All posts by : janinepaterson

…and what a lovely classroom!

A recent walk through the beautiful countryside where I live made me think of all the decisions we make every day.

My walks are usually peaceful and calming, but they are never dull, as I get to watch the wildlife going about their daily routines.

On this occasion, my husband and I spotted a trio of pheasants – two boys and a girl. It seemed that love was in the air, but the girl was having none of it! She quickly put the boys in their place before flying off, showing some serious girl power.

One of the boys followed suit, but the other one ran across the road like a bird-brained Road Runner (showing my age here ?). It was a lucky escape – there were no cars around, but it made me think about how making the right decision is important.

But, whether at home or in the office, making the right decisions can be challenging.

We can often rely on the support of friends and family who have the benefit of experience when it comes to decisions in our daily lives.

However, when it comes to work we need a different type of help to ensure we make the right decisions to move our businesses forward.

That’s where expert advice comes in, especially when it comes to your marketing and advertising activities. Ensuring that your business is legally compliant can save you a lot of trouble down the road.

So if you need help in this area, don’t hesitate to seek expert advice. You know where I am! ?

In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying my daily walks in the countryside, watching the wildlife. Who knows what lessons nature will teach me next?

PS. On our walk around the block the following day, we came across evidence that a pheasant hadn’t made the right decision.

It’s unclear whether it was the same one we saw the day before or another, but what was clear –  it wouldn’t be making any more decisions, good or bad.

…but it’s very useful if done correctly

I was talking to a client the other day about profiling, you know, using information about your current customers and your ideal clients to tailor your marketing, as this makes them far more likely to be interested in your products and services.

However, there is some fear of profiling as cases in the news of companies getting it wrong have highlighted the consequences, both in terms of fines and damage to your brand’s good name!

The good news is that you can do this to get the best out of your marketing, but you need to play by the rules.

Let’s have a look at some of them:

• Tell people you want to use their data for profiling and set it out simply and clearly.
   
• Be clear about what legal basis you’re using for this. Are you going to ask them for consent, so actively seeking their agreement, or are you relying on your legitimate business interests? Whichever one you decide on, explain what this means and tell them how they can change their minds later on.
   
• Be careful about assumptions in your profiling. Most profiling is good for you and your customers, but there is a risk of harm to people if you make assumptions based on what you find out, for example, you could deny them access to your products.

So, profiling can help you understand your customers and prospects and grow your business, but only if done responsibly. Remember, always have your customers in mind – is this in their interests as well as yours?

Yours,

Janine

PS. Profiling can sometimes feel creepy, like someone’s spying on you, and it’s got a bad rep for that reason. But you needn’t worry, as done the right way, profiling can be pretty helpful to find those people who want what you sell.

Gone, but not forgotten

If you’ve been reading my emails (and I hope you have) you will know that I have shared some of my life with Archie, our golden retriever.

He has been a joy to have in our lives, giving us the motivation to get out in the fresh air and making us laugh with his antics.

You will also know he had epilepsy, which we were trying to control with medication.

Unfortunately, after 2 fits and then catching kennel cough, Archie died on the 13^th March. The toll the fits were having on his body, especially his heart, meant that did not have the strength to deal with the stress and anxiety caused by the kennel cough.

He was only 8 and a half, and although we knew this condition would shorten his life, we had hoped to have him for a few more years.

We are working through our grief, as he has left one hell of a hole in our lives.

If you have a dog, cat or any other pet, give them a cuddle tonight and treasure every moment you have with them.

RIP Archie.

Not sure what message this sends out!

Let me tell you a little story: there was this catalogue retailer called Easylife, and they made a pretty big mistake with their marketing.

They tried to guess their customers’ health conditions based on what they’d bought in the past and then tried to sell them related products. This a classic example of profiling gone wrong.

A lot of marketers get nervous about profiling because it can seem like an invasion of privacy, especially if it’s done in a sneaky or underhanded way.

But the thing is, profiling can actually be really helpful for sending people marketing messages that are actually relevant to them.

So the ICO fined Easylife £1.35 million in October last year, and now they’re on the regulator’s radar for the future, which is not a great place to be.

But, this is where it gets a little concerning for me. Easylife stopped this processing and appealed to the first Tier Tribunal about the size of the fine.

And after representations from Easylife, which have not been disclosed, an agreement has been reached which sees the ICO reduce the fine to £250,000!

The Information Commissioner, John Edwards said:

“As a pragmatic and proportionate regulator, my role is to ensure that we protect the public and ensure businesses abide by the law.

