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Refrigeration and air conditioning experts Adcock have signed a two-year contract with Everything DM to create and manage their marketing strategy.

Adcock’s customers range from small businesses to large scale, multi-site organisations across hundreds of industries. From pharmaceuticals to food management, they attract facility managers requiring world-class refrigeration or air conditioning systems. Their consumer base includes high-profile personalities seeking cooling solutions for luxury residences.

The initial two-year marketing strategy includes a new website, blog content and digital brochures. 

“We are proud to be in our 54th year of trading. Our family-owned cooling business has been built on foundations of excellent customer service and the dedication of the UK’s most highly trained engineers. We are now looking to position our cutting-edge products and services in front of more clients and prospects by launching a brand new website and engaging marketing content. We were impressed with the attention to detail and ideas from Everything DM.”
Paul Brant, Deputy MD, Adcock

Adcock’s new state-of-the-art website is already under way. Kieron Karue, MD at Everything DM says “We are delighted to be working with the Adcock team in a marketing capacity. Adcock is an ideal client with a great reputation for designing, installing and servicing exceptional engineering products. It’s now our job to build upon this, creating a modern, compelling ‘shop front’ for the online customer and showcasing their unrivalled knowledge and expertise.”

Adcock’s manufacturing partners include Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin and Toshiba. Based in Cambridge, they boast a network of 12 fully serviced centres across England, employing 230+ staff and specialist engineers.

The GDPR implementation date is creeping closer leaving many marketers and business owners still confused and perhaps panicked. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, nine out of ten say they are still not ready for 25th May 2018.

With “cold turkey” cases like pub chain JD Wetherspoon deleting its email database of 700,000 customers and deciding to market through social media and website instead, there is a temptation or fear to follow suit or launch a strategy to re-opt everyone in to marketing.

Industry bodies like the DMA and Data Protection Network (DPN) are providing a lot of useful information for marketers on GDPR. We’ve distilled their salient points into a briefing on the viable strategies to continue sending relevant, targeted direct marketing to a qualified audience.

Firstly, have you got consent?

In a nutshell, under GDPR there are six lawful grounds on which to process data. One of these is consent and you may well already have sufficient consent to process your customer/prospect data for marketing. But beware the ICO sets a high standard for consent. Essentially it is based on the current DPA clause: consent “must be freely given, specific, informed” but it also goes further to include being unambiguous with a clear affirmative action (no pre-ticked boxes), keeping a record of consent and avoiding making consent a condition of a contract. Note that the ability to withdraw consent must be easy and not incur a penalty for the individual, and regular consent reviews should be implemented.

So rushing in to get fresh consent from your hundreds/thousands/millions of customers could be unnecessary, costly and detrimental to an already legitimate database. If you have consent that satisfies GDPR, ensure you continue to adhere to it making any of the required changes such as consent reviews (every six months is sage advice). Ensure your current sign-up forms are GDPR-compliant for data you acquire henceforth.

But one thing is clear. You cannot contact someone who has already opted out, regardless of your motive. Even if you think you’re being prudent or helpful– to check if they want to opt back in, to update their details or inform them about your GDPR strategy – it’s breaching the law. Flybe and Morrisons have been penalised for this.

Legitimate interest

We’ve established that consent that meets GDPR standards is quite hard to obtain – even the ICO admits this. But remember, there are six bases for processing data and you must choose the most appropriate. The DMA and its partners have lobbied for the continued use of legitimate interest, and as one of the six bases it may be the one for you as a data controller.

“The processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes may be regarded as carried out for a legitimate interest.” Article 47

Legitimate interest can be relied upon for a whole host of data processing purposes including fraud prevention, profiling and HR but we are focusing here on direct marketing.

CEO of the DMA Group, Chris Combemale remarks “Most of our members will use ‘legitimate interest’ as the basis for normal data hygiene, segmentation, personalisation of offers and channels such as postal, and recital of 47 of the GDPR states that direct marketing is a legitimate interest.”

However, if you’re not sure exactly what it means, you’re not alone. One in four marketers are concerned about the issue of legitimate interests under the new rules*.

There are three elements to the legitimate interests basis. You need to:

• identify a legitimate interest;
• show that the processing is necessary to achieve it; and
• balance it against the individual’s interests, rights and freedoms

To break this down further, legitimate interest means that there would be a relevant and appropriate relationship between the data subject and the controller, i.e. the people you’re marketing to would expect to hear from you and not object. You must also include an option to opt-out at every opportunity. It should be noted that GDPR prohibits the use of legitimate interest for as a basis for processing personal data by a public authority (Art.6 (1)(f)).

