GDPR new era dawns, changing your marketing for the better

There’s no doubt that the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fundamentally changes the way that we, as marketers, think about data. I’m a firm believer that this can only be a good thing.

In our consumer lives, we’ve all experienced the frustration of poorly targeted, unsolicited or ill-judged marketing communications. Professionally, we can now contribute to the new era of data protection that will enforce rigorous database maintenance and consent-based marketing. It’s a great opportunity to play our part in driving up standards, bringing renewed trust to customer relationships and greater integrity to our industry.

As you go through your compliance programme, it’s vital to keep in mind that the regulation’s principles ultimately enshrine best practice in data governance, so it stands to reason that embracing it with a positive attitude will deliver numerous commercial benefits. Based on our own GDPR journey over the last year and our current experience of supporting customers and partners, here are just some ways that we’ve seen compliance obligations transformed into tangible marketing opportunities.

GDPR new era of quality over quantity

Let’s face it, company databases are not typically a source of great pride. Those that rely on Excel spreadsheets – and there are many that do – run the risk of tying themselves up in knots operationally and strategically, no matter how small their business, as it becomes impossible to manage data consistently or generate a consolidated profile of customers and prospects.

Even having a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution is no guarantee that data management is in any better shape; legacy data is often migrated into the solution without the necessary spring clean.

GDPR amplifies the business and financial risk posed by chaotic data. Inconsistences, inaccuracies and out-of-date information will need to be rectified or deleted, with siloed data drawn together into a central, indexed repository, if you are to achieve the required standards of accuracy and oversight. Marketing plays a key role in embedding core data processes into company culture and, as the main guardian of customer data, leading by example.

Overhauling your database in this way, and using the exercise to fill in any gaps such as missing job titles or emails, will supercharge the effectiveness of so many areas of marketing – from customer satisfaction surveys and email marketing to segmentation and profiling.

Consent fuels engagement

The way I see it, GDPR calls for marketers to put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and ask what data they would reasonably expect us to hold. For companies whose databases have sprawled, unchecked over many years, this will certainly involve deleting lots of data that just isn’t relevant to your current business dealings. Think of it as a declutter at home – don’t keep things you ‘might need’!

The regulation states that companies can only process personal data if that data meets one of six lawful bases, namely consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interest, public task or legitimate interest. Your decision-making must be carefully documented in line with the core values of transparency and accountability. In many cases, communications with customers will be justified under the terms of your contract with them, and some direct marketing will continue to satisfy the criteria for ‘legitimate interests’, as it does under the current Data Protection Act. But communications must still be deemed ‘necessary’, offering a clear opt-out, and you can’t contact people about completely new topics, unrelated to your contract, unless you obtain the right consent.

On a practical level, the strict requirement for ‘positive’ opt-in banishes practices such as pre-ticked consent boxes or capturing email addresses and adding them to your database without the subject’s explicit permission. This applies equally to your existing contacts, who must reconfirm their consent to be on your database (repermissioning). It is this aspect that is causing a stir – because many people may indeed request to have their record removed if presented with that option.

In truth, this shouldn’t be a cause for panic. After all, if you aren’t sure that your contacts want to hear from you, can they be considered warm prospects or actively interested customers who are likely to repeat purchase or recommend you? It’s time to focus on pulling customers and prospects to you rather than pushing information at them and hoping for the best.

Of course, this approach chimes perfectly with the growing consumer appetite for engagement rather than promotion, inbound rather than outbound – which places greater emphasis on your SEO and your ability to generate interest, referrals and social media buzz through genuinely useful and appealing content.

Insight through opt-in

We are all seeking GDPR-friendly, authentic and transparent ways to continue to personalise our campaigns, and the new opt-in consent model can provide exactly that.

We’ve already mentioned that ‘soft’ or ambiguous opt-ins will no longer be adequate under GDPR. Not only is explicit consent now required, it can’t be blanket consent covering all of your communications – it has to ‘be specific and granular so that you get separate consent for separate things’. This means that you need to offer a range of opt-ins that empowers individuals to choose which communications they wish to receive – thus revealing new insights into their preferences and interests. This is an important step forward for marketing.

At Maximizer, for example, we are considering five topic options, including Company and Products, CRM Best Practice, Industry and Business Growth, Events and Webinars and Research and Reports. Responses will be easily recorded and managed in the CRM, and we’ve set up a GDPR Compliance Details Tab against each contact in our database.

Armed with this granular opt-in data, you can embark on campaign planning with greater assurance that your content is properly aligned to the needs of your targets – increasing the likelihood of higher click-through rates. Taking this one step further, analysing prospect opt-ins can indicate levels of intent (four opt-ins as opposed to one, for example) and how far they are on their ‘journey to purchase’. This may also inspire refinements to the way marketing contributes to the whole sales cycle. We will definitely be analysing our own opt-in data to refine our lead scoring criteria and methodology.

Leverage your technology investment

We’ve been approached by many companies asking about the compliance of Maximizer CRM, both on-premise and cloud, which calls for an important clarification: it’s your data within the CRM that needs to be compliant!

In fact, as a software company, we are the perfect illustration that technology alone will not tick all the compliance boxes. The regulation stresses the need for ‘appropriate technical and organisational measures’ and just like everyone else we’ve had to address the ‘organisational’ aspect, reviewing our data processes, working on policies, putting training in place for staff and supporting our valued business partners.

However, CRM solutions are an invaluable tool to underpin the ‘technical’ requirements for sophisticated data management, for instance by simplifying auditing and indexing work, bringing visibility and control to records management and automating workflows to manage opt-ins and opt-outs. Your solution provider should be able to help you make the most of ‘out of the box’ features that support compliance as well as easily customisable tools such as GDPR dashboards and reports.

We often find that many functions within CRM software are under-used, but we’ve noticed that GDPR is prompting customers to extract better value from their existing solutions as they look to combine compliance with process improvements. If the regulation results in marketers demanding greater return-on-investment from their technology solutions, then this is a very welcome outcome for the business as a whole.

These are just some examples based on our recent experience of how your GDPR compliance programme can bring valuable opportunities to enhance your marketing. Success relies on careful scrutiny of your processes, attitudes and technology – but the result will be stronger customer relationships based on trust and a more targeted and informed approach to prospecting.

For more information, view the GDPR guidance on the Maximizer website.

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