during my time in corporate America, but I didn’t think it would matter to local contractors. I was wrong. After a decade of relying solely on referrals, I decided to invest in low-cost digital marketing tools. And within a year, the power of data and technology had propelled my Freehold-based business to rocket speed.
But now I understand that Congress is considering a bill called the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), and that this well-intentioned effort to help consumers could very severely restrict how companies handle customer data. These tools that worked so well for me will no longer work. I am not happy about this, and I hope that U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, the ranking member of the committee considering the bill, will listen to my concerns.
My first digital investment was a simple website that explained what we do and had a contact form to connect with potential clients. But my favorite tool is my Google Business Profile, a combination of maps, reviews, and other business information that appears in the top right corner of the screen when someone searches for a local business online.
Our profile includes basic information about our business, including a link to our website. We also post valuable articles that people can learn from about painting techniques and furniture restoration, giving them an insight into what we do. Best of all, we include customer reviews and photos.
In 8 months, over 20 clients have walked through the door of my profile. No paid advertising or email marketing, just new clients responding to real customer reviews and photos. This is great, and it’s free. Unless Parliament passes APRA and it’s approved by a powerful Parliamentary Chair who could put it to a vote at any time.
The bill would prohibit companies from collecting or processing consumer data for any purpose other than to provide the specific product or service the customer requested. While this might be a good way to stop spam emails and text messages, it would also prevent companies from engaging in common marketing techniques like emailing last year’s customers with ideas for improving their home or letting them know that you’re free between jobs.
It also prohibits Google and my website operator from collecting and processing anonymous data, such as which blog post led a customer to my contact form, making it much more difficult for me to improve my website and profile.
Although I make my living improving people’s homes, I’m actually in the relationship business, and relationships revolve around data. Before the internet, data-driven marketing meant a salesperson writing down a customer’s name and information and sending out a postcard. Today, a restaurant owner can learn from anonymous data that hundreds of people in a neighboring town are visiting his website, which might signal that it’s time to open a second location. If small businesses and their digital partners can’t collect and process this kind of data, our growth is severely hindered.
As a small business owner with customers and digital visitors in multiple states, I support national privacy laws and one data rule. But they have to be the right rules, like New Jersey’s new privacy law, which provides strong consumer protections while allowing the use of customers’ data in traditional “business relationship” ways. This law allows small businesses to collect and process anonymous data so they can learn which parts of their websites and online profiles are performing well.
As the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Pallone has great influence over APRA and any other data-related legislation that Congress may pass. I hope that Rep. Pallone will use New Jersey as a guide to guide us on the best rules for data collection and processing, and work to ensure that the national privacy law we need works for both consumers and small businesses.
