In May earlier this year, the much talked about General Data Protection Regulation – or Gdpr – came into effect, which permanently changed the way that businesses collected, stored and used their customer data.

Businesses of all sizes were put under great pressure to ensure they complied with the new legislation, but GDPR wasn’t designed to stop businesses from engaging with their customers.

Simply put, GDPR means that customers across the EU now have much greater control over their personal data, and they can now feel assured that any information they give out is securely stored and protected.

For any Marketing team, GDPR might seem like a huge inconvenience and lots of extra work, but in reality, the new legislation isn’t a setback.  In fact, GDPR can be a great opportunity for your business.

Here are 5 reasons why:

1. It improves subscriber engagement

It’s all about quality over quantity.  GDPR would have resulted in many marketing teams losing a significant amount of their email list, but remember that not every email address on your list will be equally valuable.  Some emails on your list will belong to loyal customers, but some will also represent one-time buyers who otherwise have never engaged with your brand. 

As a result of targeting content to a more engaged contact list who actively want to hear from your company, email delivery rates will improve, which will mean that open and click rates will also improve. 

You can read a breakdown of the email marketing metrics that you should be monitoring by clicking here.

2. GDPR simplifies any previous privacy regulations

Keeping on top of your customers’ data can be tricky, but the ICO actually has a guide for you to follow which sets out all of the rules you need to follow to be GDPR compliant, as well as lots of other helpful resources on their website.

It’s also worth noting that any US and Canadian businesses that have a web presence may have some homework to do.  If you collect personal data from someone in an EU country, then your company is subject to the requirements of GDPR, regardless of the location of your business.

3. Better data leads to better marketing

Since the data you’re collecting is coming directly from your customers with their permission, it means it’s high quality, clean data which will lead you to better leads and a higher conversion rate.

For example, welcome emails, which are sent immediately after a sign up, can see open rates of 60% or more.  This is because these are contacts that WANT to hear from you and have taken action to do so.  A cleaner list will only replicate this level of engagement across your list.

4. It helps you to focus your marketing strategy

Using features like the double opt-in for your contact list ensures that your subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails.

GDPR means that you can concentrate your marketing plan on the data you have received from your loyal, engaged subscribers.  They genuinely want to receive and read your emails, and have opted in to do so.

5. You can build trust with your customers

People are loyal customers to brands who they feel like they know and trust.  Building trust comes from being transparent.  GDPR is an opportunity for your business because it ensures that your customers know who you are and what you are doing with their personal information.  If you can show your customers that you have their best interests and personal security at heart, then you will strengthen both trust and engagement.

Is your marketing team ready for GDPR?  You can download our free, step-by-step guide to GDPR compliance by clicking here.

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