How Web Agencies and Designers Can Sell GDPR Compliance to Clients

For web designers and digital agencies, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) creates both a legal obligation and an amazing business opportunity.

While many web design agencies mainly focus on aesthetics and functionality of a site, offering and selling GDPR compliance as part of your sales package can be a great decision.

This article explores how web agencies and designers can sell GDPR compliance to their clients, including how to frame it, how to structure services, and how to effectively market it. We look at a real world example of a web design agency that does GDPR compliance as well.

Why Should You Sell GDPR Compliance to Clients?

By selling GDPR compliance to your clients, you will be boosting their trust in you as a credible and legally compliant agency.

You'll show potential clients that you can offer more than a beautiful website with awesome functionality. All of this will enhance your clients' trust in you, boost your credibility in the field, and can open up new revenue streams for you to explore.

Why Does the GDPR Matter to Your Clients?

It's likely that your clients are asking you to design websites that will be accessed by people who are protected by the GDPR. This means that compliance is going to need to be a part of their new sites, whether they get it from you or elsewhere.

Here are some key points about why the GDPR matters to your clients (and to you).

• It's a legal requirement: If your clients plan to do things like collect email addresses from people located in the EEA for a newsletter, or ship goods to those people, the GDPR will matter to your clients. It's a legal requirement, and not an optional thing.
• Not complying can damage a business's reputation and revenue: Violating the GDPR can lead to huge fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher. A data breach or imposition of fines can severely damage the reputation of a business and lead to lost revenue on top of the fines.

Without GDPR compliance, your clients can face costly fines and legal issues, as well as extensive reputational damage and loss of public trust.

Steps to Follow to Start Selling GDPR Compliance to Your Clients

To effectively sell GDPR compliance, web agencies and designers should clearly communicate its value to the client. It can be framed as an essential business investment with a lot of benefits.

Here's how to approach this with your clients.

1. Educate Clients on How and Why the GDPR is Relevant to Them

The first step in selling GDPR compliance is to let your clients know that it's something they need to be aware of, which they very likely may not be.

Many of your clients, especially smaller businesses or those that are located outside of the EU, may not fully understand what the GDPR is, or they may not know that it can apply to them at all.

As a web agency or designer, you should educate clients about the following:

• The broad scope of the GDPR: Explain to them that the GDPR applies to them if their website will be targeting EU users, even if their business is based outside of the EU. For example, a U.S.-based ecommerce site that sells products to customers in the EU must comply.
• The risks of not complying: Inform them about the risks of fines, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust that comes along with not complying with the GDPR. You can note a few real-world cases and examples of companies that got hit with GDPR violations to make it more real to them.
• The benefits of complying: End it on a positive note to help convince them that they not only need but want GDPR compliance. Emphasize how GDPR compliance builds trust with global customers, enhances a brand's reputation as being trustworthy, and can set them above the competition when it comes to showing they care about user privacy and handle personal data responsibly.

You can help get these points across by creating simple and easy-to-understand resources like blog posts, infographics, or pre-recorded short videos on your website that highlight and explain the GDPR. Consider offering free consultations to potential clients to discuss how the GDPR impacts their specific business and situation.

2. Position and Promote Yourself as a GDPR Expert

Because legal compliance can be such a tricky topic with huge implications, you'll need to take steps to establish your credibility. Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Partner with legal experts: Collaborate with GDPR consultants or law firms, especially for clients with complex projects or unique situations.
• Consider getting certifications: Consider certifications like the CDP certification to show your commitment and expertise.
• Showcase your expertise: Use your website to promote and highlight your GDPR services and why you're an expert. Note any partnerships with legal experts, or any certifications you have. Explain how you can help clients avoid fines or improve user trust. Eventually you can publish case studies or testimonials from your clients who benefited from your GDPR services. If you're still new to this, you may not be able to create this section now, but keep it in mind and build it out as you can.

3. Frame GDPR Compliance as an Investment in Consumer Trust and the Brand's Value

Your clients will be more likely to buy your GDPR compliance services, even if they don't necessarily have to, when they can see the benefits that compliance will bring to them.

Communicate GDPR compliance in a way that makes it irresistible to the client.

Instead of them seeing it as a headache and annoying hassle, you can promote the idea that by getting compliant with the GDPR, the client is going to boost their trust and credibility with potential customers around the world.

Explain to them that by embracing privacy and proving their trustworthiness, they can attract more customers and increase their brand's value in the public eye.

Consider using phrases like the following as part of your messaging around GDPR compliance being an investment:

• "Transparency builds loyalty, and compliance builds trust."
• "We can design your site with integrity and compliance at its core."
• "People care about their privacy. Show them that you do, too."

Tips for Communicating Value to Clients

If clients seem hesitant or still aren't convinced that GDPR compliance is worth the investment, here are some effective ways to respond.

