By Kristin Connell
This is post 2 in our GDPR series – check out post 1: GDPR: What it Means for B2B Marketers.
In this post, we take the GDPR conversation further in terms of the readiness factor – are B2B marketers ready? According to recent survey results from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), 60 percent of marketers surveyed believe they’re on the right track for GDPR compliance by the deadline of May 25, 2018. In that same survey, 45 percent of marketers shared that GDPR will benefit their customers, with 39 percent reporting that their customer offering will improve due to GDPR.
On the other side of the track, recent Trend Micro research indicates there is some confusion as to exactly what Personally Identifiable Information (PII) needs to be protected as part of GDPR:
- 64 percent were unaware that a customer’s date of birth is PII
- 42 percent wouldn’t classify email marketing databases as PII
- 32 percent don’t consider physical addresses as PII
- 21 percent don’t see a customer’s email address as PII
These results indicate that organizations are not as prepared or secure as they believe themselves to be. Any business not properly protecting this information is at risk of a breach and subsequent penalty fine. As we stated in our Part 1 post, the penalty fine could be as much as 4% of annual turnover.
Whether you’re a marketer in the 60 percent “on the right track” category or a marketer in the “an email marketing database isn’t PII” category, we have a 4-phase approach for helping you to get to the finish line!
4 phases to GDPR success for B2B marketers:
Phase 1 – Audit and Planning
We don’t know what we don’t know about your current setup, so we start by focusing on the key areas of data and systems along with your email preference center design, opt-in/out process design and engaged audience reporting.
Phase 2 – Implementation
Now, we’re ready to build the approved solution – for one of our global customer’s this included a relatively light update to their email preference center and very little else. In another customer’s project, the approved solution was broader in nature as they hadn’t yet truly aligned their campaign forms, opt-in/out process and email preference center.
Phase 3 – Go-Live Readiness
This is our “making a list, checking it twice” phase as we need to ensure that the approved solution is still the solution we want to launch and that we have the proper reports in place to track and prioritize performance results.
Phase 4 – Support and Monitoring
And go! We provide your B2B marketing team with the support you need to monitor the launch and subsequent activities of your GDPR solution as well as manage analysis and reporting to ensure ongoing success.
With six months to go until GDPR goes into effect, and possibly still multiple hurdles to overcome, you still have time to ensure your team crosses the finish line – check out more about our GDPR services for B2B marketers today.
Stay tuned for Part 3 in our GDPR blog series where we spotlight the numerous opportunities GDPR provides for B2B marketers to improve the customer experience.
Note: This blog post and the linked content, if any, is not intended to include, nor should be construed to include, any legal advice or business solution addressing the content, interpretation or application of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) generally or specifically to any client’s or potential client’s circumstances. Sojourn Solutions advises all parties to seek qualified legal counsel regarding the applicability of GDPR to their processing of any personal data, including and especially through any third-party products and/or services.
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