Put yourself in the recipient’s shoes.

An update on fundraising events from a charity to its donors? Sounds reasonable.

A mail pack about child investment funds to someone who doesn’t have children? Now it’s starting to sound less legitimate.

If legitimate interest is to be used, then there is a need to balance the interests of the business against the rights and interests of the consumer. Although not specifically itemised in GDPR, carrying out a legitimate interest assessment (LIA) will document and assess whether your choice in lawful.

An LIA has three stages and you can read more on this from the DPN:

1. Identify a Legitimate Interest
2. Carry out a Necessity Test
3. Carry out a Balancing Test 

Privacy notice

Any Controller wishing to rely on legitimate interest must inform individuals (via a privacy notice) that it is processing personal data on this basis, what the legitimate interests are, and also notify individuals of their right to object. You may decide to reassure your customers that you’re making changes in line with GDPR, directing them to your updated privacy policy.

At the end of the day, it’s not about finding loopholes or meeting the bare minimum to skirt penalties. Whilst the non-compliance sanctions are potentially huge, the ICO commissioner makes it clear GDPR’s purpose is not to threaten the marketing profession but to give greater control to the individual, and part of that is being a responsible marketer.

James Monkman, Head of Partnerships & Compliance at Omnis Data, agrees. “GDPR is about common sense and looking after the consumer. That means transparency, protecting consumer information and being prepared for the changes afoot.”

We all know that engaged customers who want to hear about your products and services are the ones to nurture and respect with compelling marketing. And when they don’t want to hear anymore, allow them to walk away… leaving the door open.

Our GDPR check list will give you an indication of how prepared you are for the changes. If you need help with creating compelling direct marketing campaigns, or a database cleanse, get in touch.

*GDPR and You research from the DMA 

Analysing the response to your campaigns can be one of the trickier elements of marketing. Whether it be direct mail, advertising or digital campaigns keeping track of your return on investment can help plan future projects more efficiently. 

Whilst a direct link between your pieces and sales may be what you’re looking for, there’s more to advertising than this. Initially we need to evaluate if the product or service you offer is one of immediate purchase. To expand on this, a car showroom shouldn’t expect an instant flurry of response as most individuals don’t go buying cars on a monthly basis. In these instances, we use marketing to increase brand awareness so that when the time comes, your business is front of mind.

In addition to this, it’s worth pointing out that 6 months down the line, a prospect may not remember where they’ve seen your name, so don’t drop specific marketing channels because nobody mentions them directly.

Whilst, this is all well and good for longer lifespan products and services, some of you may well have the here and now fix, so let’s look at some techniques we can apply to measure our response.

1. Physical Coupons

Coupons are one of the oldest tricks in the book. They can be applied largely to print materials (see coupon codes for digital), in either solid or perforated formats. This allows you to simply count up how many coupons have been redeemed to measure response rate at a glance. The only downside? This method requires you to offer a discount or benefit of sorts. After all, as a buyer, why use a coupon that holds no benefit to me.

1. Coupon Codes

The digital equivalent of physical coupons (although they can be applied to print products). Comes with the same issue of requiring benefits (e.g discounts or freebies), but has the added advantage of automated counting to give you instant response rates.

1. Variable U.R.L’s

The purpose of variable URL’s is that specific prospects get individual web addresses, personalised to them. For example, an email campaign can be sent through to an individual with links directed at the domain www.yourbusiness.com/firstname-lastname. This not only allows us to see how many times a page has been visited, but also allows us to pinpoint specific persons of interest for additional/future campaigns.

1. QR Codes

A format of mixed opinion. However, most QR code generators can provide a dynamic service. This allows us to change the page redirect for single codes in order to provide valuable analytics and measure response.

1. Landing Page

A more simple method, applicable to both print and digital media is landing pages. By setting up a dedicated micro-site for additional information, not only can we optimise content in mailings, but also track those who are interested in finding out more.

1. Footfall

A less effective way to monitor response, is through footfall. Tracking volume of customers or visitors on a daily basis is a laborious task but can give you some insight into marketing effectiveness.

