Trust is an important element for every company and organization that conducts business online, and that's something the consent management platform industry knows well. 

Digital technology makes it possible for business owners to do business globally. The downside of that is that data privacy laws are also becoming a global issue, even when they are originally intended as local regulations. Naturally, this challenges business owners to get consent from their web users and hold onto it as proof of compliance.'

To give you insight into how you can best handle this, , we'll explain what a consent management platform is and describe why UserCentrics is a must-have for your marketing toolkit.  

What Is a Consent Management Platform? 

A consent management platform also called a CMP, is a component of a marketing toolkit for advertisers, publishers, and marketing agencies. Its main purpose is to automate the process of allowing users to consent as to how businesses can use their data. 

A consent management platform is comprised of three primary elements:

1. Provides the means to save consent in a way that complies with data privacy laws
2. Leverages privacy-by-design logic to obtain and save consent in connection with data privacy laws
3. Automates distribution of the user's consent from the consent management platform to third-party technologies

The European Union was the first to pass landmark legislation on data privacy laws with the passage of the General Data Protection Regulation, commonly known as GDPR. This regulation applies to all businesses that transact with European Union residents. 

Since then, data privacy regulations have also emerged in other parts of the world such as:

• CCPA ' California Consumer Privacy Act, California, United States
• POPIA  ' Protection of Personal Information Act, South Africa 
• LGPD  '  Lei Geral de Prote??o de Dados, Brazil

Even if you're not currently doing business in these locations, new laws could emerge at any time that will require you to obtain and store consent from users. Furthermore, even if you don't specifically target them, users from these geographical regions could end up on your website, making you liable for not following the aforementioned regulations. In this context, why not get ahead of the curve instead of being behind the eight ball? What's currently in your marketing toolkit?

A consent management platform allows you to get consent in an informed, transparent way, and hold onto it for the appropriate length of time to ensure compliance with global data privacy laws.  

What are the characteristics of a quality consent management platform?

• Allows users to make choices freely
• Informs users of their choices clearly
• States their choices explicitly
• Provides a concrete process
• Ensures prior consent
• Facilitates easy opt-out 
• Documents and stores consent

These characteristics can be more easily managed using a consent management platform that leverages UserCenterics. 

Yes, those characteristics are a lot to incorporate into your marketing plan which is why it's not practical to use a client-side solution. You have to be able to save consents on the server-side and be able to show individual consents to demonstrate compliance with the law.

Why Are Consent Management Platforms Needed?

GDPR outlines six legal ways to process customer data. The first five aren't always practical, but here goes: 

1. Performance of contract. Where business transactions call for contracts, consent can be implied by virtue of the contract. 
2. Performance of public tasks. Government authorities don't have to comply with consent standards as long as they're carrying out tasks in conjunction with the public interest or they're exercising duties in an official capacity. 
3. Legitimate interest exists. A business may process customer data without consent if they have a genuine reason for doing so. 
4. Vital interest. A business uses customer data to try to save someone's life. 
5. Legal obligation. A business that processes customer data in accordance with the law, as in the case of legal records. 
6. Direct customer consent. Individuals have given clear consent for a business to process their personal data for a specific purpose. 

Unless your business falls within one of the first 5 legal ways to process customer data, the responsibility for getting direct customer consent falls on your business. Perhaps it's starting to make sense why you need a consent management platform that plugs in UserCentrics as part of your marketing toolkit. 

CCPA regulations also require businesses to have an updated, transparent privacy policy. As part of your marketing toolkit, it's essential to learn how to implement a legally compliant privacy policy on your website. 

A CCPA-compliant website includes:

• A statement that informs users of their rights
• Right of access to all customer data collected
• Customer's right to ask for data deletion
• Right of non-discrimination
• A phone number where customers can request access and deletion of data
• A listing of the types of data you collect
• A listing of personal information your business has sold in the past year (may include tracking or retargeting)
• A listing of the categories of personal information your business disclosed for business purposes for the last year
• A link to your 'Do Not Sell My Personal Information' page 

What Is UserCentrics and Why Would It Be Part of Your Marketing Toolkit? 

