Put your CRM at the heart of your GDPR compliance action plan
Beginning on May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. GDPR, which was passed by the European Parliament back in 2016, harmonizes data privacy laws across Europe to protect EU residents’ data privacy. It’s meant to improve individual data protection rights by placing restrictions on how personal data can be used.
The motivation behind the new Europe-wide law is clear: the digital age means unique threats are coming to the fore, which also means protecting citizens’ and customers’ data will be paramount.
Any company, regardless of its geographical location, that processes the data of EU residents needs to ensure they are in compliance with GDPR mandates.
To achieve compliance, a number of processes and procedures must be put in place when it comes to handling the data of any EU residents. Organizations are also responsible for ensuring their contracted third-parties comply with GDPR mandates.
GDPR will be a global priority throughout the next several months. To help you prepare, here are few things to think about:
Work smarter
Many are viewing the implementation of the new practices and procedures as simply a compliance exercise, but there is a different, all round smarter approach.
It’s important to recognize that GDPR has come about because of widespread concerns around personal data and how it is collected and used by companies. Lawmakers feel the consumer should have awareness of what data is being collected about them and how it is processed. This is due to the very real fear of what can happen when data is misappropriated.
Act agile
For this reason, the more agile and innovative businesses are thinking about GDPR in direct relation to their customer relationship management (CRM) activities, recognizing it as an opportunity to differentiate themselves in the market.
GDPR is an opportunity to build better customer relationships – and reorganize how your business treats customers and customer data. This is where having a CRM system at the heart of your organization can provide a competitive advantage.
Next generation CRM
A modern CRM system provides not only a way of capturing data, it offers lead qualification processes, opportunity tracking systems, case resolution scripts, yearly account plans and even customer journey maps.
This system infrastructure is perfect for satisfying many GDPR requirements, not only in terms of CRM. It can be used to consolidate other IT systems’ compliance to GDPR requirements all in one place.
Act now for ongoing success
In the GDPR era, having a 360-degree view of your customer has never been more important, and with SugarCRM it is easier than ever. Sugar can help support your efforts on the road to GDPR compliance, not only before May 2018 but for the ongoing process as well.
By incorporating a smarter approach to GDPR into your CRM activities, you can build better customer relationships. There is no time for complacency, however. Now is the time to take action.
Our new GDPR Compliance Tracker tool, part of our Customer Journey Plug In, can be used to support the implementation of a solid GDPR compliant CRM program. To find out how it works, watch the step-by-step video below.