5 Key Benefits that GDPR Brings to Your Marketing (and Sales)!

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is dominating the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Whilst industry commentators and journalists have focused on the huge fines and reputational damage associated with non-compliance, few have actually pinpointed the advantages for businesses. I am not going to go over the things you need to do or don't to be compliant. You are probably wide aware about all of it. Just do it! You need to, you have to! Get a consultant if you are not able to do it in house (that is probably the case). The only thing I will mention here is don't just comply your business, comply your mindset! Yours and your employees'. It is all about the alternative meaning of GDPR = Give Data Proper Respect. Understand this and all other things will fall into place.

More than this, let's see the full part of the glass. GDPR brings a lot of opportunities on the table and it will raise the bar for quality and innovative marketing.

1. Personalized and more efficient marketing

When it comes to digital marketing, we know that personalization is key. And marketers have been saying for a while. Now, more than ever, this is crucial. Make sure your data is up to date, accurate and well structured. Just by going through a data audit (usually the first step while implementing GDPR rules), companies will start to better understand customers and start building compelling and personalized offers. On the other hand, customers who give permission for businesses to use their data in line with GDPR are much more likely to engage, giving businesses a list of ready-qualified, open targets for relevant communications.

2. Intelligent, data-driven marketing.

Facts and figures! Finally, more businesses will have to take the guess factor out of their marketing!

A recent Jaywing research says that most marketing teams have still been unable to implement data-driven marketing in their companies, even though most want to. Although 92% of marketers see better management of their data as a priority, only 8% are currently personalizing customer communications across all channels.

Even more, just 57% of teams said they had the right data skills and resources to support data-driven marketing and only 50% think they are using the right data management approach. GDPR is an opportunity for marketers to get back on track with data-driven marketing.

3. The marketer becomes the VIP

There is a huge opportunity now to raise the profile of marketing within the organization. Marketers need to step up to the challenge presented by GDPR and take the lead in developing the culture of privacy demanded by the ICO. This should highlight the importance of marketing among senior leaders and increase the credibility of the function within the business.

4. Sales gets more qualified leads

Because contacts will need to clearly opt in to receive your communications, only the most engaged prospects are likely to remain in your databases. You will be communicating only with the most valuable customers and prospects; those that really want to hear and buy from you!

With smaller numbers of contacts, you will have more time to enhance the data you hold. With better data on these already-engaged prospects, your sales will benefit from more qualified leads out of the investment and spend less time on nurturing and chasing lost cases.

5. (More) Push towards social marketing

No more mass emailing campaigns and no more spam newsletters (hopefully)!

In contrast to direct marketing, all social marketing channels (should) have by default an opt-in from the consumer and therefore the move towards social communication and social selling should be a major focus for marketers. We foresee a major negative business impact on companies that try to remain on the traditional path of direct marketing and do not switch to new, innovative ways of personalized social communication.

Moving to a permission-based marketing approach requires significant changes within the business and the technology linked to it. Compliant marketing automation solutions will also see a rise.

Now, it is still understandable for a marketer or sales person to feel overwhelmed by the requirements of GDPR. Its complexity can be daunting and unclear at stages, yet underneath the prescriptive text, there is vast opportunity to make business and marketing activity compatible with our digital future. Still, responsible companies should not fear GDPR, but learn to work with it to unlock data-driven marketing practices. Once you come to peace with this, your marketing activity will have higher success rates and impact on the right type of audience.

Still not sure how you can turn GDPR in an advantage? Give us a message, we have a pretty good idea on how to make this work for you.