Data Privacy in Sales and Marketing

Data protection in sales and marketing

Data is essential for marketing: to ensure customer-oriented, highly personalized marketing and targeted sales, you need personal data. This allows potential customers and leads to be addressed individually, which is what makes personalized advertising possible in the first place. The GDPR covers both sales and marketing, providing tools and guidelines that you must strictly adhere to in order to avoid violating data protection regulations and to implement them correctly in your sales processes. We provide you with an overview.

Legal basis: GDPR in sales and marketing

In sales, as in marketing, a great deal of personal data is required and processed to conduct direct advertising, telephone calls, or other acquisition activities effectively. Such data may include:

• Names
• Addresses
• Email addresses
• Exact job titles
• Account numbers
• and much more.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Regulation exist to protect this personal data. They dictate how to handle the personal data collected, for example, when used in email marketing or processed for sales acquisition. Only by ensuring that the personal data of your potential leads and customers is protected in your sales and marketing activities can you build a secure sales operation and data-compliant marketing that hits its mark. Simply using legacy data from your internal CRM system is no longer an option—customers have gained significantly more rights, while companies have taken on more obligations that they must fulfill.

Data protection software for sales and marketing

Marketing and sales processes, in particular, involve many data protection issues, such as the storage and processing of personal data in online marketing. This is where Proliance 360 helps to ensure the protection of customer data such as email addresses, phone numbers, names, etc., and to manage it digitally. With the sheer volume of customer data, it is often difficult to keep track. It is therefore advisable to entrust your data protection management in marketing and sales to the smart Proliance 360 software, allowing you to reduce your workload and refocus on your core processes.

The data protection software maps sales, customer, and marketing processes step by step and indicates the extent to which existing processes are data-compliant. If there are shortcomings in data protection implementation, the software provides recommendations for action and shows how processes can be adjusted as easily as possible to achieve compliance. The software also offers guidance and templates for things like consent forms and newsletter distribution.

Who in sales and marketing is subject to the GDPR, and who needs a data protection officer?

First things first: the GDPR applies to both brick-and-mortar retail and online retail—and in the future, potentially the guidelines of the ePrivacy Regulation, which is still pending. To achieve data compliance, you should also check whether you are required to appoint a data protection officer . Whether this applies to your company is outlined in both Art. 37 of the GDPR and Section 38 of the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG): these contain regulations regarding the obligation to appoint a data protection officer (DPO). If at least 20 employees in your company are regularly involved in the automated processing of personal data, you are required to have a DPO. Incidentally, this number also includes working students, interns, freelancers, etc. As soon as you engage in activities such as telephone sales acquisition, you are processing personal data.

Important: If you conduct market research, for example, appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO) is mandatory regardless of the number of employees!

Data protection for sales and marketing: How Proliance can support you

At Proliance, we understand the challenges involved in implementing data protection requirements in sales and marketing, as well as complying with the GDPR and e-Privacy directives. We are here to provide you with expert guidance and support. We know the field inside out – from lead generation to sales.

When dealing with large volumes of data (customer data, etc.), it is often difficult to keep track. This is why it makes sense to entrust your data protection management in marketing and sales to the smart Proliance 360 software, allowing you to reduce your workload and focus on your core processes again. The data protection software maps sales, customer, and marketing processes step by step and identifies the extent to which existing processes are compliant with data protection regulations.

If your data protection implementation is lacking, the software provides recommendations for action and shows how processes can be adjusted as simply as possible to achieve compliance. The software also offers assistance and templates, for example, for the consents required for newsletter distribution, which are essential in online marketing.

What must be considered regarding sales and marketing under the GDPR?

The GDPR has changed both the sales and marketing sectors. Whether a promotional activity is still permissible depends on the GDPR: for example, cold calling private individuals is generally no longer allowed. The exception: the recipient of the advertisement gives explicit consent.

As a rule of thumb: in B2C, advertising is only possible with opt-in, i.e., consent (opt-in or double opt-in) – this also applies under Section 7 of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG), which remains in effect here. The (potential) customer must therefore give their express consent. In B2B business, companies have more leeway, as this usually involves processing company data rather than personal data. In B2B, the following applies:

• Telephone marketing is generally permitted: So-called "presumed consent" is sufficient for companies, which can usually be expected from commercial operators.
• Email marketing requires preparation: This requires a double opt-in. Please also note the regulations for newsletter distribution in marketing! It is important to know that the consent obtained via double opt-in must be stored for verification purposes should any inquiries arise from authorities later on.
• Call center support is not straightforward: If you work with call centers that handle your sales, you need a Data Processing Agreement (DPA).
• Do you still have old databases of private individuals? According to Recital 171 of the GDPR, you may continue to use these if you have the corresponding consent – however, they must comply with GDPR requirements. We strongly advise you to update and, if necessary, adjust these consents.

What is the prohibition on coupling?

The prohibition on coupling under Art. 7 (4) of the GDPR states that the principle of "service/goods in exchange for data" is no longer permissible. This means that contracts must be concluded independently of any consent to provide one's own data for advertising purposes.

Guide to data protection in marketing

The GDPR has been in force since the spring of 2018 and affects all areas of a company – including marketing. Recent court rulings have highlighted the need for further action and improvements in several areas. Implementing these should be considered mandatory, as non-compliance can quickly become expensive – especially since fines have also been adjusted.

Emails, blogs, and social media: Marketers are at home in many digital areas. Personalized marketing is becoming increasingly important in this context. This is only possible with personal data – therefore, implementing the GDPR is mandatory. Applying the GDPR to individual marketing areas may seem confusing at first glance, but when viewed systematically, it only requires the implementation of a few key points or the introduction of standard processes to integrate the GDPR into everyday marketing. We have highlighted the most important areas for you and know exactly what you need to look out for.