What does GDPR mean to you?
For consumers, the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been a cleansing process. Yes, they could have unsubscribed at any time but being selective in accepting invitations to opt-in has empowered them to let only the organisations they value through their digital gateways.
For businesses, particularly those with a B2C remit, GDPR may have seemed like a pain to prepare for, and new ways of working will take time to bed in, but perhaps the consumer cleansing process will pay dividends for companies too.
As the winds of change subside, a more valuable customer data set will remain; the wheat now clearly separated from the chaff.
Those who have consented to stay on your database will have purposefully done so as people with a genuine interest in, affinity with and loyalty to the products and services you provide.
They represent the distilled essence of your most engaged followers, a group who have self-selected to renew their bond with you and as such, they provide an undiluted pool from which to gather fresh insights about what your most valuable and profitable customers truly value.
Seizing this moment to redesign your future customer experience to meet their needs and expectations, and in doing so become a much more customer-centred organisation, is an opportunity not to be missed. In fact, for businesses looking to grow and reach new markets, it’s essential.
The new restrictions on mass, unsolicited e-marketing mean your customer experience has to become a promotional tool - the central component of your brand’s marketing proposition.
- How can you create signature experiences so valuable and desirable they become viral?
- How can you design solutions with reciprocal value in sharing data at their heart?
- How can you build stronger relationships through experiences that go beyond transactions?
There are also aspects of the legislation that require businesses to undertake new activities and follow new processes, and these will need to be designed. Data portability, responding to information requests and fulfilling a consumer’s right to be forgotten are all requirements of the new regulations. Which companies will see the opportunity to make a positive lasting impression by doing these things well?
With GDPR there are new reasons for organisations to change the way they think about, design and deliver services and customer experiences as the drivers of performance, profit and growth. Take this opportunity to reconnect with your most engaged customers.
