By May 2018, all dealerships in the UK will need to ensure they are GDPR compliant. It has progressed from 'water-cooler chatter' to a key boardroom agenda.
Whether you have been on the receiving end of scaremongering, or have been pitched the services of legal teams specialising in GDPR implementation, you are likely to still be in the dark as to how GDPR is going to affect your dealership.
Here are the four things all dealerships in the UK need to know ahead of May 2018:
The scaremongering is justified. All UK businesses that hold or process data must comply with this new regulation by the deadline. If not, those businesses with risk a fine worth 4% of gross annual turnover, and run a gauntlet of negative PR and fated customer confidence if a data breach is found.
Brexit won't save you. For those of you hanging on Brexit taking us away from those pesky EU regulations, don't hold your breath. It is now almost a given that the UK will adopt GDPR, even with our planned exit from the EU. It is seen a necessary progression as data becomes more and more valuable with the ever expanding possibilities of digital marketing.
This isn't a one-off task, it's an ongoing commitment. Yes, there will be big actions needed to be taken in order for dealerships to get ready and lay the foundations in time for May 2018. However, as marketing techniques progress, and new processes begin being implemented in order to gather customer data, GDPR will need to be followed each step of the way. Even though 99% of your data usage may be correct, one slip-up could lead to the consequences mentioned above.
Time to take action is now! We do not recommend sending out a direct request for marketing permission. Honda attempted to do this earlier this year by sending 289,790 e-mails asking customer to clarify their choices for receiving marketing communications. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR) they were fined £13,000. Nevertheless, something must be done before it's too late.
A good start, if you haven't already, is to download our free GDPR toolkit. It gives you some basic guidance as to how your dealership can begin working towards compliance as well as providing some valuable examples to start using straight away.
Click here to download our free GDPR toolkit.