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HELPING you extend your reach and increase sales have been the twin aims of The Lead Agency since its formation in 2002 – and as we enter the GDPR era, the company has compiled some top tips to help you survive and thrive under the new regime.
The Lead Agency believes that complex and confusing buying processes cause frustration for consumers and make it difficult for car manufacturers to find and acquire new customers. They work hard to remove that frustration and create quality opportunities to sell more vehicles.
The firm currently works with the majority of car manufacturers – more than any other new car lead provider.
Its approach focuses on adding genuine value to clients’ organisations through quality new customer leads.
So what advice does The Lead Agency have for you in connection with GDPR?
Firstly, be responsible: If you were a good company on May 24, you’ll still be a good company now. In other words, if you were compliant with the previous data protection laws, the transition to GDPR should have been far smoother than if you had started from scratch.
Be accountable. One of the biggest changes from the 1998 Data Protection Act to GDPR is accountability – a company’s ability to demonstrate its compliance.
Review your current processes, procedures and policies so they can be benchmarked against the requirements of GDPR. This will help you to identify where small improvements are needed, as well as bigger gaps that require more time and attention.
Focus on trust. Make sure third-party companies who process data on your behalf are compliant. Ensure all written contracts include your instructions and expectations for them to provide a fully compliant service.
The accountability still sits with your company, but ensuring your partners meet your requirements will provide peace of mind.
Make a record of the data-processing activities that your business is responsible for. Examples include the purposes of processing, a description of the categories of the individuals, categories of personal data, recipients of personal data, retention schedules and the security measures that are in place.
Update your policies. Check that Privacy Notices are clear, concise, transparent and unambiguous. Companies will be expected to provide a lot more information to customers, so the best way to tackle this is by taking a layered approach.
Stay safe. GDPR enhances the need for a safe, secure and thorough CRM system, which will benefit all stakeholders. This allows customers to be able to further rely on companies to regard their personal data as being of extreme importance and treat it with great care. GDPR also encourages companies to further improve their cybersecurity.
Jaguar Land Rover and Hyundai are among the many car manufacturers benefiting from The Lead Agency’s GDPR-compliant leads.
Jess Douce, marketing manager for Jaguar Land Rover’s UK new car sales team, said: ‘The Lead Agency team are a trusted partner to our business. They’re not only great to work with but they believe in doing things the right way. They provide the highest-quality GDPR-compliant client portal that I have used, which helps us to send more leads to our retailers.’
A genuine interest
Meanwhile, Danielle Hollis, Hyundai Motor UK’s senior manager for CRM and insight, said: ‘The Lead Agency team are a long-serving and trusted partner of Hyundai. They provide the highest-quality GDPR-compliant inquiries at scale, which means we sell more new cars and achieve our targets.’
Tom White, managing director for automotive at The Lead Agency, commented: ‘We believe that the best way to help our clients is by connecting them with consumers who we know are in-market and have a genuine interest in the cars that they sell.
‘That clients such as Hyundai and JLR are willing to endorse our high-quality, GDPR-compliant technology and leads is a great testament to the role we have played in helping them grow over a number of years.
‘It also demonstrates confidence in the auditing process we’ve been through, and the procedures we have in place to ensure our service is fully compliant.
‘Through requests for test drives, brochures and quotes or being kept informed of upcoming launches, all of our automotive clients are able to make valuable connections that help them to convert at an exceptionally high rate.’
White said that many businesses had tended to view GDPR as a problem. He continued: ‘Whilst it is clearly a huge business change and challenge for the industry, it is also an opportunity for brands to strengthen trust with consumers, focus on the relevant audience, become more efficient with their sales activity and enhance their reputation.’
He added: ‘Inevitably, prospect databases will be depleted, but we can help rebuild with GDPR-compliant in-market leads that have been rigorously qualified by our in-house team.’
The Lead Agency’s compliance manager, Kathy Fleming, who has led the company’s GDPR programme, said: ‘Having built our reputation on high-quality in-market leads, the transition to GDPR is one we’ve been ready for. Our clients trust us to provide leads that are compliant with the new GDPR laws. Combined with being FCA-authorised, this means they can build sales with complete peace of mind.’
