DataCaptive » Prospect » How Does GDPR Affect B2B Data? – The Ultimate Guide

How Does GDPR Affect B2B Data? – The Ultimate Guide

August 30, 2021
7:22 AM

Implemented on the 25th of May, 2018, the GDPR has left many sales representatives and their teams in chaos. The questions raised were all-around cold outreach to approach the B2B targets. What about opting for B2B data? How to go about it under the GDPR?

So, here is the answer. Yes, even under the GDPR, you can reach out to prospective leads using outbound strategies like cold emails and calls. All you need to adapt to are the new rules and processes that the GDPR has come up with in B2B data usage and cold outreach.

How do you send B2B cold emails in a post GDPR world?

For more insightful details, keep reading through!

What is GDPR, and what are the 8 fundamental rights of the GDPR?

To define GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulates EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area. Under the GDPR, an individual has:

The right to access:

Every individual can request to access their data and ask how the company is using their data. The company has to provide a copy of the personal data, free of charge, and electronic format if requested.

The right to be forgotten:

Suppose a consumer is no longer customer, or if they are showing their consent to withdraw their data from a company, they have the right to have their data deleted.

The right to data portability:

Every individual has a right to transfer their data from one service provider to another. And this should happen in a commonly used and machine-readable format.

The right to be informed:

Every individual ought to be informed before their data is gathered. For the data to be collected, a consumer must opt-in or, in other words, give their consent.

The right to have the information corrected:

Individuals can have their data updated if the stored data is outdated or incorrect.

The right to restrict processing:

An individual can limit a company from using the data for processing. Their record can remain in place but can’t be used.

The right to object:

It is about the right of individuals to stop the processing of their data for direct marketing. And this right should be made clear to individuals at the very start of any communication. There is no exemption for any in the case of this right.

The right to be notified:

In case of a data breach, the individual must be informed within 72 hours.

Now that you are aware of what is GDPR and its fundamental right for an individual, the question is, “does the GDPR affect B2B data?”

Yes, the GDPR makes a difference in the way you use B2B data. You need to make sure that you’re using it in GDPR compliant way.

It is meant to protect the privacy of individuals within the EU, including the people working within companies

Know which EU countries accept B2B emails post-GDPR and how!

You should be handling the personal data with extra care! Personal data includes

Ensure your sales process is GDPR compliant to find excellent and potential prospects.

Can I still use B2B data under the GDPR?

The GDPR doesn’t mean you no longer can use B2B data. You need to treat the personal data you’re using carefully, ensuring your entire process is GDPR compliant.

Consider the mentioned questions to make sure you’re following the best practices using B2B data.

1. Who are you contacting? 

If you’re not contacting anyone located within the EU, you don’t need to think about the GDPR. Make sure you follow CAN-SPAM and CASL compliance. On the other hand, if you’re contacting anyone located in the EU, you must be GDPR compliant. It applies to you even if your business isn’t based in the EU. There are certain limitations about who you can contact. If you sell to other businesses, there wouldn’t be any major issues. But if you’re selling or planning to sell to sole traders or partnerships, there are specific other rules to concentrate on.

2. How are you sourcing the B2B data? 

‘Where do you source your B2B data from? ‘ plays a significant role here. Make sure you’re doing it the right way.

If you’re collecting the data yourself, you need to verify that your data sourcing process is GDPR compliant. Do review the tools you’re using to collect the data and confirm that you’re storing it securely.
If you’re using a 3rd party B2B Data supplier, such as DataCaptive, you should verify that their data is GDPR compliant.

DataCaptive’s information is compliant with all national and international data privacy policies. Get samples to know how well you can prospect to your ideal target!

3. What does GDPR mean in marketing? 

The GDPR has affected companies with an online presence. But the regulations are also applicable to companies that have no digital presence. In case the business has collected the customer data in person and processed it for marketing purposes. With GDPR, marketers need to be extremely careful about the way they plan campaigns or contact them using marketing emails, SMS, or direct mail. The personal data here might have been collected by themselves or obtained through a third party.

4. Why is GDPR necessary for B2B marketing? 

The GDPR is highly important for B2B marketing. If you oppose or do not obey the law, you could be fined up to 4% of your annual global turnover or €20 million – whichever is greater. This has greater chances of putting you out of your business and ruining your reputation. To keep it clean and clear and beneficial to your business and your customers, refine your marketing data regularly. Keep your customers happy to churn out greater returns.

5. Is GDPR the same for B2B and B2C companies? 

Diving deep into learning about the differences between Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) under the GDPR:

B2B

No specific consent is required when processing business data.

You’re allowed to send marketing emails to business email addresses without specific consent, provided a legitimate interest.

If active consent is not given, then you must not retain their information.

B2C

Consent is required while processing personal data.

Sole traders and some partnerships fall into this category and should be treated as B2C.

If active consent is not given, then you must not retain their information.

Follow the steps to make your data processing GDPR compliant

There are certain things a company has to concentrate on to be GDPR compliant. Get started this way:

Align your company’s data

Map all personal data collected and keep a clean record of where the data comes from and who has access to it.

Decide which data you need to store

Focus on storing the necessary data only. Don’t waste your efforts in saving needless information that you aren’t going to use. Consider the data elements that are useful for your business while collecting and storing personal data.

Conduct a clean-up process, ask yourself:

Why exactly are we archiving this data instead of just deleting it?
Why are we storing all this data?
What are we targeting to achieve by collating all these classes of personal data?
Is the financial gain of erasing this data greater than encrypting it?

Implement security measures seriously 

It would be best if you safeguarded your infrastructure throughout. This secures data against data breaches and allows to take quick action when a breach occurs.

Review and re-check your documentation

Individuals need to give their consent for the processing of their data under the GDPR. You will have to review all your privacy statements and adjust accordingly. 

Develop strategies to handle personal data 

Installing all the eight fundamental rights mentioned earlier in the article, you need to develop and implement policies and procedures to handle several situations.

For example, some of them could be:

How are individuals supposed to give consent legally?
What is the process if an individual is interested in deleting their data?
How will you make sure that it is done across all platforms and that it is deleted?
How will you transfer an individual’s data if they’re interested in doing so?
In case of a data breach, what is the communication plan?

Do you know how harmful it is to maintain bad CRM data? Learn to clean it now!

Conclusion

The GDPR is in no way stopping you from using B2B data. It boosts and enables your sales team to concentrate on your ideal and potential customers. We’d highly recommend you talk with a legal professional if you face any issues about your B2B data usage under the GDPR. We hope you find this blog post informative. Tell us about your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Racheal Adam

Being the Business Development Manager at DataCaptive, Racheal has brought in many successful changes to our company. She has helped our company identify new business opportunities to generate revenue and improve profitability. Racheal also likes writing insightful blogs about B2B strategies that will help marketers stand out from the crowd and fill their funnel with qualified leads. She likes to swim, cycle, and go to her favorite cafés on weekends.

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