“Easylife has confirmed that it has stopped the unlawful processing which formed the basis of the ICO’s concerns. Having considered the amount of the penalty again during the course of the litigation, in light of the issues raised by Easylife, I considered that a reduction was appropriate.”

Now, this is not the first time that an enormous fine originally imposed on companies for breaches of data protection has been slashed.

Both British Airways and Marriott International Hotels were fined in 2020 after hackers breached their systems.

The original fines the ICO announced were £183.4m for BA and £99m for Marriott.

But when the monetary penalty notices were eventually imposed, these had been reduced to £20m and £18.4m. A discount of nearly 92% and 94% respectively.

These are still the 2 highest fines that have been imposed, but the message seems to be if you say you’re sorry, stop the processing complained about and say you’ll never do it again, the ICO will reduce your fine substantially.

I really want to know what all these companies said to the ICO to achieve such great results.

…sometimes not as useful as claimed!

I revealed before that one of my “guilty pleasures” was watching Doctors, a tv drama on BBC1.

I recently watched an episode where they were carrying out peer reviews of the GPs. The doctors were paired up and it was interesting to see how they observed each other and provided feedback on how they conducted consultations with the patients.

However, what became apparent, which I had already guessed might happen, is that the partners at the practice failed to take into account that being critiqued on the way you work, especially by someone you know, is dangerous territory, as it can lead to people taking that feedback not in the way it is given!

In the episode, the relationships between the GPs deteriorated until some were not even talking to each other! I don’t think that was the desired outcome!

This is something that applies not just to doctors, but to all businesses. We all have our own views on what we think about our role and the way we do things, that having any shortcomings pointed out can cause anger and upset.

And, even if there are new and innovative ways of doing things, we’re unlikely to take these seriously.

It’s essential to review how things are done within your business and processes, to make sure that they are working to their best and compliant. But you do need to consider the best way to do this.

Having someone independent will in most cases achieve much more than looking at it internally.

… can be a great way to find new customers

As you know, using personal data to generate leads for your business is a great way to grow your sales, but it’s so important that it’s legal and respectful of people’s privacy.

There are rules about how you can collect and use personal data, and it’s important to follow these rules to avoid getting into trouble.

Consider these to help you stay within the law:

Get people’s permission:

Before you use someone’s personal data, you need their permission. This could be asking for their consent, if that is required, or otherwise making sure they’re okay with receiving your marketing.

Be clear about what you’re doing:

People need to know how you’re using their data. Be clear and open about what you’re doing with it.

Only collect what you need:

Don’t collect more data than you need. Stick to the information that’s relevant to your business and make sure you’re only using it for the purposes you said you would.

Keep the data up to date:

It’s important that the data you have is accurate and up to date. Review your data regularly and make any necessary changes.

Make sure people can opt-out:

If someone changes their mind about receiving marketing messages from you, make sure it’s easy for them to opt-out.

Following these tips will help you use personal data for lead generation in a way that’s within the rules, but also in a way your customers would expect.

Fascinating!  

Marketing is such an interesting world and I’m always interested in understanding how people see advertising and understand the impact good, compliant marketing can have.

So I’m keen to read any research on the subject, especially when its looks into what works and what doesn’t, and the whys of that.

I saw the results of research into the impact of customer selfies has on 3 areas:

• Increasing sales of a product
• Increasing customer engagement, and
• Increasing brand reach.

Encouraging your customers to do your marketing for you is a great part of your marketing mix, but which images you use will depend on the goal of your campaign.

• If you want more sales, you need to encourage your customers to post images of them holding your product, with nothing else.

When we see a hand holding a product, we can imagine ourselves holding it, and this increases our desire for it.

However

• If you want your customers to be more engaged with your brand or you want to increase your brand’s reach, selfies with your customer’s face and the product are the way to go.

When we see a person’s face and the product, we perceive it belongs to them. We don’t see it as ours, but if it is something we desire, we will feel more social and want to engage with the image and the brand behind it.

It will depend on what you are selling (there are always caveats in research ?) but this shows the interaction between marketing and psychology.

Marketing is all about knowing your customers and clients and understanding what they want, which you can deliver.

It is also about knowing the rules you need to follow when providing your customers with their desires.

So if you need help with the psychological side of marketing, don’t ask me. I have some understanding of this, as I find it so amazing, but I don’t have the expertise.

But if you want help with understanding the rules, you are in exactly the right place.

Consent vs legitimate interests

A big part of GDPR compliance is the legal basis you rely on for using people’s data.

There are 6 in total, but for marketing only 2 will apply.

