94% of buyers unsubscribe to email, the GDPR and Data Protection Bill

As a business leader, the importance of the impending changes to data protection regulation will be no surprise. The digital economy is growing and so is the need for international consistency around data protection laws, safeguarding individuals’ personal information.

The new Data Protection Bill is expected to bring the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into domestic law, whilst GDPR itself will become enforceable as of Friday 25^th May 2018.

For organisations that are already employing best practices in marketing communications, it should have little impact on the way that they interact with their prospects and customers. For those that are not yet compliant, there is still time to act and there are plenty of resources available to support you.

The GDPR strengthens the rules around how personal data is stored and processed, including how consent is obtained and the right to access information. In addition to this, the Data Protection Bill will define the UK’s commitment to data protection and is expected to bring the GDPR into domestic law.

The Risk of Doing Nothing

Although there is a monetary penalty of up to 4% of annual global turnover or £17m, the real-life implication will be the inability to communicate with prospects and customers. For most B2B organisations, keeping your prospects and leads engaged will be your biggest challenge. The GDPR dictates that you must obtain “affirmative action” for consent to store and process personal data – or you must be able to show another lawful basis.

In other words, unless your prospects, leads and customers positively opt-in to receiving marketing communications from you, you cannot continue to communicate with them in the same way. Consent must also be specific, so you will no longer be able to claim consent by a generic ‘catch-all’ statement. This however, does not mean you cannot keep your pipeline engaged.

Get Found, Get Engaged, Get Inbound

With over 94% of buyers unsubscribing from emails (HubSpot,2016), traditional marketing is already changing – even without the GDPR. In order to get the attention of your prospects and customers, it is now imperative to be customer-centric and have the right content available to them, wherever they need it.

Inbound marketing is the strategy that allows you to maximise the use of technology whilst complementing your buyers’ behaviours. By creating awareness and interest for your organisation in an organic way, your audience will give you consent to engage with them when they are ready. Through this, you obtain the insight you need to create the content that gets you found and helps you to convert your prospects into customers faster, with fewer resources required.

Making Inbound Marketing Effective with the Source-In Plan

The most effective marketing engines have already adopted GDPR-compliant practices such as marketing preference centres and clear privacy policies.

Secret Source Marketing have developed the Source-In plan, which helps you to centre your marketing activity around your market and buyers, so you do more of the right things, waste less budget and have a more predictable pipeline and brand strategy. Source-In gives you the answers; what marketing activity and when is best for your company.

1. Your Mission

Whatever your business and marketing objective, we identity and understand the mission first.

2. Your Buyers

Understanding your audience, their behaviours and needs, we set the path for the right marketing activity.

3. Why You?

We get to your ‘why’. Why your company exists, what you do and how you do it, so your customers know why to buy from you over your rivals.

4. Content

We produce content and evidence that informs, educates, and builds trust at every stage of your audience’s journey.

5. Execution

Whether they start online or you need to proactively engage with buyers, we blend traditional and digital marketing and make it easy to find and select you.