What the New GDPR Means for your CRM Lead Generation

It is worthwhile for companies of all sizes to consider the impact the new GDPR will have on CRM lead generation, as that is an important factor in all businesses. Marketing experts have been perplexed figuring out the future of lead generation and management with the restriction on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The clauses of the GDPR has made it more difficult for companies to generate leads. The GDPR has also restricted companies with what they can actually do with the data. CRM solutions are increasingly trying to imbibe the privacy aspect for the GDPR into its very construct, along with equipping organizations against possible legal implications and prosecution.

CRM software has been able to handle some of the implications of the GDPR including Jurisdiction, Definition of Personal Data, Consent and Legal Implications. Staying informed on GDPR is essential for maintaining successful lead generations for businesses and companies all over the world.

The Cambridge Analytica incident has highlighted data and cybersecurity issues that have been in discussion over the past decade. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) implemented on May 25th, 2018 has left experts in the marketing world confused as to what is the future of lead generation and management from the point of view of a CRM?

The clauses of the GDPR not only has made it tougher for companies to generate leads but has also restricted them with what they can actually do with the data. CRM solutions are increasingly trying to imbibe the privacy aspect for the GDPR into its very construct, along with equipping organizations against possible legal implications and prosecution.

Here are a few implications of the GDPR which are being taken care of by modern CRM software:

Jurisdiction:

As a popular notion, organizations think that GDPR only applies to organizations that are based out of the EU. In reality, large and small organizations are liable for upholding GDPR that have any form of a database comprising of EU citizens. An organization’s geographical location does not make it immune to prosecutions. One can, however, store any data pertaining to EU at any geography without breaching the GDPR.

Definition of Personal Data:

Before we even start discussing the GDPR, it is important to know the kind of data we are talking about here. “Personal data”, the primary concern of GDPR, is quite different from the conventional meaning and encompasses any information about an individual. This means we are no longer talking about just email id, contact number, and information about the person, but also their behavioral data, geo-mapping information, and trends.

Consent is the Key:

Signing up for a newsletter was previously the most obvious way of generating leads, which would then be used for not only internal but external sales and in marketing usage as well. This is no longer possible. One has to let the customers know what exactly will happen with their data and they must agree to it.

Legal implications:

Under the GDPR, privacy rights to EU individuals are legally protected. Key rights include:

• Rights for EU individuals: Right to deletion, restriction, and portability of personal data is now offered by the GDPR.
• Compliance obligations: The GDPR requires organizations to keep detailed track of what exactly they are doing with the data such that it adheres to the policies and protocols which includes conducting privacy impact assessments,
• Reporting: Organizations that report data breaches along with other mentioned security requirements under the GDPR to data protection authorities, and to the affected parties with respect to the mentioned clauses.

Any transfer of data must be conducted via BCR (Binding corporate rules.) In case of any illegal data transaction, or data security breach, a fine of up to €20 million or 4% of a company’s annual global revenue can be imposed by the authority.

Such a prosecution can be conducted across borders as the central body of authority covers the major loophole with the earlier system where corporate laws prevented legal actions against foreign organizations.

Under the recent application of GDPR, CRM experts are now equipping their clients with lead generation and utilization methods, helping them choose the right CRM platform that enables them to carry on clean data transaction, without the fear of any data breach under the GDPR.

As CRM development solutions continue to be widely used all over the globe, GDPR must be considered as well as it can impact the generation of leads. GDPR has made it difficult to generate leads as well as created restrictions with what companies can do with the data.