Chicken Soup for the GDPR Soul

Growing up, did your mom ever say those cute, inspiring quotes—you know, the ones that make you feel warm and fuzzy, reassuring you everything is going to be okay? From your comments, emails and phone calls, I think marketers are in need of a little GDPR TLC right about now. Trust me, I’m right there with you. Preparing for GDPR is not an insignificant undertaking and when coupled with the responsibilities of your “day job” it can be an overwhelming load. FWIW, I share your frustrations. In my ongoing effort to help and encourage my fellow marketers, I offer you a little Chicken Soup for the GDPR Soul.

GDPR Words of Wisdom

Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. – Mark Twain, author

Perspective is everything, isn’t it? Surely, when Mark Twain made this statement, he was directing his comments to marketers feeling the stress of GDPR—get the task you’re dreading most done first. If you’re just starting out in your GDPR compliance journey, I recommend your first frog is a pre-preparation assessment of your database. This includes taking inventory of records that have (and don’t have) normalized country data attached to them, noting the quantity and compliance status of EU records in your database, and assessing the viability of questionable records.

If you’re further along in your GDPR preparations, Twain also has advice for your situation: “ If it’s your job to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first.” Little did we know, GDPR would be an all-you-can-eat frog buffet!

Go to bed smarter than when you woke up. – Charlie Munger, vice chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

Whether GDPR is keeping you up at night or you’re actually able to get some rest, the point of this quote is spot-on: gain as much wisdom as you can about GDPR. Read. Listen to podcasts. Attend a webinar. And speaking of webinars, be sure to register for our free presentation, “Fearless Marketing Strategies for a GDPR World.” We’ll be covering hot topics such as consent and what it means for your marketing communications, plus the impact of GDPR on common technologies like cookie usage and lead scoring. GDPR language is ambiguous and confusing; the worst thing you can do is stick your head in the sand and rely on what you think you know. Stay informed, seek out learning opportunities and ask questions along the way. Register for our webinar now.

No wise pilot, no matter how great his talent and experience, fails to use his checklist. –Charlie Munger, vice chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

With stress often comes decreases in productivity and efficiency. Checklists help keep you focused, ensure you don’t forget details, and give you a sense of accomplishment as you mark items as complete. If you haven’t already, put together a GDPR readiness checklist or use ours. Note: the checklist below is a small part of a much larger GDPR checklist, which you can access—along with much more GDPR information—by downloading our free whitepaper, “A Marketo Client’s Guide to GDPR Compliance.

	Completed
Audit database: are EU records present?
Examine current opt-in sources to determine compliance (or determine if an opt-in campaign before the GDPR deadline is necessary)
Evaluate information stored in the lead/contact objects vs. the account object and amount of information populated
Determine the degree of missing country information and if it’s normalized
Create marketable records segmentation and inactive smart lists to assess data quality
Determine the age of records; flag those outside of your defined period for record retention (no more than 3 years from last lead engagement)
Segment the database based on current compliance status of records
Determine if your database contains records of youth under the age of 16 and age 13 in the UK

Audit data collection entry points/forms
Assess current subscription center to ensure all necessary data points are collected for proper record keeping
Review all data collection entry points and forms to ensure they align with GDPR
Review current privacy policies, data collection and usage policy, data breach notification policy, and related documentation for gaps
Review cookie tracking. Is it being used? Is it compliant?

Additional GDPR Resources and Support

The best thing a human being can do is to help another human being know more. – Charlie Munger, vice chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

There’s no doubt that Charlie Munger is a smart guy—after all, he’s Warren Buffett’s partner. And when it comes to sharing knowledge, we couldn’t agree with him more. Perkuto exists to help CMOs succeed—with that in mind, we’ve put together a comprehensive package of resources to support you in your GDPR preparations: