Common issues with GDPR and data hygiene – and how a strong CDP and marketing automation platform can effectively address them

Companies face several data hygiene problems when trying to comply with GDPR. Businesses can have duplicate, incorrect or outdated customer information due to human error or clashing systems.

Businesses often struggle with managing and controlling customer data, which can be a significant pain point. This includes difficulties keeping track of where the data is stored, who has access to it, and how it is used. GDPR also requires companies to ensure that any third-party vendors they work with comply with the regulation. However, this can be challenging as businesses may not have complete visibility of their vendors' data practices.

Has your company encountered any of these common data hygiene issues in efforts to comply with GDPR?

• Handling requests from individuals regarding their personal information:
  Under GDPR, individuals (data subjects) have the right to request access to, rectification of, or erasure of their personal data. Companies need efficient ways to locate, export and potentially delete all data, or parts of it, associated with a specific individual.
• Dealing with incorrect information: Mistakes happen. Somebody might enter or import incorrect data into systems. Companies need a way to rectify these errors and ensure data accuracy easily.
• Making sure we keep data for the right amount of time:
  GDPR and other privacy regulations often limit how long companies can keep specific data. Companies need mechanisms to automatically delete outdated customer data, parts of it, or data they no longer require for legitimate business purposes.
• Adjusting to changing ways of handling data:
  Privacy regulations and internal company policies can change over time. Companies must be able to easily remove or anonymise data fields that are no longer permissible to collect or store.
• Managing who can see and use information:
  Not all employees require access to all customer data. Companies must be able to restrict data visibility based on job roles and responsibilities to prevent unauthorised access.

Custobar, a customer data and marketing automation platform, offers several features to help companies address GDPR and data hygiene challenges

• Complete data export for GDPR needs:
  Custobar allows exporting all customer data of a single customer, including sales, events, and campaign interactions, into a single CSV file. The data export makes it easier to handle requests from individuals who want to access their personal information.
• Easily remove data when needed:
  Custobar offers multiple ways to delete data, including individual customer deletion, bulk deletion, and API-driven deletion, making it easy to rectify errors or remove unwanted data. Depending on your company policies, Custobar users can perform many individual/manual functions related to merging customer records, data deletion, or GDPR exports.
• Customer data anonymisation:
  Custobar enables anonymisation of customer data in cases where a customer has made a GDPR data removal request. The customer records are immediately anonymised, while, for example, revenue and campaign statistics are not affected.
• Making sure data is clean and up to date automatically:
  Custobar supports rule-based recurring updates to automatically remove data based on criteria such as inactivity or any other set of rules. The feature helps enforce data retention policies.
• Removing specific details from customer data:
  Custobar enables the removal of specific data fields from customer records, either through manual updates, bulk actions, the API, or automated recurring updates. This gives companies the flexibility to adapt to changing data practices.
• Role-based access control:
  Custobar allows defining user roles and permissions to limit data visibility based on job function, ensuring only authorised personnel can access sensitive information.

By leveraging these capabilities, companies can use Custobar to establish and maintain good data hygiene practices, which are fundamental to GDPR compliance.

In conclusion, maintaining strong data hygiene practices is vital for businesses that want to achieve and showcase their GDPR compliance. As data privacy evolves, having a trusted partner like Custobar—where GDPR compliance is a top priority—will empower companies to navigate this complex landscape confidently.