1. Consent.

You can choose to use consent or you may have to (automated calls and emails/text messages where the soft opt-in doesn’t apply).

When using consent, remember:

1. It must be freely given – there must be a choice, either yes or no. You can’t tie up marketing consent in your terms and conditions for your services.
2. The consent needs to be specific and informed – you need to explain exactly what the person is consenting to, so an email newsletter or general marketing emails sent every day.
3. Be unambiguous in the words you use – it should be obvious what they have agreed to.

You can collect consent from your customers and prospects directly, or consent can be obtained on your behalf by a 3^rd party. Make sure the 3^rd party collects the consent legally otherwise you will not be able to contact those people.

Consent can degrade over time. Sometimes because it was obtained for a particular purpose, say an event and therefore once the event has taken place the consent will end, or over time. If you have consent for general marketing, you need to regularly communicate otherwise the consent will expire.

• Legitimate interests.

You can look at legitimate interests if you don’t have to use consent. You need to show that your proposed use of peoples’ data is proportionate, has minimal privacy impact and is something the individual would expect or wouldn’t object to.

You need to justify using legitimate interests by following the 3 step test.

1. Purpose – why do you want to use peoples’ data for your marketing? This could be for gaining new customers or launching a new product.
2. Necessity – is it necessary to use the data in this way to achieve your goal? Is there another way without using the data?
3. Balancing – you should weigh up the needs of the business to carry out the marketing with the interests of the proposed recipients.

If you want to use legitimate interests, you need to tell people when you collect their data and allow them to opt-out. As with consent, a 3^rd party can obtain permission on your behalf to use legitimate interests.

Deciding which one to use is not always straightforward. But make sure you comply with the rules, whichever you decide, is important to your bank balance and your company’s reputation.

… whatever they apply to

I witnessed something the other day that got me thinking about rules.

We have all sorts of rules that govern our personal and business lives. Rules to keep us safe, help us achieve goals and ensure fair play for all.

But I realised that there are so many rules, that people can start to ignore them, or decide they won’t get caught.

I was out walking the dog with my husband. We had come around the normal route and were heading back up the hill to our home.

As we walked, a Range Rover passed us, at a fair speed (the limit is 30mph), but it was more what the driver was doing that left me speechless.

He was holding the steering wheel with his right hand, and in his left, holding it right in front of his face was a mobile phone! ?

To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement. The potential consequences of his actions are unthinkable and could have lifelong effects.

We all know you shouldn’t drive holding a mobile but people still do.

We don’t have many police cars come through the hamlet where we live, so maybe he thought he wouldn’t be caught.

In business, people feel that the chances of a visit from the ICO are very slim, so pushing the rules seems justifiable if the rewards stack up.

But one mistake could have a major impact on you and your business, and trying to keep just on the right side of legal can be stressful.

The rules are there for everyone’s benefit. They can be a little grey when it comes to marketing and advertising law, and there is scope for a little flexible thinking, but you do need to know and understand how far you can go.

It depends on the circumstances.

I thought I would go a little off-piste from the Direct Marketing Guidance as I read an interesting ICO case on a fundamental part of the rules around marketing.

The rules in the GDPR only apply if you use personal data in your marketing.

So what is personal data?

“any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual”

So, your name, address and your email address count, but in a recent Freedom of Information case, the ICO had to decide whether the name of a police dog was personal data.

The case concerned an incident where a police dog injured a woman at an illegal rave.

The woman requested information from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary (ASC) as part of a complaint she’d filed.

 ASC ruled that the information requested:

1. Name of the dog
2. Name and force number of the dog handler
3. The handler’s qualifications and training records.

was subject to an exemption from disclosure as there was an ongoing investigation and the information was personal data.

The ICO agreed that 2 was obviously personal data and felt that 3 was capable of being disclosed in an anonymous form, therefore removing any personal data.

The question regarding the name of the dog remained.

Due to the nature of the relationship between a dog and his handler, which is a very personal bond, the handler’s colleagues would definitely know who he was, and it was likely that others outside the police force would also be able to identify him from his dog’s name. The ICO, therefore, concluded that the dog’s name was personal data and was therefore exempt from disclosure.

Most of the time what is personal data is clear, and it’s likely that your dog’s name would count (especially if they are well known in your area, as is my dog, all the neighbours love him and know he is ours!).

However, this case shows that it can be a very subjective decision and dependent on the specific circumstances. When it’s not straightforward it can leave you with a question – do the direct marketing rules apply?

PS. It’s unlikely a cat, pet rabbit or gerbil would have the same relationship with its owner to allow someone to identify them, but you never know ?