Will GDPR Kill Outbound Marketing?

1. GDPR for Outbound Marketing By MarketJoy, Inc. 1 | P a g e

2. GDPR for Outbound Marketing (Cold Email Marketing) Coming on May 25th, 2018, EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is one of the greatest change in data security in 20 years. Ruling the headlines, this new regulation states that any company that processes, stores or uses data related to an EU citizen will be subject to citations and accompanies fines for noncompliance - even with just one customer. With merely a few days left for it to get implemented, it is required for the US companies to put a plan in place well in time for their Outbound Marketing Practices. But, first, dig deep into the know-how of GDPR. What is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations)? GDPR being a regulation requires businesses to secure the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for any sort of transactions that happen within EU member states. Non-compliance may cost companies dearly. With GDPR businesses need to be much clearer with the information that they receive and hold on people and give them more control over it. Now, an awful lot of businesses which are particularly outside the EU have suddenly realized the extraterritorial nature of the regulations and have been assuming it is an easy “tick the box” Exercise, this is a shock. The implications of GDPR for the US companies that collect, process or maintain the personal data of individuals located within the EU is significant and compliance is compulsory. This regulation will have an impact on the collection of personal data of EU citizens with its use, and maintenance and will give individuals more control over their data. Consumers will hold the right to be informed about the collection of their information. Consumers also hold the right to object about how their data is being used and that includes direct marketing. In case, companies automatically process data to make assumptions about a person for marketing, they can also object to profiling. GDPR Compliance for US Companies If any organization manages data that includes even one EU citizen and is not properly complying with the new GDPR, the organization can face fines up to 4% of its global revenue. It is definitely critical to understand the regulation and what one has to do to comply. This certainly requires a change of behavior for many companies. Under this regulation, U.S.-based travel, software services, hospitality and e-commerce companies will have to take a good and closer look at their online marketing practices. Additionally, a U.S. company that has identified a market in an EU country with localized web content are required to review their web operations. The EU is serious about a uniform data and privacy law for its market and has already changed the Web practices of major U.S. companies. To get the attention of multinationals, the GDPR introduces significant fines. U.S. companies, especially those with a strong web presence, should be paying attention and changing practices now and not waiting to become a headline two year down the road. 2 | P a g e

3. Will GDPR Kill Outbound Marketing? NO! If your email marketing complies with the new regulation, Outbound Marketing can still exist. Outbound Marketing has long been there with direct marketing and the data purchase list. With the advent of GDPR, there is a rapidly closing window for the viability of the intrusively collected contact information. The reason being that these contacts are not consented to a specific contact method, instead, they just gave it out accidentally agreeing to a general marketing consent. GDPR is going to prevent this by forcing companies to get an explicit consent and keep a record of this consent. The consent only applies to the specific contact method, so an individual who has just consented to an email cannot be contacted in any other way but, an email. It’s true, not all cold emails are the same—and so GDPR may apply slightly differently, depending on who you’re contacting. GDPR Guide for Cold Email Senders ✓In case of cold emailing and building a list yourself, the organization needs an assurance that each person on the list is likely to get benefit from the business-related offer. ✓Moreover, the purpose of the email or the offer being made in the message should be clearly connected with the business. It is about having a transparent process in place for acquiring personal data that can be presented in detail if someone ever asks. ✓GDPR requires the organizations to simplify the language of consents. This is being done to ensure that a person who is about to give a consent to process their personal data is fully aware while giving the consent. How to Do Cold B2B Email Marketing Post-GDPR The EU working parties that introduced the new regulation noted that the words are still quite loose when it comes to cold email. The reason is, this regulation leaves this alone decision on the individual countries within the EU whether cold B2B email should be included in opt-in or opt-out. With GDPR having a complete focus on personal data protection, the companies need to ensure that email marketing campaigns to businesses remain in sync with general cold email marketing basic requirements. This comprises an obvious opt-out mechanism, relevant subject line, legitimate physical address listed, an accurate sender field, treat sole traders and individual business owners as no-go areas. The companies should instantly remove people who choose to opt-out. Additionally, seeking independent legal advice in case of in-depth questions or want to take specific action could work the way out. 3 | P a g e

4. How MarketJoy do Outbound Email Marketing Effectively? MarketJoy helps B2B companies in the US to accelerate their sales pipeline and amplify their revenue. We do very hyper-personalized and highly targeted email marketing with an opt-out option. As it is required for each B2B cold email to provide a way for the addressee to sign out of further correspondence, we make it a point to inform the addressee. Even before processing their personal data and we tell them the necessity of doing that. We also let them know what to do in case they want to have their personal data removed. We keep the language simple and clear while keeping the subject line as an accurate reflection of the email content. Stay alert and be future proof! Originally Published at: MarketJoy, Inc. Blog 4 | P a g e