solviNg iNdustry ProBleMs
in the number of people who are being
served targeted ads.
So, the next time you set up a digital
ad campaign, you may try using
contextual ads instead. In essence,
contextual ads work by serving ads to
people who are looking at relevant
content that particular moment. For
example, if a potential spa customer
were to hover over a Facebook post by a
cosmetics company, then Facebook
places an ad right next to it for your
skincare company. Because this is based
on site usage rather than a “data
profile,” this is allowed under GDPR.
email Marketing Get ready
to double-check your database.
Unless you can confirm that you have
explicitly received someone’s consent to
email them promotional content, you’ll
need to cease further marketing commu-
nication. This includes customers who
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are already in your database.
Don’t panic—things like receipts
for purchases or reminders of upcoming
spa visits don’t count. But email
newsletters, product updates, new
menu offerings or promotional offers
are strictly off-limits unless the recipient
has already opted in to receive promo-
tional emails.
Once you get a person’s consent to
contact them you’ll need to save a
record of that consent. The International
Association of Privacy Professionals
(IAPP) recommends keeping records of
the person’s name; the consent form at
the time of consent; and either a dated
document, note, or data capture that
indicates when (and how) consent was
given. All of this this can be done easily
in CRM software that pulls in consent
data from a user’s account or from a
website signup form. Of course, it can
also be done via good old-fashioned
print-outs and file folders.
And again: for now, this only applies
to European customers, but it’s probably
a good idea to take this approach with
all customers if you can.
3.
account and Newsletter
signups If you’re a resource
partner with an online store and user
accounts, make sure that customers
aren’t automatically signed up for
promotional emails by default. When
they create an account, any boxes for
opting-in to emails or communications
must be left unchecked by default, and
you can’t just refer them to a privacy
statement that covers everything: “The
GDPR does away with implied consent
and pre-ticked boxes,” wrote The
Marketing Dive, “and puts the onus on
companies to show that the data subject
has fully understood and agreed to what
they’re being asked to consent to.”