Launching a GDPR solution in Southern Europe

Context

Siteimprove spotted a revenue opportunity in Southern Europe as organizations scrambled to comply with GDPR regulations. The addressable market included tens of thousands of companies across the EU facing potential fines of up to 4% of annual revenue for non-compliance.

The competitive landscape favored incumbents. Existing GDPR solutions came from law firms and specialized consultancies that were expensive, slow, and poorly integrated with existing digital infrastructure. These providers charged hourly rates for manual compliance work, creating ongoing cost burdens for companies that needed continuous monitoring.

The opportunity was clear: a tech-enabled GDPR solution that automated compliance monitoring at a fraction of the cost. But the challenge was equally clear: launching a new product category in three distinct markets (Spain, Italy, Portugal) with different regulatory nuances, languages, and buying behaviors, all within six months while competing against established local consultancies.

The stakes mattered. GDPR non-compliance penalties were severe, but Southern European markets remained underserved by affordable, automated solutions. Companies needed help, and Siteimprove had the technical capability to deliver it if we could crack the positioning and localization challenge.

Approach

As Marketing Manager for Southern Europe, I led the six-month launch with a hypothesis: success required going beyond translation to true localization. Each market needed positioning that reflected their specific regulatory environment and buying preferences.

I structured the approach around three strategic pillars.

First, market-specific positioning. I researched each country’s regulatory enforcement patterns and compliance concerns. Spain emphasized automated risk detection after seeing aggressive early GDPR enforcement. Italy focused on governance frameworks, particularly for public sector organizations navigating complex procurement. Portugal highlighted cost efficiency compared to consulting firms, where budget constraints drove decision-making.

The messaging framework avoided compliance fear-mongering. Instead, I positioned around “data trust” and “governance,” making GDPR compliance a proactive business capability rather than a reactive legal obligation. This reframing helped differentiate against consultancies selling anxiety.
Second, sales enablement at scale. I built training programs for five regional sales reps, equipping them with market-specific objection handling, competitive positioning against law firms, and demo scripts highlighting automation benefits. The battle cards compared our solution against consulting firms on total cost of ownership, showing how automated monitoring eliminated ongoing hourly fees.

Third, partner-driven credibility. I recognized we couldn’t compete on legal expertise alone. Instead, I established relationships with local legal experts and compliance consultancies who could co-present at our events, lending credibility to our technical solution while we provided them with a scalable tool for their clients.
The timeline was aggressive: two months for market research and positioning development, two months for content creation and sales training, two months for launch execution and optimization.

Solution

I executed a multi-channel launch strategy built around the channels showing early traction: in-platform promotion and field events.

For in-platform promotion, we leveraged Siteimprove’s existing user base by promoting the GDPR solution directly within the product interface. This reached customers already using our digital optimization tools and created a natural upsell path from our core platform.

The field events strategy became our differentiation engine. I organized localized compliance workshops in Madrid, Milan, and Lisbon, positioning Siteimprove experts alongside local compliance officers.

These weren’t product pitches but educational sessions establishing thought leadership while generating qualified pipeline. Each event featured co-presentations with local legal experts, combining technical automation capability with regulatory credibility.

Sales enablement deliverables included battle cards comparing our solution against consulting firms, ROI calculators showing cost savings versus manual compliance processes, and demo environments pre-configured for each market’s specific regulatory requirements. The ROI story was compelling: automated monitoring versus hourly consulting fees showed clear payback within months.

Content production focused on localized assets. I created market-specific case studies, compliance checklists, webinar series with local legal experts, and targeted LinkedIn campaigns focusing on compliance officers and data protection managers. Each piece reinforced the core positioning: automated, affordable, integrated GDPR compliance.

The materials weren’t just translated but culturally adapted. I understood that Italian procurement cycles moved differently than Spanish ones, and Portuguese companies valued different proof points than their Spanish counterparts. This localization depth separated us from competitors using generic European messaging.

Throughout execution, I coordinated with product, sales, and customer success teams across regions to ensure consistent messaging while maintaining market-specific flexibility.

Results

The Southern European launch exceeded expectations across key metrics and market penetration.

I achieved 40% marketing attribution against a 33% goal. This meant 40% of pipeline in Southern Europe came directly from marketing efforts, demonstrating that localized positioning and field events created measurable impact across all three markets. The attribution level validated the investment in market-specific messaging and educational field events.

The Southern European launch outperformed other regional rollouts in both speed to first customer and early adoption rates. We led with EU regulatory expertise rather than generic compliance messaging, making the solution immediately relevant to local compliance officers who appreciated our understanding of their specific regulatory environment.

The field events strategy proved particularly effective. Educational workshops generated qualified pipeline while establishing Siteimprove as a thought leader in GDPR compliance. Co-presenting with local legal experts gave us credibility we couldn’t have achieved independently, while our automation capability gave partners a scalable tool for their client base.

Beyond metrics, the launch established repeatable processes for regional product launches. The localization framework, sales enablement structure, and partner-driven credibility model became templates for subsequent market expansions.

The success demonstrated that technical products in regulated markets require deep market understanding. Translation isn’t enough. Understanding each country’s regulatory enforcement patterns, buying behaviors, and competitive landscape made the difference between generic positioning and market leadership.