If you’re a business owner, than you need to know what GDPR is and how it can affect your marketing efforts. Chances are you may have never heard of GDPR because it originated in the European Union. If you think it doesn’t affect you or your business because of that reason, think again. If you have customers in the European Union, then you need to not only be aware of what the GDPR is, but how to be compliant with GDPR while still marketing your business.
What is GDPR?
GDPR, or the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, went into effect in May of 2018. It’s one of the biggest data privacy acts in the past 20 years. It aims to protect the personal information of anyone in the European Union. If your company receives web traffic from European Union visitors, then you must comply with the GDPR even if your business is physically located in the United States.
The GDPR replaces the Data Protection Directive of 1995. The Data Directive was outdated and failed to address issues like how data is stored, collected, and transferred in the digital age.
Becoming Compliant with GDPR
The GDPR is very specific as to what companies need to do to be GDPR compliant. The GDPR sets out seven key principles. They are:
- Lawfulness, fairness and transparency : You need to be up front about why you’re collecting someone’s information.
- Purpose limitation: Be sure to stay true to your promise and inform your clients about why you’re gathering their information.
- Data minimization: Only collect the data you need. Under the GDPR, you have to justify the amount of data you collected, so be sure you’re only getting what you need.
- Accuracy: Make sure the information you’re collecting is accurate. Any outdated data needs to be discarded.
- Storage limitation: Keep the data for a certain amount of time for when you need to use it. Don’t intend on storing it forever because you’re not going to need it forever.
- Integrity and confidentiality (security): Keep data secure. Don’t let it get in the wrong hands and put people’s confidential information at risk.
- Accountability: Make sure you are able to record and prove compliance. Under the GDPR, you need to be able to prove accountability at any time and show you are GDPR compliant.
Tips to be GDPR compliant
The main thing to remember about the GDPR is that it’s all about protecting people’s personal information. Everything you do is aimed toward that effort.
If your company collects personal information to send emails or do any other type of marketing, then you must first get consent before obtaining that information. Also, don’t ask for information you don’t need or don’t intend to use. This is another way to be sure you’re GDPR compliant. This way, there are no questions about what you intend to do with that personal information.
Another thing to be aware of is that if you offer a piece of content on your website and then ask for the person’s email address in order for them to see it, you must be very clear about how their information is going to be used. You must also give them the choice to opt out of future emails and provide a link to your GDPR compliant privacy policy. By law, you shouldn’t send any emails to people in the European Union unless you comply with the GDPR. Doing so is a violation that could get you in trouble.
GDPR Violations
If you violate the rules of the GDPR you can not only can you face fines, but you also run the risk of portraying your business in a bad light. People want to do business with companies they can trust. If people can’t trust you not to send them email they don’t want, how can they trust the services or products you’re providing? You can still you obtain a person’s information as long as you are crystal clear that you intend to market to them and follow all of the rules.
One way to be sure you are GDPR compliant in your marketing efforts is to use mailing lists from secure providers such as Data Masters.
Mailing Lists & GDPR
Consider this example…
If you’re selling auto related products, DataMasters can develop an email list of car enthusiasts based on factors like geography, car make and model, as well as demographics. If your business is directly related to one brand of car, you can even get a mailing list geared specifically towards people who own that brand. This can dramatically increase your success rate so that you are targeting the right people.
You can be sure that any data collected adheres to GDPR regulations.
If you are collecting information to send out emails and are using lists from DataMasters, people can be sure you have taken the time to do it right, which shines a positive light on your business. If you’re ready to get the most of your marketing campaign and become GDPR compliant, let DataMasters show you how. Our team of experts can develop mailing lists that get results!