Misconceptions common over new GDPR

NEW REGULATIONS governing the use of customer data for marketing are still widely misunderstood across the automotive retail and finance sector, even since GDPR came into force.

That’s the view of customer retention specialists Chrysalis Loyalty, who say confusion is still evident from their conversations about customer renewal and retention marketing across the industry.

The main area of uncertainty, says Chrysalis Loyalty Product and Marketing Director Mark Fretwell, is around reconciling direct marketing activity with the principle enshrined in GDPR of ‘ legitimate interest’.

Chrysalis is encountering a widespread misconception that ‘ legitimate interest’ is a one-sided principle relating to the data subject’s interests, when in fact GDPR guidelines specifically provide for the supplier’s right to conduct direct marketing activity in given circumstances.

Chrysalis believes that a crucial message has been lost in the legal interpretations of many businesses; that in almost all scenarios where a finance agreement already exists there is a legal basis for maintaining ongoing customer contact – often even in the case of ‘ lapsed customers’.