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There are new regulations concerning email marketing coming into force on 11th December 2003. The results of the recent DTI consultation and details of the new regulations were released on Thursday 18th September. At extravision weýve spent some time following the various developments and this article outlines our interpretation of the regulations and what they might mean to you.
As with all legislation of this nature the source document is reasonably complex. Whist we do provide our clients with a formal opinion on a case by case basis this article is intended only as a guide. The nature of your business and the relationship with your clients may mean the opinions contained within are not applicable to your circumstances. You might therefore want to do two things - firstly read the source document [click here to do so] and secondly, if in any doubt after reading it, take professional advice.
Our opinion and summation is as follows:
The new laws will require companies to gain permission before sending commercial emails to consumers except where there is an existing customer relationship - in which case opt-out emails may be sent. The good news is that B2B emails can be sent on an opt-out basis.
The key points affecting email marketing are summarised below:
- Emails may be sent on an opt-out basis to corporate users.
- Emails cannot be sent to NON-corporate users/private individuals without their prior consent EXCEPT where there is an existing customer relationship.
- In the case of an existing customer relationship, emails can only be sent if user details have been taken in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale of a product or service and where companies are marketing their own similar products or services.
- Where emails are sent to corporate users or existing customers, each email must clearly identify the sender with a contact name and telephone/postal address. A clearly visible means by which the addressee is able to opt-out/refuse further communications must be included with each email.
Corporate users
The specific definition of corporate/business users has been questioned. The information we've found suggests:
- That it applies to anything that looks like a business address, such as @company.co.uk
- If the company is paying the phone bill rather than a private individual.
- The DTI themselves replied to this questions as follows:
The distinction between corporate and individual subscribers largely, but not exclusively, follows a corporate / residential divide. Most businesses fall into the category of corporate subscribers, except sole traders and partnerships outside Scotland (except limited liability partnerships), which are defined as individual subscribers.
- The full definition of corporate user can be found in the full regulations to which we have provided a link at the end of this article.
Sanctions
Anyone found to be contravening the new regulations will be given a maximum ý5000 fine in a magistrates court or an unlimited fine if trial is before a jury. Anyone suffering damages has the right to sue for compensation.
Legacy Lists
No specific exemptions are provided in the regulations for legacy lists.
Techniques for gaining permission
The campaigns we run for our clients tend to be B2B based but even in B2B cases we work on the premise that permission makes for a more successful campaign and is often better to have than not at all. In this article we look at some techniques, which you can start to use in order to ensure that your email campaigns are compliant prior to the new legislation. Even aside from the legislation these tactics will make for more successful marketing.
Here are a number of strategies that we have helped our clients adopt, in order for them to gain permission. Below are a few examples:
Telesales campaign
Believe it or not a telesales campaign is often the easiest way to build your list. Here at extravision using well-defined processes and systems, we can obtain an email address for 15 - 25 customers per hour.
Website
It's surprising how few companies use their website to gain both the personal data and permission, needed to send emails. As a result, many miss a great opportunity to encourage customers and prospects to opt-in to subscribe to future emails. Make sure that forms are easy to complete and short - a name, email address and check box for permission are all that you initially require - you can concentrate on more detailed profile building at a later stage in the marketing relationship.(You can view more in our article Your Website and email)
Subscription Offers
Sometimes, using incentives to encourage sign-ups can be a worthwhile investment. Offering a well-written White Paper on a subject of interest to your target market for example can be an excellent way to encourage people to grant their permission to receive related information in the future. For more information on incentives that work, check out our article Incentives and B2B marketing
Offline marketing campaigns
Identify all the other ways in which customers and prospects are exposed to your brand. If for example you advertise in print or other media, run direct mail campaigns or send out brochures, look at ways in which these activities can be used to draw traffic to your website. Add a call to action to all marketing literature and media placements suggesting people visit the website to subscribe to your newsletter.
Sales team/customer service reps
Most companies have a great, untapped resource when it comes to attracting sign-ups to email marketing - their staff. It's so obvious that most marketers forget that there is usually a whole swathe of people who talk to customers and prospects every day. Educating sales, customer service and even reception staff to what communications their customers and prospects might receive is a worthy exercise. They are well placed to ask customers for permission and explain the benefits of sign-up as apart of their normal business dealings.
Email
If you currently deliver campaigns via email or publish an e-newsletter then it is well worth asking for recipients to opt-in for future editions, with a prominent link to a sign up page, while you can.
Once permission is gained the task of building a relationship has begun. Customers will require targeted, relevant information only and trust needs to be built. Always offer the opportunity for them to opt-out, and act on unsubscribe requests promptly. Send communications that contain quality content on a regular but not too frequent basis. Exploit their permission and you will only cause bad feeling and a disgruntled customer. Take the time to nurture their interests and you may have a loyal customer for life.
Summary
Although many marketers may be concerned at the prospect of the additional effort the new legislation will enforce, it actually enshrines into law what we at extravision consider to be email marketing best practice. The results from a permission-based, personalised campaign, far exceed those of a less targeted, unsolicited email campaign. According to an IMT Strategies study 61% of email recipients are eager to read email they have opted in to receive. Although email is an incredibly cost-effective way to communicate with customers and prospects, it is not free and some investment does have to be made. There is little point in expending efforts sending emails where they are not wanted, whatever your campaign objective is. Campaigns built on permission out-perform the spamming mentality of mass, untargeted campaigns every time.
We'll leave the final word to extravision Sales Director, Alastair Campbell:
"Whilst I am sceptical that the laws will achieve their aim of stopping spam, there is no doubt that permission based email campaigns are far more successful. Although companies may look upon the new legislation with dismay they may find that their e-marketing efforts are more successful as result of abiding by the law and seeking permission."
DTI website - Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications
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