1. Contact

In a similar way to footfall, tracking call and email numbers can also give you an insight. The same can be said about visits to your website through Google analytics. All of which are relative as not directly linked to your marketing, but its worth tracking.

Of course sales can be used as one channel to measure although as we mentioned, direct results are ultimately uncountable.

Track what you can, keep all channels open and never underestimate the power of brand awareness.

Factoring the weather into your comms should be part of your marketing forecast. Everyday life is influenced by weather changes, triggering decision-making, emotions and a sales opportunity for savvy marketers. A temperature increase of just 1-degree Fahrenheit can increase weekly air con sales by 24%, whilst a 1-degree drop can increase weekly sales of portable heaters by 15% (source:’Profit of One Degree’ by wxtrends.com).

An extensive list of industries are affected by the elements including:

• travel/transport
• leisure/entertainment
• homes/gardens
• building maintenance (commercial, educational, residential, historic)
• public services
• food and drink
• storage
• infrastructure
• communication
• animal care
• health and beauty
• clothing and shoes
• insurance and banking
• HR

According to Huffpost, the number one smartphone use is checking the weather. Use this to your advantage by producing contextually relevant marketing to highlight the benefits of your products and services. 

Be a life-saver in extreme weather

The British are famous for talking about the weather, probably because it’s so unpredictable. Indian summer? Snowstorms in March? Perfectly plausible! Being prepared for extreme or freak weather means you’re ready to slide in with your solution. Think about what you offer, how it’s useful in extreme weather and what that email or ad could say. What pain points are people facing and how could you alleviate these? Conference call software for employees snowed in… craft packs to keep children entertained when school’s shut (and parents are trying to work from home)… HR advice on handling employees refusing to work in a heat wave… waterproof storage when heavy rain is forecast…  solutions to protect animals kept outdoors, etc.

It’s also an opportunity to remind customers that you’re still there, perhaps via a “home delivery” text, a tempting email showing the hot drinks your cosy café sells, or other ways to show the weather isn’t interrupting business as usual. Throw in an offer, get the timing spot on and you’ll be even more irresistible. Charities or not-for-profit organisations can also highlight their plight or cause in weather extremes for increasing donations and engagement. Having copy/design in mind means you can despatch a relevant message quickly for maximum impact.

Despite the banter, there will be a British summer every year so there’s nothing too special about promoting BBQs or flip flops when it’s already warm. However, you can be one step ahead and ready to shout about your 6-burner grill along with a 3-day local weather forecast when it’s going to be a scorcher. Urging facilities managers to check their air con is working, or to book a pre-heat wave service, provides the rationale for them to click with you rather than your competitors. Get thinking how weather peaks and troughs can work for your business.

If your products are more suitable to the opposite of the prevailing weather, there’s also an opportunity to tempt people with what they could be enjoying or should be doing, e.g. images of sun-drenched beach holidays when it’s miserable outside, or a reminder to gym users that ‘summer bodies are made in winter’ to tackle the dip in enthusiasm the cooler temps bring. Following a particularly dry/wet/cold/hot spell you can remind customers of a service, audit or upgrade they should be considering. You can certainly play on the safety, security, health, economic or product longevity benefits.

Be helpful

Weather-based comms can also provide valuable content to customers to keep them loyal and engaged. A reminder of product features that assist with driving on icy roads, a checklist for their buildings insurance policy (are you covered in a storm?), or a ‘did you know’ (that soup blender you bought from us can also make ice-cold smoothies?). These messages can of course seamlessly lead onto an upgrade or cross-sell message.

User-generated content

Launch a conversation around the weather on social media, asking followers to share tips or photos relating to your products, or share some video tips yourself. This can generate advocacy, insight, sales and a chance for you to demonstrate transparency, value and honesty as a brand.

In conclusion, think outside the box. Even if your product or service isn’t overtly seasonal or affected by the weather, there is sure to be ample opportunity to boost sales by targeting people in the desired mind-set. Look back at previous campaign results and what the weather was like (before/during/after) to spot any trends for future planning. If you need a creative spark to get your weather-related marketing off the ground, get in touch. And remember to check the forecast.

GDPR. What started out as something that sounded years away and hopefully nothing to worry about, is now just around the corner. Every brand controlling or processing EU citizens’ data needs to have a plan in place – from Angry Birds to Zurich.

