What does GDPR mean for Construction and Email Marketing?

Although a new regulation, it already feels like GDPR has been part of our lives for a long time.

But it’s still something of a buzzword. Many people are still confused about GDPR, what exactly it is and how it affects certain activities that could once proceed without any worries.

Because we get asked about GDPR and what it means for our clients within the construction market, we wanted to create a helpful guide that explains everything you need to know.

In this blog, we’ll be discussing what exactly GDPR is, what it aims to do, and specifically how what we do with Barbour ABI means that you will be entirely GDPR compliant.

What Is GDPR?

The most obvious place to start is finding out exactly what GDPR is.

Formally referred to as ‘General Data Protection Regulation’, it is a security law that was put into effect in 2018 to help create a firmer stance on data privacy and security.

Regarded as ‘the toughest privacy and security law in the world’ it applies to any organization that collects data related to people with the UK & European Union.

In its broadest form, GDPR is about protecting the people whose data you deal with, making sure it is dealt with correctly, responsibly, and that there is full transparency between parties.

GDPR is often broken down into 7 key principles which we have listed below.

              Lawfulness, Fairness & Transparency

              Purpose Limitation

              Data Minimisation

              Accuracy

              Storage Limitation

              Integrity & Confidentiality (Security)

              Accountability

 

GDPR And Intent

One of the most important points of GDPR and the trap a lot of people fall into is assuming it puts a stop to any form of communication or use of data.

This just isn’t true, and if anything, GDPR has helped improve the quality and approach of those businesses that use and collect personal data daily.

This all relates to the first principle of lawfulness, fairness, and transparency, or in other words, intent.

As long as the information you have has been collected and stored legally, and you are using it with the correct intent, there are no issues.

For instance, we work closely with the information in the Barbour ABI database. This is an audience in the construction sector, so when it comes to reaching out to these prospects, as long as you are doing so with the correct intent of selling, suppling, specifying or servicing to that sector; then you are entirely GDPR compliant.

If you were using this data to try and sell second-hand cars or a range of beauty products, that would conflict with how the data had been used.

Because how you are using this data is related to their interests and you are being respectful, you can have no GDPR concerns.

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How Emails Can Be GDPR Compliant

Nobody enjoys receiving spammy emails, and it’s even worse when those emails make you jump through hoops to finally remove yourself from the list.

However, GDPR is also about creating transparency and giving the end-user freedom of choice, stating that content should be “freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous”.

Essentially, you have to give the recipient the choice to opt-in or opt-out and leave the box unchecked for them to make the decision.

Another key pointer refers to the point made at the start of this section. Unsubscribing.

In the footer of every email sent on behalf of our customers, we include an option to unsubscribe, making it incredibly easy when interest is lost.

Without including an easy to find option such as this or providing an incredibly unfriendly unsubscribing experience, then you are creeping towards a breach of GDPR.

 

Barbour ABI Data & GDPR

As a third party that works closely with Barbour ABI and the data that it collects, it’s important to be clear how this is also GDPR compliant.

Because your information is already with Barbour, we stick to their guidelines, ensuring you are protected.

This is summed up by Barbour ABI below:

“These third parties are contractually bound only to use personal information to perform the services that we hire them to provide.”

You can read the full privacy policy from Barbour ABI here.

It’s a bit like hiring a sub-contractor for your building company. Although they are not employed directly, they are expected to perform and act in a way any employee of yours would.

 

Conclusion

GDPR can be a complicated subject to get your head around. Especially with the fear and panic that is often associated with it.

In fact, in some cases, many businesses can be overly cautious, choosing not to use any marketing approach that involves the use of personal data.

What we’ve done with the above is to try and settle any concerns surrounding GDPR and how working with Project Prospecta and contacts from the Barbour ABI database is entirely compliant.

If you’d like to understand it in any more detail, you can speak to a member of our team.

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Interested? Then get in touch…

Or call us now on +44 (0) 1952 897097