Category: GDPR

In the news last week, Google received a fine of £44 million for breaches of the relatively newly implemented GDPR rules. According to news outlets, Google was hit with the fine due to a “lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent regarding ads personalisation”. Several groups have claimed that Google has lacked legal basis to process personal data to use it for ad personalisation, hence meaning that they have received multiple complaints since May 2018. In a recent statement, Google has said that “we’re deeply committed to meeting those expectations and the consent requirements of the GDPR”. Let us delve a little further to develop a better understanding of the issue.

The first mistake made by Google was that the search engine did not have transparent enough consent from consumers to use their data. This is, arguably, a little harsh since most consumers merely click buttons without thinking; they do not actively consider where their data is going. Nevertheless, Google did break the rules as stipulated by the GDPR. Secondly, Google has made the mistake of having personalised ads as a “pre-ticked” option meaning that consumers are not explicitly aware of how their information is being used. This does not comply with the GDPR rules, however, is it not the responsibility of the consumer to ensure that they check all the small details? Whatever, the verdict, we see that Google has received much criticism for failing to comply to the GDPR regulations. The record fine will hopefully force Google to rethink about their data usage so that they can avoid more financial penalties. Only time will tell whether such penalties make a difference!

Lead Generation and GDPR

In previous posts we have explored the issues of lead generation and GDPR separately. Lead generation refers to the marketing process of stimulating interest in a product or service through the use of digital networking, for examples via email or social media. GDPR refers to the general data protection regulation which was implemented by the EU. The regulation limits the use of private data of members of the European Union. Moreover, it also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU areas. The EU data regulations could have impacts on the way in which lead generations function. Let us explore this further, in order to understand the implications of the GDPR on lead generation.

One of the effects of the recent GDPR will be that marketers will have to change the way in which they ask for consent. A large part of the updated data regulations is that the data must be collected for ‘specific, explicit and legitimate purposes’. Retailers and marketers must, therefore, that they are explicitly asking their clients and customers for consent for each and every purpose. They cannot, for example, ask customers to use their data for emails AND share customers’ data with other groups – the two things must be done separately. As we can see, therefore, marketers using online lead generation must ensure that they stick to the legal restrictions.

The qualifying process on our marketing landing pages ..

Although this process may seem slightly arduous, it could be better for firms. Since they must explicitly ask permission to send emails to clients, marketers can find those clients who are genuinely interested. As such, their marketing strategies are well directed towards clients who have a genuine interest for their product. They will be less likely to email clients who are not at all interested, since clients must actively give consent. The implementation of the GDPR, therefore, allows for secure, focused and effective lead generation.