Marketers deleted almost a quarter of their records (23%) before GDPR came into force because they did not feel confident the data would comply with the legislation.
However, despite getting rid of this information, a study conducted by credit rating agency TransUnion (formerly known as Callcredit) found 73% of marketers didn’t feel their database was any cleaner.
The research also found only 50% of marketers felt confident their company was compliant when the regulation came into force.
The marketers surveyed cited training their marketing team to handle data was the biggest challenge with GDPR, while restricted access to consumer data was a close second.
Almost two-thirds, 63%, of marketers did feel they had become more effective in sales and marketing due to the regulation.
Marketers have reacted to the challenges by defining new data management policies (67%), implementing new data systems or engagement tools (53%), hiring a data protection officer or team (42%), and working closely with the executive leadership team.
Ryan Kemp, business development director at TransUnion, said it was no surprise businesses weren’t fully compliant before the deadline due to the challenges they’d face with GDPR. “Despite the difficulties, the new regulation has changed the way marketing teams operate for the better. The modern marketing team now better understands the need to carefully manage and use data, which will enable them to drive truly actionable insights to improve customer interactions,” he said.
“GDPR has fundamentally changed the way businesses interact with their data – with the legislation resonating well beyond its European reach in today’s global marketplace – and it’s reassuring to see that many organisations are realising the benefits of the changes.”
The study surveyed 100 marketing decision-makers in the UK.
