In the world of direct
marketing and preference management there is a lot of buzz about the elements
of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) amendments that pertain to wireless
expressed consent. In an unofficial poll of my non-industry friends, nobody is
talking about it. However, with just two months left to prepare, companies need
to put these new rules on the forefront, adapting their preference centers and
other customer touchpoints with compliant disclosures that will not confuse or
put-off consumers, and that will be successful in obtaining opt-ins.
Today’s standard is what
our organization refers to as ‘implied consent.’ In other words, if a
customer provides a company with his or her wireless number in the context of
doing business, the company could use that number for solicitation using a
dialer (do not call considerations permitting). I feel I should point out that
“solicitation” is a broad term and includes retention campaigns, upsell/cross
sell campaigns, winbacks, and even follow-ups to direct inquiries. The
regulations also cover SMS and pre-recorded messages, including couponing and
sales alerts.
Starting October 16th,
companies will need to have the customer’s express written consent to
contact them via a wireless number for marketing purposes at all, regardless of
DNC considerations. There are specific disclosures to which a consumer must
provide an affirmative opt-in preference to meet the new consent standard.
While this aspect of the amendments is limited to live calls and SMS to mobile
phones and prerecorded messages, further regulation seems to be a matter of
when, not if. More opt-in regulation means even more complex challenges for
direct marketers. Many of these challenges are met with an effective preference
management strategy.
The three key drivers that
require companies to focus on a preference management strategy today are:
- modern "selfish" consumerism
- companies' desire to solve enterprise data complexity
- increasing privacy regulation such as the TCPA (and global pressure to move towards opt-in)
There are serious
implications for companies that do not comply with the new TCPA amendments,
from steep fines to potential class action lawsuits. Companies need to have a
plan in place now to collect opt-in consent from new and existing customers and
prospects, to maintain records of consent, and to leverage the consent
correctly. Obtaining wireless consent seems like a foreboding task for large
organizations, but it is a necessary step to ensure compliance in any
organization’s overall preference, consent, and personalization strategy.
Coming next week: Ken Sponsler from CompliancePoint will discuss
some of the specific requirements for obtaining wireless consent.
Sandy Tafur is the Manager, Account Management at PossibleNOW.
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