The document discusses the implications of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for outbound marketing practices, especially for U.S. companies. It emphasizes the necessity for businesses to secure explicit consent for data use, impacting cold email marketing strategies by requiring transparency and clear opt-out options. Companies that fail to comply with GDPR face significant fines, making it crucial to adapt their marketing practices to align with the new regulations.

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GDPR for Outbound
Marketing
ByMarketJoy,Inc.

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GDPR for Outbound Marketing (Cold Email Marketing)
Coming on May 25th, 2018, EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is one of the
greatest change in data security in 20 years. Ruling the headlines, this new regulation states that any
company that processes, stores or uses data related to an EU citizen will be subject to citations and
accompanies fines for noncompliance - even with just one customer. With merely a few days left
for it to get implemented, it is required for the US companies to put a plan in place well in time for
their Outbound Marketing Practices. But, first, dig deep into the know-how of GDPR.
What is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations)?
GDPR being a regulation requires businesses to secure the personal data and privacy of EU citizens
for any sort of transactions that happen within EU member states. Non-compliance may cost
companies dearly. With GDPR businesses need to be much clearer with the information that they
receive and hold on people and give them more control over it.
Now, an awful lot of businesses which are particularly outside the EU have suddenly realized the
extraterritorial nature of the regulations and have been assuming it is an easy “tick the box”
Exercise, this is a shock.
The implications of GDPR for the US companies that collect, process or maintain the personal data
of individuals located within the EU is significant and compliance is compulsory.
This regulation will have an impact on the collection of personal data of EU citizens with its use,
and maintenance and will give individuals more control over their data.
Consumers will hold the right to be informed about the collection of their information.
Consumers also hold the right to object about how their data is being used and that
includes direct marketing. In case, companies automatically process data to make
assumptions about a person for marketing, they can also object to profiling.
GDPR Compliance for US Companies
If any organization manages data that includes even one EU citizen and is not properly complying
with the new GDPR, the organization can face fines up to 4% of its global revenue.
It is definitely critical to understand the regulation and what one has to do to comply. This certainly
requires a change of behavior for many companies. Under this regulation, U.S.-based travel,
software services, hospitality and e-commerce companies will have to take a good and closer
look at their online marketing practices. Additionally, a U.S. company that has identified a
market in an EU country with localized web content are required to review their web operations.
The EU is serious about a uniform data and privacy law for its market and has already changed the
Web practices of major U.S. companies.
To get the attention of multinationals, the GDPR introduces significant fines. U.S. companies,
especially those with a strong web presence, should be paying attention and changing practices now
and not waiting to become a headline two year down the road.

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Will GDPR Kill Outbound Marketing?
NO! If your email marketing complies with the new regulation, Outbound Marketing can still exist.
Outbound Marketing has long been there with direct marketing and the data purchase list.
With the advent of GDPR, there is a rapidly closing window for the viability of the intrusively
collected contact information. The reason being that these contacts are not consented to a specific
contact method, instead, they just gave it out accidentally agreeing to a general marketing consent.
GDPR is going to prevent this by forcing companies to get an explicit consent and keep a record of
this consent. The consent only applies to the specific contact method, so an individual who has just
consented to an email cannot be contacted in any other way but, an email. It’s true, not all cold
emails are the same—and so GDPR may apply slightly differently, depending on who you’re
contacting.
GDPR Guide for Cold Email Senders
✓ In case of cold emailing and building a list yourself, the organization needs an assurance
that each person on the list is likely to get benefit from the business-related offer.
✓ Moreover, the purpose of the email or the offer being made in the message should be clearly
connected with the business. It is about having a transparent process in place for acquiring
personal data that can be presented in detail if someone ever asks.
✓ GDPR requires the organizations to simplify the language of consents. This is being done to
ensure that a person who is about to give a consent to process their personal data is fully
aware while giving the consent.
How to Do Cold B2B Email Marketing Post-GDPR
The EU working parties that introduced the new regulation noted that the words are still quite loose
when it comes to cold email.
The reason is, this regulation leaves this alone decision on the individual countries within the EU
whether cold B2B email should be included in opt-in or opt-out.
With GDPR having a complete focus on personal data protection, the companies need to ensure that
email marketing campaigns to businesses remain in sync with general cold email marketing basic
requirements. This comprises an obvious opt-out mechanism, relevant subject line, legitimate
physical address listed, an accurate sender field, treat sole traders and individual business owners as
no-go areas. The companies should instantly remove people who choose to opt-out.
Additionally, seeking independent legal advice in case of in-depth questions or want to take specific
action could work the way out.

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How MarketJoy do Outbound Email Marketing Effectively?
MarketJoy helps B2B companies in the US to accelerate their sales pipeline and amplify their
revenue. We do very hyper-personalized and highly targeted email marketing with an opt-out
option.
As it is required for each B2B cold email to provide a way for the addressee to sign out of further
correspondence, we make it a point to inform the addressee. Even before processing their personal
data and we tell them the necessity of doing that. We also let them know what to do in case they
want to have their personal data removed.
We keep the language simple and clear while keeping the subject line as an accurate reflection of
the email content.
Stay alert and be future proof!
Originally Published at: MarketJoy, Inc. Blog