Data privacy is not a road block, it's a marketing (and sales) asset

With new laws and regulations popping up constantly, marketers usually fear the changes that might impact their activities and disrupt their processes. But a change in perspective is helpful to get the best out of data privacy laws.

Content:

1. The UX of your cookie opt-in is important
2. Wording matters
3. A double-opt-in results in a better lead
4. Deletion laws can keep your data quality high
5. Proper data privacy processes ensure transparency

From cookie consent to the double opt-in - data security and privacy laws have changed a lot of processes for marketing (and sales and service) teams in the last years and differ widely from country to country. The "wild west" of data collection and usage is long gone, companies have to adhere to international and local regulations or face high penalties.

For most business teams, these changes are usually seen as a hindrance. And it's true: lead generation would be easier without the double-opt-in (the second, active consent of a user to store and process their data after they entered their email once). And even users usually dislike the cookie banners on every single website.

But with the right approach and attitude, marketing teams can turn their data security tasks into a boon for their brand image, customer relationships and customer experiences. 

Transparency and clarity regarding any data processes is a key to create trusting relationships with your customers. 

In the following, I want to name advantages that can be leveraged by adhering to existing data regulations. 

The UX of your cookie opt-ins is important

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Every single internet user knows them: the wide variety of cookie banners and pop-ups. These are often one of the first interactive touchpoints a website visitor has with a company. So why is it then, that so many of these cookie banners are not only complicated but also try to deceit users to accept all data usage?

Sure, a complicated process vs. a simple click can lead to the user "giving in" but it will leave a bad taste that is closely associated with your company.

A simple but clear pop-up that makes it easy for the user to set their preferences (no matter their choice) communicates that your company not only respects the time of the user but also trusts them to make the right decision.

Wording matters

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Double-opt-in emails and consent cookie banners are usually what you would call "transactional" communication. They are not technically part of marketing activities but they are part of the customer journey and therefore should be included in your general communication activities.

Often enough, companies use generic text templates instead of infusing their transactional mails with their own personality.

An ideal transactional text should be:

• informative
• easy to understand
• to the point
• friendly

This sounds easy but it can be quite challenging depending on the message you want to convey.

A double-opt-in results in a better lead

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Whether you work with B2B or B2C audiences - it's not just the numbers that count but the quality. 1000 leads will not do you any good, if 999 of them never actually had any intentions of purchasing your product or service.

However, a double-opt-in - even though it usually results in less leads - already shows that a contact is interested enough in your company and/or content to actively agree to engage with you. This is not a bug - it's a feature.

If you manage to provide your contacts with a good reason why a Double-Opt-In creates more value, you'll automatically have higher quality leads that clearly are interested in your company.

Deletion laws keep your data quality high

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In Europe, the GDPR states that even double opt-ins can become "outdated" and either need an update or should result in the deletion of the contact data. At first glance, this might be a bad thing but actually, this can be an opportunity to:

• contact dormant leads and incentivize them,
• clean your data base and ...
• ... optimize your overall results by getting rid of inactive leads.

Hundreds if not thousands of dormant, inactive leads that have no interest in your content and products, can actually harm your KPI. Yes, you might have more leads but their engagement, click and conversion rates will be much worse.

By using data privacy laws as motivator to regularly spring clean your data base, you can revitalize dormant leads or let them go in good conscience and concentrate on your active leads.

Proper data privacy processes ensure transparency

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When the European GDPR came into action, many companies were ringing the alarm bells because they had to re-structure their customer-related processes.

There were many complaints that it was too complex of a task but the hard truth was that many companies did not have a transparent overview of their customer data in the first place which also hinders marketing, sales and service to do their work properly, contains security risks and causes unnecessary costs (hosting unused data is not free of charge).

Data privacy laws that demand full documentation of customer data histories force companies to find, structure, and centralize their data and create the right processes and integrations for a better view on customer data which, coincidentally, is the main goal of nearly every single digital transformation strategy to work more efficiently, productively and customer-centric.

Our DIGITALL experts can help you evaluate, structure and migrate your data within your digital projects. Additionally, we do have special solutions for industries that face higher scrutiny. Take a look and contact us today.