Will GDPR Stop Marketing?

When this EU data privacy law was announced, the business world was aflutter with real concerns that GDPR would stop marketing dead in its tracks.

This law has been designed to protect the personal data of EU residents; it is one of the strictest of its kind anywhere in the world, placing substantial limits on what companies can do with such information.

Indeed, the collection of personal data is so integral to digital marketing that it is almost impossible to imagine eCommerce without it today.

However, any concerns that it was the death knell for data-driven marketing and the personalization of the customer experience have proved deeply unfounded.

So no, GDPR has not, and will not, stop marketing.

However, it has undoubtedly forced companies to change how they go about communicating with prospects and customers - this is no bad thing, and this article will take a critical look at why.
 

Businesses Need Marketers More than Ever

For marketers, the great thing about GDPR is the way that it has increased the importance of their departments within the wider company profile.

Before this new data privacy age, personal data was not something that company executives put a huge amount of thought into. 

Even marketers saw data privacy concerns as at least an annoyance and an unnecessary, cumbersome infringement on their ability to increase the efficiency of communications and to customize the consumer experience.

Now, business leaders understand the huge risks posed to their companies by the poor management of personal data. 

For, beyond the potential for financial sanctions (up to €20 million or 4% of total global revenue from the previous financial year - whichever is greatest), there is the damage to a company’s reputation and the long term revenue potential to consider.

Given this, marketers have almost been fast-tracked to VIP status, with executives knowing that competent marketing that meets GDPR requirements will make or break their business.

Time to ask for a payrise!
 

GDPR is a Benefit to Companies

Admittedly, it has not been easy for companies to meet GDPR standards for data protection. 

Noone really appreciates extra work and, four years after it came into force, businesses are still finding it difficult to meet GDPR requirements.

This is hardly helped by the lack of clear guidelines from the European Commission, with many businesses remaining unsure as to whether or not they’re actually meeting data privacy standards.

Nevertheless, the work done here is already benefiting companies as a whole. 

Beyond bringing consistency across platforms, compliance has also been great for income, with results from Cisco’s 2020 Data Privacy Benchmark Study showing that: