In two years the EU could kill direct marketing. Don't be a victim.

The new EU Data Regulation will have a huge impact on the future of B2B marketing. The changes are fast approaching, yet many companies who will be affected are unprepared. 

Broadly speaking, we currently have an opt-out system for storing contact details and personal data in Europe. You can store and use prospect or customer data for marketing until they tell you to stop.

The EU Data Regulation (EUDR) changes direct marketing from an opt-out system to an opt-in rule. In the future, you will need to get a person’s permission before you can store their personal details in your database or CRM.

If they don’t give you permission, your email marketing, direct mail and telemarketing could grind to a halt.

You will not be able to store a prospects mobile number or direct line/home number on your system without their permission.

Experts believe the new law will be passed in early 2015, and will be enforced by 2017.
You need to start getting ‘opt-in’ – permission from prospects to store their personal information on your systems - and you need to start now.

The existing EU Directive is replaced by a new Regulation. Upgrading the law to a Regulation, means the same law will apply across all EU Countries. No variation, no ‘get out’ clause.

The EUDR states you must obtain explicit consent, through ‘clear statement or affirmative action’, to store and use personal data. There is no distinction between business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales or marketing.

However, the Regulation currently fails to define ‘explicit consent’. Your interpretation of explicit consent could differ from the authorities’ view. Hopefully they will define it more clearly by 2015.

So, what is ‘personal’ data? Here’s a brief list, and remember this applies to both B2C and B2B sales and marketing.

• Full name
• Job title
• Work and Home email address
• Direct work telephone number
• Home telephone number
• Mobile telephone number
• Actions and behaviours
• Computer IP address

The flow and profiling of data will be restricted, which will impact the effectiveness of your direct marketing. IP addresses will be listed as personal data. So you will need consent from visitors to record and store their activity on your website. This will affect web analytics and online marketing.

Combined with the existing Cookie Law, you may not be able to give visitors a ‘personalised’ experience on your website. Customers could be forced to re-enter their details on every visit or transaction.

The Regulation also introduces a new ‘right to be forgotten’ by internet firms. If a person requests, you will have to remove all data held on them and any information you have published about them on the internet.

So money spent profiling customers and gathering information about their online buying habits could be wasted.

Data held outside Europe on EU Citizens will be subject to the same law. Even though it’s impossible for companies to know they are dealing with EU Citizens until the person registers their details online. Some commentators believe it’s also impractical to prosecute companies outside the EU.

Other elements of this new law include:

• Companies employing 250+ staff will need to designate a Data Protection Officer
• Each country will have a National Supervisory Authority to investigate breaches
  of the Regulation
• The new Regulation allows for fines up to €1,000,000 or 2% of global turnover

Bitesize 3 Point Action Plan
1. Get consent
By obtaining ‘explicit consent’ you secure the right to keep personal details for prospects within your database. Prospects remain contactable via phone, email or post (if they select those options) and personal information such as their job title or buying habits can be retained for future use.

But you have to be clear about what they have consented to receive. If they consent to receive information by email about pensions, you cannot sent them information about life insurance. If they consent to receiving email alone, you cannot call them.

2. Get content
Invest in a content marketing strategy. Content marketing is the delivery of knowledge and learning via whitepapers, webinars and infographics. Ensure that an ‘opt-in’ option is necessary to access your knowledge documents.

Beneficial for both existing customers and new business prospects, content marketing provides a reason for continued and sustainable engagement. The right content will attract your target audience and enable you to gain consent for further interactions and lead qualification.

3. Get calling
If you are involved in B2B sales or marketing, allocate more of your marketing budget to telemarketing. The EUDR still allows you to store and call switchboard numbers, because they are not personal data.

Armed with a number to call and a job title you want to reach, cold calling is still an effective way to generate leads.

Tell your colleagues
It’s important your Sales, Marketing and IT/Data department are aligned on your response to the EUDR. I have created a PowerPoint for you to deliver to relevant departments and an infographic to share with your peers.

Get the PowerPoint from http://bit.ly/SCiSlide3 and the Infographic from http://bit.ly/SCiInfo3
There is also a webinar on 24/9/2014, 3.30pm GMT with more details and a Q&A session at the end. Register at http://bit.ly/SCiWebinar8

What does Time really mean to Sales?

Sales are directly affected by time; whether its time of day, day of the week or month of year. Although your company’s experience may not be a replica of those featured within this article, it illustrates the importance of examining trends.

The findings below are based on analysis of website traffic and conversion data over a 5 year period*. Please note that ‘conversion’ refers to a website visitor who requested contact and ‘qualification’ refers to conversions qualified through needs analysis and BANT.

1. The early agent catches the sale.

• The highest level of website activity is during work hours (53% above average).By 9am activity is up 69%, yet often some sales agents are still eating breakfast, checking emails or arranging their desks. Staggering agents’ working days (alternative shifts) to ensure motivated agents are raring to go by 8.30am could be more productive. 

• Lunchtime website activity (12pm-2pm) can be up to 90% higher than average and qualification rates increase by 12% just before lunch begins. Staggering sales agent schedules could help avoid an empty office at lunchtime, or even having a different lunch schedule that fits around this time of rich opportunity. Research suggests the faster you respond to a conversion the more likely they are to qualify.

• Conversion rates peak in the evening by up to 15% between 9pm and 11.59pm.The title of this article could have been ‘3 reasons to live in your office’ as research shows that weekday evenings also boast high conversion rates. The sales team is unavailable during these hours but it’s a great time to send out knowledge documents

2. B2B Sales hates Mondays.

• B2B website activity is highest mid-week (Tuesday-Thursday), with traffic peaking at 30% higher than average on Tuesday. High rates of website activity mid-week mean it’s imperative that you have enough sales agents to meet demand. Tuesday may be the best day for launching campaigns, interacting with social media and avoiding staff holidays. 

• Conversion rates fall below average on Monday and Friday. Hate Mondays? You’re not alone; many people avoid external interaction on Monday preferring to prioritise inbox demands. Monday is still 21% above average for website activity so blogs or white papers may perform well. Mondays and Fridays are also good days to consider for data gathering or other housekeeping tasks.

• Qualification rates are 4% higher than average from Tuesday to Thursday. It’s important to reinforce the necessity of having enough sales staff mid-week. Responding to a call back request within 5 seconds is 29% more likely to result in a qualification than a call 5mins later.

3. ‘Tis the season to avoid conversion?

• January through to May has the highest conversion rates (February performing a massive 10% higher than average). The beginning of the year has far better conversion rates, this is the most effective time to begin a new campaign as companies often have, or are in the process of planning, new budgets. For high-end, complex sales, beginning to nurture potential clients 3-6 months ahead of this period will increase likelihood of an existing relationship during January to May.

• Conversion rates dropped significantly during the summer months and December (December was 12% below average). Conversion rates fall during the summer, so this is the ideal time for the sales staff holidays or company events. The noticeable dip in December is likely to be the result of companies preparing for the New Year. December could be considered an important month for human interaction, account nurturing and campaign planning.

• Qualification rates are 2% higher than average from June to August. During these summer months qualification rates increased, which may be based on the conversion rates simultaneously falling below average. With less warm leads coming through agents have far more time to ensure they reach the right people and analyse each companies potential. 

Timing has a direct impact on your business. Research how your customers interact with your website, sales agents and social media in order to build your schedule around them.

Seasonality is also extremely important in B2B sales! So although this research may not reflect personal experience it’s vital that you plan your year to ensure it reflects your own company trends. Analysis of your monthly sales figures over three years could be a start.

*Software Advice

CTPS is a 'do not call' list for B2B telemarketing. What's the point?

Many of you will be aware of the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which is essentially a ‘do not call’ list for consumer telephone numbers. But what about Corporate TPS (CTPS)?

The CTPS list currently holds 2.6m telephone numbers. Similar to TPS, it’s a list of business telephone numbers that have opted out from receiving telemarketing calls. Calling any of these numbers could – in theory – result in a fine as high as £500,000.

However, awareness of CTPS is poor and combined with a lack of appetite for prosecution as well as a registration system that is flawed, many people are asking for CTPS to be scrapped.

But what are the advantages in scrapping this system? And are there good reasons to keep it?

The argument for scrapping CTPS is based on the fact that not all B2B telemarketing companies subscribe to it. It currently costs £1,100 per annum to receive the CTPS list every 28 days, and it could be seen by some as a tax on reputable telemarketing companies.

In addition, since CTPS was launched in 2004 there have been no prosecutions or fines issued – yet CTPS has received complaints. As a result, some commentators view the legislation as pointless.

Finally, the registration process is flawed. It’s possible for managers to register the telephone numbers of all their staff without consulting them. This can prohibit buyers from finding new products or suppliers with better or cheaper offers.

However, there is an argument to keep CTPS – or at least to not scrap it.

There are some organisations which perhaps should not be called for telemarketing purposes. For example, the direct lines of emergency services. These numbers cannot be registered on TPS, so how do you prevent them from being listed on a telemarketing database?

Also, it’s a waste of marketing budget to call people who have requested not to be telephoned. Plus, if you have an active content marketing plan, you should be able to persuade buyers to opt in to receive a telemarketing call… which overrides any CTPS opt-out registration.

Lastly, checking telephone numbers against the CTPS protects our clients’ brand from potential bad publicity.

But all of this could soon become an academic debate, as the draft EU Data Regulation is due to get its first reading this spring. If this new law is passed in its current form, it could require all direct marketing to be opt-in with explicit consent. Thus, perhaps, CTPS becomes redundant.

What’s the biggest challenge facing B2B Marketing?

Holger Schulze recently set a challenge on LinkedIn. He asked Marketing Managers to describe in one word the biggest challenge facing B2B Marketing.

Over 260 senior managers and directors took part and we have analysed all the responses and formed a word cloud of the top 50.

Data and Content came top as the biggest challenge for B2B Marketing, with Relevance running a close second. The top 10 are as follows:

• Data
• Content
• Relevance
• Differentiation
• ROI
• Creativity
• Insight
• Trust
• Value
• Budget

The value of good Data in B2B telemarketing is immediately apparent the moment you make a call. That’s why SCi Sales Group have invested in the collation and constant cleaning of a database that holds 2.9m data points in the UK and 1.8m in Europe. It’s our most precious resource.

We also agree with our marketing colleagues that Content and Relevance are a big challenge. A B2B call lives or dies by whether the message is relevant to the target audience and has substantial content. These are key questions we debate in the Workshops we organise with clients for all our campaigns.

Do you agree with the results of the LinkedIn question? What’s your view on the biggest challenge facing B2B marketing… and can you describe it in one word?