What is classed as personal data?
This is any piece of information that could help identify a person:
- Personal information like your name, address and phone numbers.
- Medical information and forms of identification such as your passport or a photograph.
- Numbers and codes if you keep customer reference numbers or IP addresses.
- Personal data including reports and even customer reviews.
How does the GDPR affect your customers?
The GDPR gives your customers a number of rights including access to their personal data and how it will be used. They have the right to be informed what their data is being collected for and be notified of data breaches within 72 hours of when it was first noticed. Customers also have the right to have their data erased and have any inaccurate data updated.
Complying with GDPR
It can be a little daunting but here is a list of things you can do:
- Audit the personal data you hold – make a list of the different data categories you hold for your customers. Remember this needs to include any reference numbers you may store as well as basic information such as addresses and phone numbers.
- Think about why you hold this personal data – you need to ensure the data you hold is collected lawfully and that you have a legitimate reason for collecting it.
- Understand whether the information is legal to process Here is a great tool for this.
- Check that you are transparent about how you use personal data. You need to explain what, how and why when it comes to collecting data from your customers.
- Are your data entry forms compliant? Do you use opt-in consent on your forms? You may want to create an audit trail to see when and how customers gave their consent.
- Understand their rights and how it relates to your business. From their right of access to objecting or being informed of the data you hold, to their right of having it updated or being deleted.
- Train your staff on the GDPR to ensure your business is fully compliant.
Direct mail and the GDPR
Under the GDPR, companies can still contact people via post. In fact, compared to other forms of marketing, you won’t come across as many difficulties which is good news. After May 2018, email marketing and telemarketing became limited and more restricted under the GDPR. However, direct mail remains a viable marketing option to help you reach your customers.
And this is where we can help. We run many direct mail campaigns for our clients and are fully aware of the GDPR so ensure the campaigns we run are GDPR compliant. We also offer a premium Direct Mail service that offers reduced prices in comparison to franking and stamps so you will also save money by working with us. To find out more then please get in touch.
