In an environment of increasing regulatory laws such as GDPR and CCPA, consent management is of growing importance as it provides companies the ability to continue their marketing efforts to customers—but how many companies are truly managing consent correctly?
Last year, just 38 percent of companies reported collecting consumer consent, with another 31 percent saying they weren’t sure if they were collecting this information. New research from enterprise consent and preference management solutions firm PossibleNOW shows that this year, 64 percent reported actively collecting consumer consent—a +26 percent increase from 2018 to 2019.
But progress still leaves a lot to be desired—when asked about GDPR compliance, 24 percent of respondents reported compliance in 2018. When respondents were asked the same question in 2019, only an additional 3 percent reported they were compliant.
Which GDPR requirements do companies find most challenging?
Forty-four percent of respondents said that “right to access” laws such as providing customers a copy of their personal data and the purpose for processing that data was most challenging. Another 33.3 percent reported that consent management such as capturing, storing and distributing consent across the company created confusion.
While companies report their consent collection has increased, confusion around management of this data also increased—showing a need for an enterprise-wide consent and preference management solution or approach.
“Considering that GDPR is already enacted, and data privacy legislation such as the CCPA is increasing in the United States, it’s concerning—although not surprising—that there remains confusion around issues of regulatory compliance,” said Jeff Jarvis, SVP of strategy and consulting at PossibleNOW, in a news release. “An increase in companies collecting customer consent is a positive step in building trust and maintaining long-term customer loyalty, however companies must be aware of potential violations, and able to quickly adapt to ongoing legislation.”
As the era of increased concern regarding privacy and data among consumers continues—and government regulations greatly narrow the lawful use of such data—this survey shows that awareness and confusion within corporations must be addressed to mitigate risks.
The online survey was presented to more than 1,300 business users throughout the United States from March 4 – 8, 2019
