As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance deadline of May 25 looms, marketers must quickly get up to speed on its implications. Forrester released research today that found only 15% of marketers are fully GDPR compliant and 18% are still considering what to do.

The research shares insights into how this regulation will affect marketers globally and what they’ll need to do to comply. Findings include:

  • Why some marketers are underestimating GDPR. Many don’t think the regulation is a relevant concern because they don’t realize that the GDPR doesn’t apply just to companies that are headquartered in the EU or that corporate employees are under protection too.

  • Data audits should be the first step marketers take to becoming GDPR compliant. To avoid making hasty, last-minute assessments of their data, marketers need to take action now. To date, only 44% of marketers have assessed all points of data collection for compliance with GDPR.

  • GDPR will transform the way marketers manage data. Many marketers store and process customer and prospect data through a third party and will need to also assess their partner’s compliance. However, only 11% of those surveyed have vetted their third-party vendors for GDPR readiness.

  • GDPR will enable customer-obsessed marketing. Only 20% of marketers thought of their team as a leader in the GDPR preparation process. But because the marketing team has direct access to understanding the needs and demands of customers, GDPR can spur better customer experiences and bring the influence of the customer’s voice into compliance efforts.

Click here for more information, and please contact us if you’d like a copy of this report.