7:18 am, June 6, 2017
THE connected car service Smartdriverclub is providing a free data cleansing service to dealers by seeking customer permissions to use their data under the new GDPR.
In just under a year, the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will replace the Data Protection Act (DPA). For dealers who are not confident of the permissions they hold, this change will potentially render much of their valuable customer data redundant.
Smartdriverclub is conducting outbound calls to customers who have bought a car from the dealer in the past three years to offer connected car services under the dealer’s brand. At the same time, it is capturing the permissions for contact under the new GDPR, cleansing the dealer’s database in the process and ensuring compliance before GDPR goes live in May 2018.
Penny Searles, CEO of Smartdriverclub, said: ‘Customer data is hugely valuable to the used car market, supporting customer retention and boosting aftersales activity such as servicing and repairs. However, if the customer has not agreed to be contacted under the new GDPR requirements, the dealer will not be permitted to contact them and could face severe fines amounting to four per cent of their turnover for misuse of the customer data. This is a significant road block for the market right now. Historic acquisition activity means many dealers can’t be confident they have all the permissions they need.
‘Smartdriverclub has developed a solution to this challenge at no cost to dealers and which boosts their revenue opportunities. We offer customers the chance to upgrade their car to receive connected services for £7.99 a month as a member of the Dealership Driving Club, supported by Smartdriverclub, thus remaining a customer of the dealership. At the same time, we seek confirmation of the permission for future contact as prescribed under the new regulation – whether they accept the service or not.
‘At this stage, we are achieving a 30 per cent conversion, which means dealers are not only benefiting from the cleansed data but, through the data feed from the car, will be in a position to proactively offer aftersales services and better support customer through additional benefits of Smartdriverclub membership, such as crash alerts and theft tracking.’
Gerry George, customer services director for Stoneacre, said: ‘Smartdriverclub has provided us with a simple solution to a complex problem. We are not only saving a significant amount of resource as we prepare for GDPR compliance, we are giving our customers access to the benefits of connectivity and opening up new revenue streams for the business in the process. Everyone wins.’
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