Legitimate Interest: What is it and how does it work with Lead Forensics?
Under the GDPR, every company must have a lawful basis for processing their data. It can differ between departments as there are six to choose from, but when it comes to the world of B2B marketing, legitimate interest is the basis that can maximise results. There’s a common thought that GDPR can hinder businesses and prevent success in marketing, but it’s quite the opposite, especially when we consider legitimate interest. Read on to find out about Lead Forensics GDPR compliance…
So, what is it? Legitimate interest allows you to process data based on three very simple grounds:
- The individual whose data you’re processing could have a legitimate interest in what you’re offering them. You must be mindful (in B2B Marketing) of how certain aspects can sway this interest, for example industry, position within the company and location/facilities.
- Your business has a well-considered legitimate interest in communicating with the individual.
- Your contact with the individual doesn’t affect their rights or freedoms as an individual. Have a serious think about what contact you’ll have with the individual, and ask yourself whether it will make them vulnerable, or put them in danger in any way. The individuals rights are clearly outlined by the ICO – have a look and double check you know these inside out!
Not only is legitimate interests a key factor in successfully planning B2B marketing strategies under GDPR compliance, but it’s also a big thumbs up for the Lead Forensics software. When someone looks at your website, how much more of a legitimate interest in your product or service could that be?! Lead Forensics provides you with contact details for those businesses visiting your site, showing a true interest in what you offer, providing you with an abundance of data to process into your B2B marketing (all comfortably under the GDPR!).
The data Lead Forensics provide, and where it stands with GDPR
When we talk about data, the GDPR outlines several different kinds. Lead Forensics provides a mixture of business data (to which the GDPR isn’t applicable) and personal data (which you must process under the GDPR). When your website gets a visit, the Lead Forensics software tracks the active business IP address and matches it to further business details we hold in our market leading database. Lead Forensics then provides details such as business name and address, telephone number and email addresses of key decision makers.
So, how does all this data sit with GDPR? The elements strictly relating to the business, such as business name and address, website and business telephone number, are all free of any GDPR regulation as they don’t fall into the personal data category. However, the email addresses (all except the generic info@ email) and employee names fall under personal data. This is where legitimate interest comes in. If you believe the individual in question could have a legitimate interest in what you’re offering, then you’re able to process and act upon this data. As the software identifies the business visitor (as opposed to the individual visitor) through tracking a company IP, you can use all the data Lead Forensics provides you with for B2B marketing purposes, processed under the grounds of legitimate interest.
How does Lead Forensics acquire its data? Is it still compliant?
Of course! Lead Forensics is sure to go through all the necessary checks to ensure compliance – no matter how long it takes! All third parties supplying data are well known companies, with whom we have strong contractual agreements that are hinged around both compliance with GDPR and our terms of use. You can be sure in the knowledge that any data appearing on the Lead Forensics software is safe and rightfully there.
All the data available through the Lead Forensics solution has spent time with our verification department, where they work relentlessly to make sure all data is fully accurate and our terms of use allow it to be part of the product. Our database of contacts has spent years in the making and continues to develop, so we take the utmost care to confirm it’s faultless and fully compliant under the GDPR.
We can happily assure you that all the data involved with Lead Forensics would score 100% in a test of compliance, right through to its deletion where necessary. For example: if you were a client of Lead Forensics, and a company asked you to remove their data from your system, you’d be able to blacklist them from your Lead Forensics portal. This means that if a member of that company visits your website again, you’d get no tracking information or data as a result of it. You wouldn’t need to compromise your deletion systems, or risk a lack of compliance. We practice the same system throughout our own B2B marketing, ensuring every request for deletion is followed through with precision and immediacy.
Being Fully Compliant
When we’re looking at the GDPR, it’s easy to feel anxious. It seems there’s so much information to take in before you can even start – but we promise you – it’s easy! Start your journey with Lead Forensics and sign up to a free trial – we can show you exactly how our product works safely under GDPR, and how you can harvest leads without a worry!