DULUTH, Ga. -

Collections and other customer-service communications certainly can be a complicated endeavor, and a survey conducted by PossibleNOW revealed how some firms still might not have a firm grip on all compliance matters associated with getting past-due payments and more.

The provider of enterprise consent and preference management solutions reported this week that its latest survey showed a 26% increase year-over-year in businesses utilizing consent collection from 2018 to 2019. Last year, PossibleNOW noted that just 38% of companies reported collecting consumer consent.

PossibleNOW pointed out another 31% of participants reported they weren’t sure if they were collecting this information.

This year, the survey indicated 64% reported actively collecting consumer consent, while 28% remained unsure.  PossibleNOW emphasized that consent management is of growing importance, as it provides a company the ability to continue their marketing efforts toward their customers in an environment of increasing regulatory laws such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA).

When asked about GDPR compliance, PossibleNOW said 24% of respondents reported compliance in 2018.  When respondents were asked the same question in 2019, only an additional 3% reported they were compliant.  

Companies were further asked which GDPR requirements they found most challenging, and 44% of respondents said that “right to access” laws such as providing customers a copy of their personal data and the purpose for processing that data was most challenging. Another 33.3% reported that consent management such as capturing, storing and distributing consent across the company created confusion.

While companies report their consent collection has increased, PossibleNOW determined confusion around management of this data also increased — showing a need for an enterprise-wide consent and a preference management solution or approach.

As the era of increased concern regarding privacy and data among consumers continues, and government regulations greatly narrow the lawful use of such data, PossibleNOW senior vice president of strategy and consulting Jeff Jarvis stressed this survey showed that awareness and confusion within corporations must be addressed to mitigate risks.

 “Considering that GDPR is already enacted, and data privacy legislation such as the CCPA is increasing in the United States, it’s concerning — although not surprising — that there remains confusion around issues of regulatory compliance,” Jarvis said.

“An increase in companies collecting customer consent is a positive step in building trust and maintaining long-term customer loyalty, however companies must be aware of potential violations, and able to quickly adapt to ongoing legislation,” he added.