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Why does the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) represent a real opportunity for marketing experts looking to target engineers and design professionals?

A year has passed since the regulation became effective, so discover how the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a real opportunity for digital marketing professionals looking to reach out to engineers and designers.

Unless you spent the whole of 2018 hidden away in a secluded forest cabin, there is no way that you could have slipped through the GDPR net or claim that you have never heard of the regulation.

The GDPR has given many digital marketing experts sleepless nights, because unfortunately not all professionals have brought their personal data practices into line with the regulation.

In a nutshell, the GDPR reinforces European citizens’ rights with respect to the collection, storage, archiving and use of their personal data. It also gives all organizations that process such data a greater sense of accountability while allowing data protection authorities to take decisions and impose penalties on an international scale.

Whether you are a parts manufacturer, a component distributor, a software vendor, a 3D printing expert or a computer hardware supplier, here are the four reasons to place your trust in a provider who (truly) complies with the regulation.

 

1. You can still rent external databases for B2B marketing!

Unfortunately the GDPR cannot wipe out spam emails containing fraudulent links, because such emails have always flouted the law. But when it comes to sending out unsolicited advertising emails, the GDPR has ushered in a number of radical changes, especially in the B2C sector where data subjects must consent to receiving emails and their consent must be given by a “clear affirmative” act.

The situation is somewhat different for B2B marketing. Organizations that can no longer market their services or products to unknown or unfamiliar contacts stand every chance of going out of business! The GDPR is very clear on this particular point. In B2B, opt-out is the golden rule. In other words, consent is not required from the people that the organization wishes to contact, but they must be able to prevent their personal data from being processed.

France’s Data Protection Authority (CNIL) states the following:
“The subject matter of the communication must be related to the profession exercised by the recipient (e.g. an email presenting the benefits of a new software program sent to paul.smith@companyname, CIO.)”
This may seem self-explanatory, since you are not going to enlist the services of a provider whose database is completely unrelated to your products.

But be extremely careful when renting external databases. The CNIL advises companies to use qualified files containing reliable data to avoid any risk of complaints or negative feedback!

For over 10 years, TraceParts has prided itself on pursuing an opt-in policy, so that it can offer its customers a high-quality database of reactive industrial email addresses.

 

2. Email campaigns pack a bigger punch

Since consent does not need to be obtained in the B2B sector, you can target customers using rented files, as long as those contacts are related to your line of business. But watch out! Consent may not be mandatory, but it is recommended for reasons of email campaign performance and message deliverability.
If you rent third-party databases containing contacts that have not consented to receiving messages and which do not apply any hard and fast rules on how they collect data, you run the risk of wasting money on ineffective marketing initiatives.

Renting the email addresses of people who have given their consent to receive advertising messages is the best solution for reaching out to new prospects.

When all contacts have agreed to receive emails, deliverability improves: your message truly reaches their inbox, since the sender is known. Campaign performance is also greater, since emails reaching an inbox inevitably have more chance of being opened and clicked on than an email that never arrives or ends up in the spam box.
Therefore, you will come up a winner by calling on a provider who specializes in B2B industrial marketing, who complies with the GDPR and who is extremely strict about how it collects and processes data. A higher engagement rate for your campaigns is the key to scaling up the conversion rate and growing the revenue stream!

 

3. Fewer complaints and an enhanced reputation

The GDPR provides a framework for collecting and processing contacts’ personal data. A trustworthy provider renting its databases is duty bound to comply with such regulations, even before the GDPR was enacted.
Owning a database and renting that database out to advertisers implies a commitment to deliver quality information on the contacts, regularly clean the data and respect contacts’ rights, while coping with marketing pressures and selecting which advertisers can approach them.

TraceParts was already in compliance with the regulation before it was implemented, because we have always been extremely careful about how we collect and process the personal data of the users in our database. Such is the quality of our database that our customers can generate new sales leads.

When you use a provider who upholds best practices, your email campaigns will stand a greater chance of reaching inboxes and creating a better impression among recipients without affecting your reputation.
If necessary, each contact can easily opt out of receiving emails, and any advertising emails sent by the provider will not be considered to be spam.

TraceParts has built a database of engineers and professional designers who have agreed to receive direct marketing emails about new solutions and new products matching their real needs. We keep a close eye on all our users and their behavior on our CAD-content platform, so much so that we can profile them with the aim of targeting more effectively and sending them the most relevant information. For example, you can select exactly the required audience according to a number of criteria, including sectors of activity (mechanical, special machinery, engineering, automotive, aviation, electricity, construction, etc.), company size, centers of interest (mechanical CAD, prototyping, 3D printing, 3D scanners, COTS components, CAD equipment, etc.), country, and types of industrial products viewed or downloaded (mechanical, electronic, electrotechnical, pneumatic and hydraulic parts).
By following this strategy, you have an even greater chance of launching an effective email campaign!

 

4. Run risk-free email campaigns

Choosing a provider who specializes in industrial marketing and who complies with the requirements of the GDPR when launching B2B email campaigns is also an effective way of eliminating any risks in the marketing actions.

Providers that manage contacts’ personal data and comply with the GDPR check and monitor those data. Therefore, you can safely send messages from those databases without any fear of complaints while achieving sound results. The provider is the one who will run your email campaign in accordance with the regulation, meaning that all you need to do is supply the necessary material (subject, HTML, links, etc.) to set up the campaign.
Ever since the regulation came into force, renting compliant databases featuring contacts working in such industrial sectors as mechanics, special machinery, engineering, automotive, aviation, electricity and construction, is a strategically wise choice for generating new sales leads and carrying out effective, risk-free marketing actions.

Before enlisting a provider, check that it complies with the GDPR, which is not always the case! It would be a shame to encounter a nasty surprise and see your organization affected by leading an ineffective marketing campaign.

 

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About the Author

TraceParts
TraceParts

TraceParts is one of the world’s leading CAD-content platforms for Engineering, Industrial Equipment and Machine Design. TraceParts brings highly targeted Lead Generation marketing services to hundreds of customers of all sizes and from all industries, via powerful cloud-based API and SaaS applications such as 3D part libraries, product catalogs and configurators.

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