Most privacy regulations, including GDPR and CCPA, require much more than simply obtaining an individual’s explicit permission to collect and use their data. Companies need a flexible solution that can accommodate their unique privacy requirements and the regulatory landscape in which they operate
A rapidly evolving landscape marked by tightening consumer data privacy regulations and the deprecation of third-party cookies has intensified the need for robust data governance practices. Customer data platform BlueConic is at the forefront of this transformative era, redefining how companies operate and how they use data to interact with customers and drive business growth.
Today, more than 130 countries have national privacy laws in place (source: UNCTAD), with new state bills in the U.S. popping up regularly. The big tech companies have also started to move privacy to the fore by announcing plans to phase out or limit the use of third-party cookies in their web browsers and platforms.
These developments represent a profound shift in how companies are able to collect and use data to understand and engage with consumers. Apart from the operational challenges involved with complying every time a new law goes into effect, companies also face serious financial and/or reputational repercussions for privacy regulation violations.
As a company with Dutch heritage, BlueConic’s privacy-by-design architecture is the foundation of our customer data platform (CDP). The platform anchors consent and data protection principles into its core infrastructure and workflows, so companies can collect and use customer data with both confidence and utility. Confidence means the customer data accounts for consent and is unified across all systems and sources to help mitigate risk. Utility means marketers can actually access and use that data when and where they need it to build trust and deliver valuable customer experiences.
Recently, a leading financial services company used BlueConic to help mitigate its consumer data risk while building trust with consumers. Since the rollout of GDPR and other US-based regulations, the company was looking for both a front-end experience that would easily allow customers to opt-in or out, and a back-end experience that streamlined consent management.
Using BlueConic’s privacy and consent management capabilities, the company captures granular customer consent by objective, such as personalizing the website experience or using data for analytics. This consent information is stored in a unified profile alongside other profile attributes, including behavioral data like recency and momentum, predictive data like propensity to buy, customer IDs, interest data, demographic data, survey responses, and more.
Since all of this data is readily available for segmentation and activation across their owned channels and external systems, the company can de-silo decision-making and optimize efficiency. For example, the company can suppress ads and personalization onsite if an individual hasn’t consented to it, or prevent profile data from being sent to their analytics platform if an individual has opted out. With consent managed in one place, the company can get IT, legal, and compliance aligned quickly, reduce risk, and refocus their efforts on driving customer-centric experiences across channels.
“Most privacy regulations, including GDPR and CCPA, require much more than simply obtaining an individual’s explicit permission to collect and use their data. Companies need a flexible solution that can accommodate their unique privacy requirements and the regulatory landscape in which they operate,” says Cory Munchbach, CEO.
BlueConic’s robust privacy and consent management features enable companies to request and capture consent based on their objectives and store that data in persistent, individual-level profiles that update in real-time as consent preferences change. These consent statuses are automatically synchronizing across all the data sources, channels, and delivery platforms, eliminating the manual, error-prone processes that create inefficiencies and risk. Further, clients can leverage one system of record to promptly respond to disclosure and right-to-be-forgotten requests.
“We recognize that new consumer data privacy regulations present both a challenge and opportunity for brands. That’s why we pair the robust privacy and consent management features in our platform with a dedicated account team that brings expertise, partnership, and empathy to all of their interactions with customers. This unique combination of platform and people ensures our customers can achieve greater levels of performance, from effective data privacy compliance, to better, more trusted customer relationships and beyond,” adds Munchbach.
Backed by Vista Equity Partners, BlueConic plans to expand its global footprint and establish itself as the global leader in the CDP category. To support this growth, the company will increase headcount in the next 12 months. It will also monitor and add new privacy zones to its platform as new data privacy legislation continues to arise both in the US and worldwide.
