The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that came into force in May 2018 were disruptive for many companies. On the plus side, the new regulations do provide much needed policies for consumers and businesses.
While it is understandable that many business owners are aggravated by the amount of extra work implementing GDPR cost their companies, the new data laws have long-term benefits for brands. You can collect better data, improve security and meet compliance with relative ease.
GDPR actually simplifies existing regulations. They eliminate much of the confusion caused by the Data Protection Directives that Google were hauled into court under, and harmonize data privacy laws.
The benefits of GDPR may not be immediately apparent to every business, but once your team organize how your firm will manage data, you will find you can use the new data privacy laws to your advantage.
Learn more about your customers
GDPR primarily focuses on first-party data that identifies individuals. When customers give you consent to collect and store their personal data, you have permission to create profiles that give you an opportunity learn more about your customers.
In an age when consumers not only demand personalized marketing but expect it, brands have no excuses to develop customer profiles. Subsequently, GDPR improves your inbound marketing potential to improve leads and secure a higher number of conversions.
GDPR can essentially be used as a prompt to revisit your marketing strategy and create a holistic program that enables you to direct your advertising towards the right people. This empowers marketers to build customer engagement, satisfaction and loyalty.
Improve inter-departmental communication
GDPR management runs across several regions of your business. The initiative to appoint a data manager to oversee GDPR compliance will involve improving communication channels between departments which you can use to review operational procedures.
Teams will have to work across departments which will mean reviewing and mapping data flows and restructuring operations to meet with compliance. The potential result of a new framework could improve business efficiency and reduce costs.
Improving communication channels between departments means you can share best practices and develop a stronger understanding of customer behavior across multiple touch points. Fostering a cohesive approach also allows you to develop policies and data security measurements that make your business better equipped for the digital age.
Build a compliance strategy
The new laws around data security may have caused confusion in the initial stages, but once the mist starts to clear, businesses have a vision of how GDPR can help to improve compliance across the organization.
Business leaders need to adopt GDPR as an opportunity to build, document and execute a comprehensive compliance strategy. Not only does this give you the opportunity to identify and mitigate potential risks, but also use data protection policies to increase data security and strengthen your corporate culture.
Companies that recognize the benefits of GDPR can improve transparency, efficiency, security and compliance. If you are still confused by the ethical grounds in which you are obligated to collect and store first-party data, ICLG can provide advice and assistance that not ensure you are compliant with GDPR but also enables you to enjoy the fruits of your labor.