Inma Martinez is a leading talent when it comes to being an expert on human digital behaviour and cutting-edge innovation. Inma shared her thoughts on GDPR with us, and why it is actually a positive change for marketeers.

Welcome to the GDPR Matrix, the digital Wonderland where all is revealed and where the veil is lifted from your eyes. GDPR, in as much as it brings forth a herculean, tectonic upgrade in customer data management, is going to offer a Matrix-moment to every consumer in Europe come May 2018. “You take the red pill”, Morpheus announces, “and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I'm offering is the truth”. And the truth shall be revealed when customers lawfully demand to be disclosed with what companies do with their data, something that many businesses didn’t see coming. But here is the angle: why not embrace the opportunity and turn it into a brand attribute, into a competitive advantage that allows us to build a closer relationship, a more transparent, more meaningful and rewarding interaction with our customers?

"GDPR will clearly establish and police who the real owner of the profile data is, and it shall be the human being at the other end the one calling the shots on how this data is mined, stored and deleted at short notice request."

In a world of “fake news” and of tech giants being found out about their biased algorithmic tactics, adopting best practice data, channel and brand management strategies to drive positive engagement is one of the biggest opportunities right now for brands. GDPR will clearly establish and police who the real owner of the profile data is, and it shall be the human being at the other end the one calling the shots on how this data is mined, stored and deleted at short notice request. Above and beyond this, GDPR brings a superior angle of manoeuvring: permission. It shall no longer be allowed to use and misuse customer data because for every tactic, for every taxonomy created, the customer shall have the right to award permission for this or not. Permission shall be the window of opportunity for brands to be the guardians of the data, not the exploiters, the trusted parties that will ensure better customer experiences. With ownership and control over data passing from organisations to customers, organisations will be judged on their ability to ensure the right customer permissions are in place to protect customer data, and – critically – to use it with integrity.

"GDPR needs to be used as a tool to enhance customer ROI"

With the majority of marketeers aiming to prioritise customer retention and attempting to create the nirvana of 1:1 customer relations, GDPR needs to be used as a tool to enhance customer ROI. Amazon was well aware of this since inception in the mid-1990s, when they became the first online consumer retailer deploying collaborative filtering, one of the first automated pattern behaviour recognition algorithms. I have followed how this practice has evolved within Amazon and other retail companies because customer centricity is the blood-stream of the success of every consumer goods company. Here is my recipe for GDPR success:

1. Don’t just simply “comply” with GDPR. Let your customers know in plain English that you value their privacy. Show them tactics that prove this like you mean it. Come clean. Embrace the Light side of the force. Offer opt-in / opt-out strategies that show you can be trusted. Develop contextualised channel value propositions, create a single customer view.

2. Create a fair value exchange with your customers about the data that you really need and the data that you oh-would-be-so-lucky to have if only they could share it with you. Clearly show them the rewards for such disclosure. Don’t be cheap. Overtime, people will be less, and less obtuse about their rights and you don’t want to short-change them and be found out later.

Businesses wanting to trade with Europe will need to listen up and get compliant

3. Demand to have a top of the pops data analytics team with a proven superstar chief data scientist in charge that understands that they only reason why one should mine customer data is in order to create better products and services and build the most trusted brand in the market. Anything less than this, throw the toys out of the pram. Your marketing future needs this people and you deserve to have the best around you to help you deliver real consumer insights, proven customer behaviour predictions, bullet-proof sentiment analysis. Otherwise you will be shooting in the dark even if you hack it to death with A/B tests.

GDPR- readiness is here to help you rapidly shift from marketing based on gut feel and historical data, to a data- driven approach that delivers appropriate, personalised, timely communications to your customers and prospects. Take. The. Red. Pill.

For further information or to book a speaker, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070  or email  info@speakerscorner.co.uk .