At first glance, privacy laws like CCPA and GDPR seem like they’re going to destroy how business is done online, especially for retailers. Contact and email lists are extremely valuable for marketers. Having customers unsubscribe from these lists was enough of a challenge but having to delete every aspect of their data is a daunting and terrifying prospect.
However, the fear of losing customers is clouding the vision of too many marketers. A recent survey reported that 81% of compliant businesses experienced a positive impact on targeted leads for marketing. It seems contradictory, but privacy laws are actually creating marketing opportunities for businesses that are willing to seize the moment.
CCPA requires that business get consent from customers to collect and use personal information. Instead of limiting marketing, this actually makes it more targeted and improves conversion rates. Customers are essentially qualifying themselves by granting businesses consent. Instead of wasting valuable marketing efforts on people you were never going to convert, you can focus on truly interested contacts.
The key is gaining customer consent. However, as the general public becomes more interested in data privacy, an all-or-nothing approach to consent can have a negative impact on your business. Instead, you want to create granular consent options that enable customers to pick and choose the information they’re willing to share and the type of interaction they want with your business.
It’s true that some customers will not grant consent for you to collect any information and/or request you delete all the information you gathered previously. Keep in mind that these contacts were not likely to purchase from you in the first place. As terrifying as it is to see the number of prospective customers go down, the bad leads are just weeding themselves out. As this process happens, you should actually begin to see improvements in your conversion rates.
Current and future privacy laws will mean a small shift in marketing efforts for most retailers, but not a complete overhaul. The right tools will minimize the impact and help you adapt quickly.
Contact us today to see how Data443’s Global Privacy Manager can help you take advantage of these new marketing opportunities.