• Use real-life examples: Talk about some businesses that were fined for GDPR violations, or received backlash like lost revenue and reputational damage. If you can, find a relevant example in the client's same industry.
• Do a risk versus cost comparison for them: Put emphasis on how small the cost of compliance truly is in contrast to what some of the costs of non-compliance can be. Let them see that a $2,000 compliance package is really a bargain when stacked against a $20,000 fine. Note the peace of mind they will obtain from knowing their site is compliant as well, which is priceless.
• Emphasize that consumers want to see compliance: Find studies and other data that shows how consumers don't trust brands that don't prove they take data privacy seriously. Help the client see that they are likely to have a significant uptick in customers, repeat customers and overall favorability with the public when they get GDPR compliant.

4. Bundle GDPR Compliance With Your Web Design Services Packages

Make it easy for your clients to opt in to your GDPR compliance services by adding ongoing compliance services into your recurring package or tiered service offerings.

Some of the GDPR compliance services you'll likely offer include the following:

• Initial GDPR audit
• Cookie consent setup and ongoing compliance updates
• Privacy Policy drafting
• Contact form and other data collection analyses
• Third-party tool reviews (For example, Google Analytics, CRMs, etc.)
• Staff training and other helpful resources

Here are some ways that you can promote and sell these services to reach the most clients and provide the most options:

• Standalone Audit and Implementation Package: You can charge a one-time fee to conduct a GDPR audit and implementation of basic compliance components.
• Subscription Model: You can charge a monthly/quarterly/annual fee to ensure that the website remains compliant through the course of the subscription.
• Add-On/Upsell Tier: You can offer a premium web design package tier that includes full privacy and data compliance services for GDPR compliance.

5. Offer a Free GDPR Assessment

Offering a free GDPR assessment is a great way to get clients interested and responsive. After the assessment, you can offer specific solutions for what the client needs.

Seeing their own customized assessment and solutions will make them more likely to move forward with a paid package from you.

During the assessment, check for things like:

• Lack of cookie consent banners
• Opt-in forms with pre-checked checkboxes
• Privacy Policy that addresses GDPR user rights

Common Client Objections and Some Helpful Ways to Respond

Here are some common client objections you may face as a web agency or designer who's trying to sell GDPR compliance, along with some helpful ways to respond to their objections.

What are Some Effective Marketing Strategies for Selling GDPR Compliance Services?

Marketing your GDPR compliance services in an effective way is key to success. Here are some ways you can attract clients and sell your compliance services.

• Create valuable free content: Give people something useful that will make them want to work with you. For example, have a blog that regularly discusses compliance issues. Host an informative webinar, or pre-record video content that you can embed on your own site. Design one-page infographics or short guides to the GDPR that your clients can download and view.
• Target high-risk industries: Create marketing content that's specific to industries that are at high risk for non-compliance issues, such as ecommerce, finance and healthcare websites. People in these industries will likely be more onboard with buying GDPR compliance services to avoid the risks that come with their industries.

Example of a Web Design Agency that Sells GDPR Compliance

To see everything we've talked about in action, let's take a look at how Buzz Web Design and Consultancy positions itself in the world of both web design and GDPR compliance.

Buzz has a page dedicated to its GDPR-related services.

It starts this page by noting that it's an easy option, then goes into detail on the importance of GDPR compliance to avoid fines. It explicitly notes that the GDPR applies to small businesses and self-employed individuals, as well as to businesses that aren't in the EU, which are common misconceptions your clients may have.

This is a great way to quickly address many of the top concerns and selling points: Avoiding huge fines, and that it applies to more people than people may think.

Early on this page, Buzz offers a downloadable feature for clients to purchase.

By selling a generalized pack for a low rate, Buzz is able to get a lot of potential clients to understand the importance of GDPR compliance, while also making revenue from the educational content:

Buzz makes the value of its package known by including a list of all the features that people will get, including future updates to the content:

Below this, Buzz presents a testimonials section where users who have been helped by the GDPR compliance services can be featured. Testimonials and reviews always help give a warm touch to a site and help convince others to sign up as well:

Scrolling to the end of the page leads to a "Find Out More" button. This button leads to a page that lists all the available services and offerings around GDPR compliance:

From this page, clients are able to view everything the company offers. Short descriptions with each service help clients understand what they'll be getting:

Note how it offers a range of services, from the lower-priced downloadable pack, to a full business audit, to education and awareness services to help businesses in a way that goes beyond website building and design.

Buzz highlights its experience when it comes to the GDPR and notes that it will be a trusted partner for a business:

Buzz hits all the main points of:

• Explaining why your clients must comply with the GDPR
• Explaining the benefits that come with GDPR compliance
• Showing your expertise and experience
• Showing client testimonials
• Offering multiple types of compliance options for clients to purchase

Summary

If you want to start selling GDPR compliance along with your web design services, there are a few things you should do right away:

• Educate your clients on why they need to be compliant.
• Let clients know all the ways that compliance will help them, from legal reasons to looking better to their own customers.
• Let your clients know why you're the best choice for their compliance needs, and what value you bring.
• Integrate compliance services into existing web design packages, or sell them as add-ons.
• Have a solid marketing campaign that involves creating free, useful content.

By presenting your GDPR compliance services in a professional way that gives your clients valuable information and a variety of service options to buy, you'll be positioned well to start making a name for yourself in the compliance industry.