What opportunities lie beyond the GDPR deadline for small businesses?

 

Ok, I know. We’re all pretty sick of GDPR, and that’s just the emails coming into our own inboxes. Hopefully, you’ve got everything sorted for your business, and you’re probably heaving a small sigh of relief.

But, as with most things when you run a small business, the GDPR deadline is not the end. I think it represents some great opportunities for you to connect with customers. Here’s my thoughts on why and how.

It’s not the size that matters

There are several cliches that come into play on this. Size doesn’t matter. And quality over quantity. Okay, so maybe your list has shrunk by two thirds. But the third that remains, those people really want to hear from you.

They are so special to your business. They actively chose to go through whatever process you put in place to make your list compliant. They want to hear from your business.

Now, you would hope that if you ran a check on your open rates and click-through rates on emails say a month after  GDPR that the physical number won’t have dropped by the same percentage as you lost off your list. Your open percentage rate should actually have gone up.

So, these people should really, really matter to your business. Cherish them.

 

Send great emails

Don’t make these people regret staying with you. Send them good stuff, and soon.

Just imagine what inboxes might look like this time next week. I think they should be emptier, and they should only contain emails that you want to be there.

So it’s down to businesses to make the emails going into those inboxes good ones. Tell them something unique. Let them in on a secret, advance news, great photos. Whatever you send, make it have an impact from the headline to the sign-off.

Dig into your analytics, look at what interests your customers, and then get them something brilliant into their inboxes.

 

Say thank you

These people are your tribe, your fans. So say thank you to them for sticking with you.

What you do is up to you. Maybe you send a very special discount. Maybe you send a free gift with their next order. Maybe you just sent heartfelt thanks, tell the story of why it means a lot to you.

Sometimes, just a simple thank you, a show of appreciation works. Certainly, it might make you feel less like data, more appreciated, more human. Be human as a business, and you stand a chance of getting a more human, involved response from customers.

 

Asking for a friend

If they loved you enough to stay, and you’ve proved why it was a good decision, then this might be just the moment to ask them to refer a friend. You’ve given them good reasons to share, whether you decide to add extra inducement is up to you.

Look at what has worked for you in the past, if you’ve done this kind of thing before. If you haven’t, then this is a good time to test it. Maybe segment your list if you can, and send different offers to each. Maybe start with just asking nicely for the recommendation. Maybe this is a time for another of those cliches with a grain of truth to them. If you don’t ask, you certainly won’t get.

 

So, take a moment to get your plan together, and then get on and seize your opportunities by being thankful for those that remain.