While initial thoughts may turn to cost and time implications of GDPR, it’s important to also focus on the positives.

GDPR can work in your favour and be a great catalyst for innovation within your organisation. We have discussed the ins and outs of GDPR Compliance in previous blogs but now we want to take a minute to really drive home the most important takeaway – positive disruption.

Positive Disruption

Taking steps to become GDPR compliant can be expensive, especially when training staff to ensure they follow protocol and changing old legacy systems. So, why not use GDPR to your advantage by taking the opportunity to build compliancy into your organisation’s modernisation strategy thereby increasing your competitive advantage in the process.

GDPR is a chance to break down barriers in organisations that operate in silos. To be fully compliant there must be one single view of the customer in a central location and the organisation must all be speaking in the same terms. This is in fact the foundation needed for efficiency and innovation.

There is so much negativity around what GDPR will cost, but what about the incredibly positive effects it can have at every level of your organisation? For forward-thinking companies, GDPR could be the driver of positive change.

GDPR is a Positive Regulation

Disruption in the technology world is positive and GDPR should be viewed in this light.

A great example is the taxi company Uber, who didn’t have proper procedures in place to safeguard a data breach. The company’s reputation has been seriously tarnished in the process.

A more positive example is from accommodation company Airbnb which took additional steps (procedurally and financially) to secure its customer’s private data and while there certainly was a monetary cost associated with this change, the brand power gained was immeasurable.

How Can You Drive Innovation with GDPR?

Trust is key to business growth. Reviewing and investing in data management policies will not only protect your data, but the transparency you provide to your customers will ensure that they feel comfortable handing over their data to you.

GDPR will require you to have a more concise and clearer view of the data you have and what it has been used for. This gives you an opportunity to not only create content that is relevant to your target audience, but your organisation can also use this insight to create more beneficial products and services for your customers.

At Acrotrend we believe in the three T’s – trust, transparency and targeted. Ensure your customer trusts what you do with your data, by creating transparent processes that reach targeted customers ensuring your data is cleaner than ever – Read our blog on GDPR in Action in the Real World.

The changes needed to modernise your organisation and achieve the single view of the customer may seem like a huge undertaking – but it should be approached in a positive way and if you keep your eyes on the prize, the prize being gaining that single view of your attendees and customers then GDPR is a positive regulation. The outcome will be customer trust, transparent processes and targeted communications – next week our blog outline the reason for why we think GDPR is positive disruption.