GDPR…One year later.
It’s been a year since the General Data Protection Regulations were introduced. So, what’s changed?
Well, despite the initial panic, it would seem not all that much.
From a personal point of view, I really like the power it’s given me over my own information. I choose who I want to hear from, and if I don’t like it, I can disengage with ease.
And despite still getting the odd phone call about an accident that wasn’t my fault, one swift mention of the ICO seems to make them disappear.
I’ve also noticed firms that I haven’t dealt with for some time suddenly emailing me again so perhaps it’s given businesses an excuse to review and refresh their marketing strategies in a positive way.
Sadly though, despite my own experience, research from Marketing Week, suggests that just 31% of consumers think their overall experience with companies has improved.
It’s safe to say that the initial introduction of the new legislation caused some panic. I remember my mortgage adviser ringing me to ask for permission to ring me again when my mortgage comes up for renewal in two years time. We definitely made it harder than it had to be.
I also remember seeing a remark online that ‘it didn’t matter if you lost paper-based financial statements because there was nothing anybody could do with that information anyway’ which to me, signalled that some education in this area was long overdue.
A year later though and it does seem that we’ve all started to get a handle on it. We’re finally seeing that, while requiring some changes, GDPR was meant to be a good thing for all involved.
As a marketer, I’m much happier knowing that the people on my mailing list are those who want to be there and are actively engaged with hearing what we have to say.
Marketing Week’s article ‘Why GDPR is no longer the wolf at the door’ suggests that, “the majority of marketers have seen an increase in email open rates (74%) and click-through rates (75%) over the past 12 months, while a large chunk have reported a reduction in opt-out rates (41%) and spam complaints (55%) over the past year.”
It also reminds us of the opportunity to contact our clients, checking in with them to make sure their details haven’t changed and to see if there’s anything we can do for them in the meantime.
That said, it hasn’t been a garden of roses for everyone. In fact, there have been some 10,000 data breaches in Britain since the regulation came into force, though only 91 fines according to the New Statesman.
For me, this statistic was inevitable, the new laws were bound to take some getting used to but I am glad to see businesses taking responsibility for their actions, holding their hands up when things go wrong and hopefully putting things right in good time so that their clients aren’t put at any further risk.
What’s your experience of GDPR been so far?
All views are my own.
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