In a nutshell, GDPR is making changes to the way organisations collect, use and retain personal data, including B2B, B2C and staff information. Assuming you’re already satisfying the 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA) then you’re in a good place but there is still work to be done. The world of marketing, communications and technology has moved on rapidly. Consumers are more data savvy, skeptical – suspicious, even – so the data regulators have upped their game too. The penalties for breaching GDPR are eye-wateringly bigger than previous sanctions, plus you may face compensation claims from individual consumers. The law comes into force on 25th May 2018 with no grace period. And sorry, there’s no opt out either – it’s legally binding, regardless of Brexit.

GDPR isn’t here to make your life difficult, but it will take a collaborative strategic approach to avoid falling foul of the law. But marketers love a challenge, right? At Everything DM we have been data evangelists ever since our creation, and have the expertise to make your marketing impactful and compliant in light of the biggest shake up in recent years. Fearless, bold marketing can still be done!

Audit your position

Getting ready for GDPR is not the responsibility of just one person. Everyone in the organisation who handles, stores or processes data needs to be aware of the new rights that individuals will have. Do you have a process for honouring the right to be forgotten? When did you last review your privacy policy? (tip: you’ll need one). Unbury your head from the sand and use our clear online questionnaire to audit your position. We can help where you’re drawing a blank and give you the confidence that you’ve covered all the bases.

Gain opt-in before the deadline.

Under the consent basis, you’ll need evidence that every person on the receiving end of your email marketing has opted-in. Consent should be given by a clear affirmative act establishing a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication. That doesn’t mean pre-ticked boxes, taking ‘silence’ as consent, or forcing them to accept your marketing as part of a sales process. Beware you cannot email people who’ve already opted-out of your emails either, even if you consider it part of your data audit. Two well-known brands have done this and been penalised.

“But we’ll have no-one to email!”

It may seem disastrous, but GDPR is a good thing. Really. The prospects and customers who positively choose to hear from you are the ones that are worth most to you – the buyers and the advocators. Let us create compelling messaging to showcase the great content they’ll receive for their consent, whether you’re using a preference centre, solus email, letter or web pop-up. Remember, those who ignore your marketing time and time again are only wasting your budget and dragging down your response rates, so it’s a timely goodbye.

Clean up and continue prospecting

GDPR has inevitably prompted scaremongering and hyperbole, including rumours that third party data will die a death. This is not true, if you work with the right people. Our ICO-registered data partner Omnis is already streets ahead. Their sector-specific prospect data is high quality and qualified, as they have been working to GDPR standards for some time. If you need relevant third party data for your marketing campaigns, talk to us.

You may be a little concerned about the state of your CRM now and thinking of investing in data cleansing. Our free data health check service will give you an indication of how current your data is and whether it needs a detox or health kick.

Add direct mail to the mix

Mail is a reliable communication channel in light of the changes affecting email and other digital marketing and a great way to grab your prospect’s attention. 60% of people admit they like receiving mail and it’s a ‘sticky’ medium that’s shared, displayed around the home and re-read several times. What’s more, under GDPR you can send direct mail on the grounds of ‘legitimate interest’ as long as you have a relevant and appropriate relationship with the recipient, and balance the interests of the business against the rights, interests and freedoms of the consumer. Cost is a common concern but direct mail generates 10% more customers than email at a lower cost per acquisition. We can support you with creative through to fulfilment to get the best ROI.

Trust in a campaign manager

Putting your faith in marketing experts means you can spend more time converting sales and less time worrying about a call from the GDPR police. Our services can be combined into a single customer acquisition programme, generating a steady stream of new sales leads directly to you. These email/direct mail managed campaigns are highly targeted with guaranteed delivery, at a fixed monthly cost. We’ll report on the results to continually improve your campaigns and take care of GDPR implications. We handle the third party data (until they become your customers of course) and deal with unsubscribes, or even more tricky areas like subject access requests.

25th May is not far away and GDPR is coming soon to a screen near you. Ultimately, handling data lawfully, fairly and clearly means you’ll gain recognition as a brand that can be trusted. Embrace this law change with fearless and compliant data-driven marketing campaigns.

Please note… whilst we’re ready for GDPR, and are confident it’s a good thing for marketers and consumers alike, we’re not lawyers and this blog does not constitute legal advice. The ICO (the UK’s representative) continues to produce GDPR guidance so keep an eye on their webpage for updates. (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/)