Consent to Act

There is no doubt that the GDPR regulation changed the model of digital marketing. It also changed marketing itself, giving astute specialists in this field an unprecedented opportunity to stand out from the competition. Striving to obtain clear and lasting consent from customers for marketing activities is both an obligation (and a privilege) of meticulously caring for communication with customers. Specialists who do this well can expect significant benefits.

From Interruption to Permission

What is Permission Marketing?

"Permission marketing" is a term coined by marketing guru Seth Godin. This model is based on customers' consent to marketing activities. Instead of interrupting large groups of consumers by constantly directing general messages at them, it focuses on specific messaging intended to reach people who have agreed to contact with a given company.
As Seth Godin himself wrote, permission marketing "is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them" (Godin, 1999). With the GDPR regulation, the "anticipated" character of marketing messages took on particular significance.

Benefits of the Opt-in Model

In these regulations, the "opt-in" model was applied with regard to customer data, which means that companies must obtain explicit consent from customers to use their data. Introducing this change may have posed certain difficulties, but after adapting company systems and implementing new processes, the benefits became evident:

  • Greater trust — when a company discloses from the very beginning what it uses customer data for, it can more easily gain their trust. Some may even entrust it with more detailed information than before.
  • Cost effectiveness — data enables the generation of analyses that allow better-targeted marketing campaigns to be prepared, which helps optimize budgets. Better brand perception — transparency related to data and better adaptation of marketing to context help brands build their reputation.
  • Greater focus — restrictions on storing customer data mean that databases are regularly "cleaned", and irrelevant or outdated contact data is removed in the process. As a result, the company spends less time on unengaged customers and can focus more on interested customers — and generate sales.

The Example of France Televisions

The term "permission marketing" appeared on the market 20 years ago, so the principle itself is nothing new. More stringent data protection regulations, and in particular the GDPR, have certainly changed this model, however, from a recommended approach to marketing into a de facto mandatory approach. France Televisions, the largest French television broadcaster, implemented the Oracle BlueKai solution to achieve two goals — significantly improve its return on investment in marketing activities and ensure compliance with the GDPR and with its own data processing policy.

Now that companies already have explicit consumer consent to use their data, they cannot afford to waste the related opportunities. First of all, that data must be kept secure. Fortunately, with the GDPR regulation, cybersecurity has become important for all businesses.

 

 

See also: GARTNER: Lower Marketing Spending Is Not a Problem - Efficiency Is Growing

Summary

The article discusses the importance of permission marketing in marketing strategies after the introduction of the GDPR. This model, based on explicit customer consent, increases trust, cost effectiveness, improves brand perception and allows focus on engaged audiences. An example of implementation is France Televisions, which used Oracle BlueKai to improve return on investment and regulatory compliance. The author emphasizes that although the concept was created 20 years ago, it has now become a standard required by regulations.