What is UserCentrics? UserCentrics is much like it sounds. It's a consent management program in the form of a SaaS solution that effectively puts customers in the driver's seat with how businesses process their information.  

With a UserCentrics solution as part of your marketing toolkit, you can easily:

• Obtain consents
• Manage consents
• Optimize consents

The fact that UserCentrics is compatible with other tools in your marketing toolkit makes it a marketing essential.

There are 3 primary reasons that should motivate you to implement UserCentrics in a consent management platform as part of your marketing toolkit. 

1. Consent Management should be  an essential part of your marketing toolkit. It allows you to protect your marketing budget, enhance KPIs, optimize opt-in rates, and give you a competitive advantage. Moreover, it enables you to protect your business from a legal standpoint by lending transparency, preventing fines, and supporting a legal defense strategy. 
2.  
3. Inspires consumer trust. Transparency leads to Increased opt-in rates.
4. It's easy to use and helps you eliminate all kinds of human error that might slip in when you try to stay on top of so many sets of regulations. 

Configuring your consent management platform is a big priority of UserCentric technology. 

Next, we'll review the benefits of using UserCentrics as part of your marketing toolkit.'

Flexible and Customizable

The best tools in your marketing toolkit allow you to be flexible and customizable, and that's what UserCentrics is all about. You can customize nearly every element of UserCentrics by choosing a privacy banner or privacy wall. You can also customize the colors, behavior, design of the deny button, etc. 

Inform Users at the Category Level

With UserCentrics you can classify the Data Processing Services into different categories on your website. You have the option of using predefined categories or creating your own using the text you choose.

Purpose-describing categories of Data Processing Services benefit users by informing their choices.

If you use the Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (IAB ), UserCentrics will ensure you meet all requirements for IAB policies, and you can add your categories for non-IAB purposes as well.  

Detailed Information

Valid consent requires businesses to provide users with granular choices for increased transparency. With UserCentrics as part of your marketing toolkit, you can add and manage Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Criteo, etc. on your website. 

The detailed information you collect will become part of the trial for your consent audit. You also have the ability to embed such data into your privacy policy.'

Regional Scope

Depending on where you transact business, you may be subject to GDPR data privacy laws or regulations from different countries and regions. Each regulation has its own set of mandates for consent banners. With UserCentrics, you can establish settings and languages for various regions so you can activate settings for various regional users. 

Analytics and Reporting

Analytics and reporting are central components of your marketing toolkit. With UserCentrics, you will be able to keep track of your opt-in and opt-out pages better which will help you more narrowly target your audience and measure the results. 

Your opt-in rates are intrinsically connected to the volume of data you pull in which will likely have an impact on your advertising and revenue. 

Monitoring & DPS Scanner

One of the critical functionalities of a consent management platform is being able to prove you acted in compliance with consent regulations. 

UserCentrics effectively monitors your data collection activities and transfers data around the clock so you have proof you obtained user consent. Your audit trail is always at your fingertips when you implement UserCentrics in your marketing toolkit. 

UserCenterics are intuitive and effortless, so make it easy on yourself by eliminating the complexity of trying to comply with GDPR and other data privacy regulations manually. UserCentrics makes configuring a consent management platform quick and easy so you can concentrate your efforts on running your business. 

Unlike in years past, today's users must have a part in deciding how businesses collect and use their personal data. User consent and legal compliance with their consent are critical. You simply can't afford to overlook these issues. 

We agree that the process of getting valid consent doesn't have to be hard or complicated. Consent management solutions are a necessity for your marketing toolkit. Once your program is in place, you can set your worries about fines and penalties due to data privacy on the back burner.   
To learn more about the value of UserCentrics, consent management platforms, and marketing tools, follow ClickGuard.