How GDPR has split modern marketing down the middle

It’s been almost a year and a half since the introduction of GDPR and the ripple effect is still being felt among marketers — but not necessarily in the way the industry might expect. Instead of holistically creating a wave of more secure and trustworthy communications, the new European regulations have proven to create a division among marketers as businesses take different approaches of addressing (or not addressing) GDPR.

In one camp, are the marketers (and companies) who simply haven’t complied. This may be because they’re skirting GDPR out of misunderstanding how to handle this complex issue, or it isn’t a priority due to limited resources. They honestly may not care enough, thinking that the regulations don’t apply to them because they’re a small business, based in a non-GDPR country, or feel it doesn’t involve B2B marketing. Whatever the reason for not complying, these marketers—in companies big or small—choose not to implement GDPR as they carry on with business as usual.

In the other, there are those paralysed by a lack of understanding or resources, so they go with the “better safe than sorry” approach. Rather than getting a firm grasp on the regulations or finding the resources to be compliant, they’ve stopped business in GDPR-regulated countries for fear of being in the wrong. This especially applies to international firms, some of which have pulled out of Europe entirely due to the robust overhaul required to be compliant. There’s been expectations that over the course of this past year, they’d allocate resources to get business back up in Europe, though it’s surprising how many companies remain out of the area to avoid GDPR all together.

In the middle of these two extremes are the marketers (and, in turn, companies) which have complied and continue to do so as they move forward creating personalised, effective strategies. They recognise that when it comes to GDPR, effort counts. As the consequences of GDPR roll out, we’re learning just how much making the effort to be compliant—even if it’s not perfect—can have between an inconvenient fine versus a business-going-under fine. Bottom line: Regulators are going after any and all businesses, no matter their size, as they seek how seriously the company is taking these compliances.

How marketers can be GDPR-compliant

Before GDPR, B2B and B2C marketers alike started with the same basic question: How do we get our message to our audiences? Now, the question is similar, but with a twist: How do we get our audiences to engage, so that we can gather consent and open a dialogue?

The answer for marketing teams is two-fold. Firstly, marketers need to assess their strategies and processes, and truthfully evaluate which above camp their company falls in. For those that recognise they need to change their approach (whether that’s to proactively protect their business, or tap back into the European market for business growth), the best place to start compliance implementation is with technology.

Specifically for marketers, marketing automation plays a significant role in compliance for personalised communications. While it doesn’t comprehensively make a company GDPR-compliant, marketing automation meets GDPR requirements for managing consent that includes:

• Capturing content from web tracking
• Capturing consent through double opt-in
• Managing withdrawals from the company’s database

Which makes this technology tool instrumental in answering modern marketing’s revised basic question. Marketing automation serves as the Data Processor and the company is the Data Controller (note this shared responsibility), managing the AI-based personalisation process for marketers to continue opening dialogues with customers and prospects that give permission to be contacted.

Andrew Kugler is the product manager of email and compliance at Act-On Software, the leading Adaptive Marketing solution for mid-market enterprises. He is a recovering attorney who found refuge from the legal world in the simple world of privacy and compliance through the easy-to-read and parse regulatory frameworks of Can-Spam, GDPR, and CASL. Through his years at Act-On, he has become an expert in deliverability and GDPR regulations.