4.
B2B Marketing and
Communications
Thankfully, business-to-business
marketing isn’t affected nearly as much
as business-to-consumer marketing. All
the rules regarding email communica-
tions discussed above—namely, that
people must opt-in to promotional
emails before they can be contacted—
go out the window for B2B marketing. If
you’re a resource partner that’s trying to
market to spas, you’re still allowed to do
that, because direct marketing is
considered a “legitimate business
interest”—an important criterion, as
discussed earlier. However, you do have
to provide anyone you contact, even an
individual at a business, an easy way to
opt-out. This can take the form of a
simple written request, via email, or as
an “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” button
that’s included in the template of your
promotional emails.
5.
Public relations How public
relations will be affected by GDPR
is more nebulous, because public relations
sits halfway between B2B and B2C
marketing. Pitching press releases and
story ideas to journalists—European
journalists, that is—could now constitute
unwelcome promotional contact under
GDPR, according to SuperOffice. However,
this rule may only apply to freelance
journalists; journalists working directly for
an organization such as a newspaper or a
website could be considered a form of
B2B marketing. B2B marketing, as noted
above, is largely unaffected by GDPR.
Britain’s Information Commissioner’s
Office is responsible for upholding the
rules of GDPR in the United Kingdom and
writes that “these rules on consent… do
“Because gdPr
forces businesses to
be more focused in
their approach to
data collection, your
marketing will actually
become more specific
and effective.”
not apply to electronic marketing
messages sent to ‘corporate subscribers.”
And according to consultancy group the
Marketing Eye, “Lead Forensics, a B2B lead
generation software tool, have also
confirmed that it’s their understanding
that you can continue to email individuals
at a business.”
tHe good NeWs
This all sounds pretty complex—and in
some ways it is. But there’s good news,
too. First, complying with this isn’t
actually that difficult. As long as you only
email customers who have consented to
being emailed, notify users of your
website that you use cookies and allow
customers to be removed from your
database, your marketing efforts will be
GDPR compliant.
Second, because GDPR forces
businesses to be more focused in their
approach to data collection, your
marketing will actually become more
specific and effective. Writes SuperOffice,
“GDPR will lead to an increase in data
quality… it’s an opportunity to delve
deeper into the needs of prospects and
customers, rather than using the tradi-
tional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.” By
segmenting out the specific types of
emails your customers want to receive
you can more accurately pinpoint who is
receiving each email as well as what their
interests, values and needs are.
Third, this is a golden opportunity to
better educate customers through content
marketing. Instead of just collecting their
information, allow them to download
product brochures, training materials or
guides to at-home spa treatments in
exchange for providing their email address
and consenting to further marketing. Not
only does this get a potential customer on
your email list, but it also provides them
something valuable upfront and gets them
interested in your spa or products.
easier doNe tHaN said
If you’ve made it this far, I (and probably
your lawyer, too) applaud you. GDPR
seems anything but simple, but it can
really be boiled down to a few sentences.
GDPR has been in effect since May 25 of
this year. It protects any European subject
and does not apply to anyone from the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Thailand,
Uzbekistan, or any other non-EU country.
For Europeans, you must have their
consent to collect data, you must allow
them to access or remove that data, and
the data you collect for marketing must be
for a legitimate reason.
And speaking of lawyers: talk to yours.
The fines for violating GDPR can be quite
severe, so if you think your business’
marketing efforts might be impacted by
GDPR, seek legal counsel. Only your
lawyer will be able to properly and fully
advise you on how GDPR will affect your
business. n
take a look at the entire eu
legislation at gdpr-info.eu.
disClaiMer: the content of this article is not legal advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
August 2018
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