Brands that are GDPR ready are enjoying a boost in engagement, trust and loyalty, according to a new joint study released by CMO Council and SAP Customer Experience.
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation came into force in May with the aim of giving consumers greater control over their data and setting new standardised laws for data handling. It is fair to say that there was a degree of confusion about how to become GDPR compliant and the nature of fines for non-compliance.
However, the study has found that the brands which were proactive were at an advantage in terms of marketing as it gave them the opportunity to both improve customer experience and pull away from competitors who have struggled to comprehend GDPR and how it applies to their business.
Separate research by Deloitte recently revealed that just a third of enterprises have already become fully compliant with GDPR, while a similar number expect to have reached that stage by the end of 2018. Surprisingly, 11.7% are adopting a “wait and see” approach.
CMO Council’s survey suggests that those that make the leap will benefit from a consumer standpoint through additional trust, loyalty and retention as data privacy is now a pressing concern for the general public. While consumers are not always eager to hand over information, the majority do want third parties to be fully transparent about the processes involved.
In doing so, consumers will reward brands by clicking on more of their items and spending more time on the page of a particular product or service.