The approaching EU General Data Protection Regulation will, potentially, have a major impact on all those in 2018 who retain personal information, including contact details for their business prospects. Although the legislation is ambiguous in places, it could well make life more difficult for those callers who plague our phones with unprofessional calls that start with something like “How are you today?” and then proceed to demonstrate that they know nothing about you or your organisation.
Inadvertently, this new legislation may be a catalyst to many companies in advancing their Account-Based Marketing (ABM), primary in the area of Tech and how they integrate various collaboration applications. These days referred to as the 'ABM Stack', it could signal the future of something resembling AI in the approach to developing sales leads. Fully automated marketing maybe?
Imagine a version of SIRI in the chat room or answering calls ….. or even perhaps making outbound calls linked to a CRM with all the relevant information on tap? Well some may say that will be improvement to some customer service centres. The important thing to remember is that technology is an enabler and not always the solution.
Nevertheless, those pesky people who call you without knowing anything about you or your business are most certainly in decline. Instead there’s a brighter future with the effective and timely use of information. Whereas digital marketing can personalise and advance an account-based marketing approach, there’s still a role for a human. Someone with the professional skills to engage you at the right time who uses information to show an understanding of the issues you or your business is facing.