Since GDPR reared its head you have no doubt been peppered with mails that are titled along the lines of ‘Let’s stay together’ or ‘We’d like to keep in touch’. While these emails have slowed down since that first frantic flurry, we are starting to see the results of those companies who've failed to protect the data they hold, sometimes to the tune of millions of pounds. Read on to clear up a little about GDPR and what it means for you.

Companies now have to comply with this regulation, which requires them to engage with their contacts and customers (past and present) in order to keep those clients’ data on their mailing lists. And while many see GDPR as a massive pain in the mailbox, there’s a real opportunity here for companies to come out of the exercise with a leaner, more targeted and potentially more profitable list of contacts - meaning greater value for money when it comes to mailings.

Think about it. How much GDPR contact have you received from companies that you forgot that you were once a customer of? How many mailing lists were you on from businesses that you haven’t had anything to do with for years, or no longer have a need for at all? Companies have retained a lot of data over the years, and no doubt prior to 25 May 2018, had extensive, unfiltered contacts lists that were littered with low-value leads. Those on the database that no longer want to stay simply won’t. 

GDPR has trimmed the fat. Those clients (both actual and potential) that have chosen to stay on mailing lists have done so as they have a genuine interest in that company’s products and services. And that means that those companies now have a much more receptive list of contacts – the quantity of the mailing may have reduced, but the quality of the recipient has not. 

Companies that use direct mailings just got given the opportunity to reinvent their approach. Those that have taken advantage have recognised that with a bit of thought and preparation, they can communicate with a smaller yet more responsive database, and focus on delivering appropriate products and services. Out goes the mass mail approach of sending costly communications to the world and his dog… in comes the smart method of directing that communication to where it is relevant and potentially profitable. 

Before GDPR, what percentage of your direct mailing campaigns ended up in unopened or in the shredder? Post GDPR, your mailings will be falling on a far greater percentage of ‘open for business’ doormats and, due to the reduction in volume, won’t be costing you as much either. Your ‘bang for your buck’ factor just got a real shot in the arm.

New regulations like GDPR are rarely welcomed with open arms by business owners. But the savvy direct mailers out there will see the favourable conditions that GDPR has created - the chance to refine data sources, improve ROI, decrease mailing costs and grow a stronger, more engaged database of clients. Find out more about how folder inserters can protect your outgoing mail from breaching GDPR rules with automatic envelope filling.