The implications of changing EU Data regulations for UK charities
Howard Lake | 6 March 2012 | Blogs
The recent release of the European Commission’s draft data protection bill is set to shake up the way in which not just charities but all organisations gather, store and use consumer data. Given the technological advances and changes in consumer behaviour the current 1998 Data Protection Act is patently no longer robust enough – a lot can happen in 14 years.
The right to be forgotten
Despite the fact that it won’t come into effect for another two years, already one of the biggest talking points of the new bill is the introduction of the consumer’s “right to be forgotten”. This is a snappy term which essentially places still further control in the hands of the increasingly data-savvy man on the street regarding how long an organisation can keep hold of his individual data. While especially pertinent this aspect seems seemingly targeted at social media platforms, an increasingly important engagement channel for many in the third sector.
However, the right to be forgotten also strikes at the heart of many charities’ lapsed donor re-engagement programmes, and places still further emphasis on getting the message right, conveyed in the right way, and received at the right time. If not carefully handled, ill-targeted or ill-timed communications activity could leave many charities with much depleted previous donor databases as individuals merely close the door to their data being kept. This in turn brings its own implications for further data screening when conducting acquisition campaigns to avoid charities falling foul of major fines.
Minimise the amount of personal data collected
Another interesting and undefined area of the draft data bill is the “explicit requirement” to minimise the amount of personal data collected. Opinion on how much data it is acceptable to hold on consumers will vary greatly from organisation to organisation and industry to industry. After all, in retail, it is now common practice to use detailed purchase history to guide future marketing communications, from picking up a pint of milk on the commute home to a mammoth pre-Christmas stock up of the larder.
While it’s argued that these measures are primarily aimed at controlling data collected via social media platforms, it has wider reaching implications than that and will cause much confusion when it comes to data specialists within the charity space. Added to this is the new ‘explicit consent’ required when capturing personal information – again, a term open to interpretation and already difficult to manage across multiple channels and touchpoints, particularly for the smaller charity with limited funds available.
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Effective data cleansing
It is a common perception within the DM industry that charities can sometimes be caught lacking when it comes to best practice in data. Direct marketing is perhaps the most important messaging channel within this space as it allows charities to accurately target the consumers most likely to have an affinity with the specific cause and ensure communication is relevant. To achieve this, effective and rigorous data cleansing is crucial in avoiding consumer dissatisfaction, as unwanted or irrelevant direct marketing communications are a sure fire way to alienate your potential audience. Charities should be applauded for the close relationships they manage to forge with supporters, but a consumer’s rights should never be lost amongst the perpetual drive for donations.
The importance of data to charities cannot be underestimated – given the significance of direct mail within the sector, without a heavily populated and regularly updated CRM system the marketing function within any medium to large sized charity would fail to function, and that’s not to mention those that are too small to justify such a system. This is why understanding the impact of the new data protection bill is essential for data collectors within the sector. With budgets tight and every penny counting, data governance can often find itself pushed down the list of priorities for charities, but effective data management is an essential process for any charitable organisation.
The upshot of many of these incoming regulatory changes is that many charities will find keeping all donor and prospect information in a single repository the path of least resistance. A nimble single customer view database, updated at the point of each individual’s contact with the organisation, while labour intensive should provide the peace of mind that changing contact preferences are being kept in mind.
In-house or outsourced
Depending on the size of the charity, the task of data management can be done via an in-house role or team, but yet we still rarely see data specialists working in-house at charities as budgets often won’t allow. For larger organisations, and the larger budgets that they boast, outsourcing to a specialist data bureau is likely to be the preferred route. For this sector more than any other, online data cleaning tools are a cost-effective solution, but the results are often mixed and when mistakes are made you risk alienating a potential donor – the worst case scenario for any organisation.
Time to plan
The new EU data bill, however, could actually be seen as a welcome incentive to help improve the situation. It will force organisations to get their databases up to scratch and ensure marketing activity is at its optimum efficiency. It should encourage charities to reassess budget allocation and ensure the data at the heart of their operations are used more effectively. An essential step to prepare for any changes on the horizon regarding this bill will be existing communications strategies to encourage opt-in to multichannel campaign touchpoints, specifically cost-effective email contact, as well as the more traditional routes.
For the vast majority of charities, direct marketing more than any other medium is essential in driving donations. Even though they are two years off at this stage, the tighter regulations introduced by the new data protection bill ensure that it’s time for everyone to get their houses in order and seriously consider how it will impact their marketing strategies at this stage. There is, after all, still time for concerned voices to air their views at the consultation stage.
Charles Ping is strategy director at Communisis, a Marketing Services Provider specialising in effective and relevant customer communications through the better use of data and technology.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.