You may have experienced many changes to your business since the announcement of Brexit and no one could fail deny that many businesses have suffered more than anticipated, with some on the brink of closure. In these early break-away stages, before Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty has been signed, sealed and delivered, there is a lot of insecurity among business owners who worry about losing customers or potential contracts due to this big change.

As a UK data supplier who cares about the growth of your business, we thought we would look at the new changes posed by the GDPR and what this will mean for the data that you hold about your customers and potential prospects.

What Is The GDPR?

It may seem odd to think that Brexit could be a cause of concern for your business data usage, however please read on to understand more about new changes in the way the data you use is regulated.

GDPR means “General Data Protection Regulation” and is set out to ensure that any data, (whether for marketing material that will be directed at businesses or consumers, or otherwise) is freely given, is specific to the recipients needs and requirements and that those recipients have given the sender the right for their data to be used for the purpose at hand.

Protection Against Spam

In general, a person will receive frequent emails, calls and sometimes texts from companies that know what that person likes because they have signed up to receive this information, either by way of filling in a form first-hand at an event or by ticking a box to receive information via 3rd parties, through an online coupon for example. This is called opted-in information on the prospect that has been given freely.

The opposite of this, is that you will have those companies who intend to send spam emails to your inbox and don’t care that they are sending informative which is either superlative to your needs or pester you with phone calls. These GDPR changes have come to light to ensure that companies are more aware of what information they hold on their prospects, making sure that they are sending out truly relevant information that benefits you and also protects you as a consumer.

Misuse of Data – What Would Be The Impact?

If you don’t regularly check on the quality and accuracy of your business and/consumer database, as per the GDPR recommendations, then you are not prepared for the potential impact on how your business will fair when these new changes come in – what if you experience sudden drop-offs, potential fines or bad press, how will you cope with the after effect?

If you are a business or individual that sends out email campaigns, makes sales calls or sends direct mail, you still have time to make important changes to the way that you collect and utilise the data you hold, before the GDPR changes will be enforced in May 2018. [source: https://dma.org.uk/research/the-gdpr-and-you-chapter-two]. 

(Continues next week…)