Some may be well on the way to be ready for GDPR whilst others will have this niggle in the back of their heads that this is something they really should be getting on with but no idea what to do!
GDPR (or General Data Protection Regulation to give it its mouthful title) comes into force in the UK on May 25th 2018 and is a change to the way in which we hold and use our customers and contacts information for all businesses no matter what size they are.
It may seem like a boring waste of time, a bit overwhelming to deal with or, with £25K fines for non-compliance, just scary. Any which way, it needs to be done.
Over the coming weeks we will be giving step by step info in bite sized chunks to get yourself on track before May. If you want to fast track or have any questions during that time please get in touch for a chat.
Step one – sort it out!
Whether you have a vast database of customers or a few business contacts on your phone, GDPR is a great opportunity to do that data clear out you’ve been putting off for ever! This is the time to delete those contacts you know you are never going to use again and produce an active and worthwhile list. Also make sure you have email addresses for all.
You may have recently started receiving pop-ups on websites and social media and emails from things you subscribe to asking if you they can still stay in touch – this is all because of GDPR.
One of the main changes is that companies can no longer assume you are happy to subscribe or only have the option to “opt out” – you must ask for active permission to hold their data. This could be as simple as having a tick box option of “yes – I’m in” or “I agree” along side “no – I’m not in” or “I do not agree”. We will cross that bridge in a later blog.
That’s great for new customers moving forward but must also be done for current clients. By sorting your contacts out, you will then be able to do a mail shot asking if it’s still OK to hold their data, why you want to hold it and what you will use it for.
*This is the important bit!*
On 25th May 2018, anyone who hasn’t replied at all MUST be removed from your database or contacts. It also should go without saying that if anyone replies with a “no” they should be removed immediately.
Chasing these clients down and getting them signed up can take time, so get sorting and get that email out!
Jessica Freeman, Owner Jessica Freeman HR
