The implementation date for GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is fast approaching and whilst to some it might seem quite daunting, at Ultimate, we want to share with you why and how GDPR might actually have a beneficial impact on your business!
In case you’re not already familiar with GDPR, please read our previous blog 'What is GDPR?' where we demystify what it could actually mean to you and how it is likely to impact your business.
If you’re already clued up on what GDPR means for you but a little nervous about the potentially negative impact it can have upon you, you’re in the right place! Whilst there are certain challenging aspects to GDPR coming into effect, there are also numerous advantages to businesses. So, grab a cuppa, sit back and learn why GDPR might not be all doom and gloom after all!
Four Benefits of GDPR:
1. Statistics mean never having to say you’re certain…
At the heart of any marketing decisions lay a foundation of, hopefully, solid statistics. Based on these statistics, we will make decisions on all sorts of things from paid advertising and the angle of a marketing campaign to the target audience of an email send or your keyword strategy.
But how can you be sure that your statistics are accurate? Let’s take the example of an email campaign. Have you ever spent time pondering why your well thought-out and planned email send didn’t achieve your target open or click-through rate? How could that be? You have looked at the past performance of emails, segmented your database and still not hit your target. Have you ever considered the state of your email database? Is it possible that the quality of your email database is bringing down your KPIs? When ensuring GDPR compliance, it is always a good idea to go through your database and ensure that the people you are targeting are being rightfully marketed to. By cleansing your database, your email KPIs are sure to improve and more importantly, be even more accurate for you to base your decisions on in the future.
What’s not to like? A clean database and more accurate stats!
2. Satisfaction is a rating. Loyalty is a brand.
In order to ensure compliance with GDPR, absolute confidence in the security protecting your customers’ data is absolutely essential. In today’s age, software and technology touch almost every aspect of life and in turn we become ever more dependent on technology as it becomes more and more integrated in our daily lives.
According to a recent study by Gemalto, 49% of consumers are willing to take action against breached companies and a whopping 64% of consumers say they are unlikely to do business with a company where their financial or sensitive data was stolen. This shows that it is more important than ever to take your customers’ data protection seriously if you want to ensure loyalty to your brand. So, if you ever needed even more incentive to ensure tight security, GDPR is exactly that; putting the right actions into place will minimise the risk of compromise to the data you are protecting.
By treating your customers’ data in the most secure way, you will see a great level of loyalty and consumer confidence in return. Win, win!
3. You can’t buy a good reputation; you must earn it.
In a similar way to brand loyalty, a brand’s reputation is tied directly into the way an organisation is viewed and respected. In a report by NTT security, the question “if your information was stolen in a security breach, how would your organization be affected” was asked. In response, 55% said that loss of confidence was the main concern, followed by damage to brand/reputation (51%) and direct financial loss (43%).
In addition to this, according to Forbes, 46 percent of companies have suffered reputational damage due to a data breach. Part of this can be attributed to the rise of social media. Many people have been in the position that they have made a formal complaint via email which has simply been ignored; this is mostly a problem of the past now that the public can air their complaints and concerns publicly via social media. It is widely known that by making a complaint via social media, you are much more likely to get a quick and valid response than if you do it behind the closed doors of an email complaint.
With this being the case, a data breach could be detrimental to your company’s reputation, not least because of publications spreading the word but because of social media and the profound impact that it can have on a company’s reputation.
4. True Cyber Security is preparing for what is next, not what was last.
In 2017, the average cost of a data breach for a UK business was £2.48 million. By introducing the level of security that is required in order to be GDPR compliant, the risk you run of a data breach can be considerably reduced. Whilst there is extra work involved in being compliant with the regulations coming into place on the 25th of May 2018, reducing risk of the threat of a data breach can only be beneficial in the future. It will also encourage more streamlined systems to be put in place which, whilst in the short term require a level of input in terms of time and money, over the long term will really reduce outgoings.
So, there are some benefits to come out of GDPR?
Yes, whilst it is true that GDPR will change the way businesses conduct both their marketing and security procedures, and yes there is a level of upfront work required, there are absolutely some benefits to GDPR that we can embrace. After all, we cannot change the upcoming amendments to legislation and so it is our responsibility to find the positives that can be taken from the entire experience.
Let us know via social media what other benefits you think will be had thanks to GDPR!
