The 4 benefits of the RGPD: new opportunities for companies to seize
The countdown is on, there are now less than 100 days until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR ) comes into force, which is on everyone's lips. This is the new European regulation on the protection of personal data that will apply from May 25, 2018. appvizer has already delivered the essentials of the RGPD, but a reminder is always useful: in the event of non-compliance with this new legislation, companies can incur heavy penalties. Fines could reach up to 20 million euros or 4% of global sales.
But the stakes aren't just financial: this can also have serious consequences for a company's reputation. That said, what if we stopped seeing the glass as half empty? Couldn't the demands of these new regulations finally be transformed into opportunities for companies ? In this article, we'll shed some light on how to turn the RGPD to your advantage for your business and your consumers.
A summary of the benefits of the RGPD:
Advantage #1: implement good security practices.
Under the RGPD, companies must implement all technical and organizational measures to ensure the protection of personal data.
The RGPD is therefore an opportunity to implement good security and confidentiality practices for the data you process within your company.
The security of the servers you use must be a priority, as they centralize a large amount of data.
So, if you store data on your own servers, you need to take basic precautions, such as limiting access to administration tools and interfaces to authorized personnel only, adopting a specific password policy, or installing critical updates.
You can also entrust the hosting of your information to a data center. This is a viable, long-term solution.
The choice of a data center is crucial , as it will be difficult to change operator at a later date, at the risk of facing a more or less lengthy service interruption. The location of the data center is one of the most important criteria to take into account.
We recommend that you opt for a data center located in Europe, which will be more likely to comply with European legislation.
Benefit n°2: restore your customers' confidence
In this context, the General Data Protection Regulation offers an opportunity for companies to build a real relationship of trust with their consumers.
Why? Because by applying the RGPD, brands are thus able to prove to their users that their personal data is well protected and that their rights are well respected.
The RGPD is therefore a new means given to companies to build consumer loyalty or win over new ones by creating "trust capital".
And at a time when a study indicates that 84% of French people would be ready to cancel a subscription to a service from a company that didn't inspire their confidence, compliance with the new European regulation can prove to be a real vector of differentiation and a weighty competitive advantage.
Benefit no. 3: optimize your marketing strategy
As part of your emailing strategy, be aware that the RGPD requires you to have the consent of every contact on your mailing list.
With the RGPD coming into force, you'll need to be able to prove that the people to whom you've sent emails had previously given their consent to receive them.
What's more, you'll also need to make sure you include an unsubscribe link in all your email campaigns.
This is already mandatory, but from May 25, 2018, penalties will be imposed for non-compliance.
The unsubscribe process must be clear and simple. Indeed, allowing your contacts to unsubscribe as easily as they subscribed is very important to ensure compliance with the RGPD.
These consent requirements represent a major marketing opportunity for companies.
Indeed, by having fewer disinterested people in your contact lists, and by targeting only people who have explicitly consented to receive your communication campaigns, your marketing emails will be addressed only to those most interested in your content.
Your contact lists will be better qualified, resulting in higher open and click rates.
Benefit no. 4: empowered suppliers
While there is a real awareness of the need to comply with the new European regulations, what companies don't always realize is that the suppliers used to process their customers' data must also be RGPD-compliant.
Darty, for example, was recently fined €100,000 by the CNIL for a security breach by one of its subcontractors.
By choosing Mailjet for your emailing solution, you're making the informed choice of an ISO 27001-certified provider that has completed all the necessary steps to ensure its RGPD compliance. Mailjet thus offers its customers the highest level of data security and confidentiality, as evidenced by its many resources on the RGPD.
Article translated from French