Just another WordPress weblog
There are still misconceptions held about email ‘spam’
A RECENT survey by the Australian Direct Marketing Association showed that 80% of those surveyed held incorrect beliefs about the Spam Act 2003. Legislation against ‘spam’ – unsolicited commercial emails – came into force for Australian companies in April 2004. The law imposes fines of up to $1.1 million a day for spammers; only charities, religious groups, political parties and governments can spam at will.
The Spam Act is especially important to marketers who may use email marketing to stay in touch with customers. Although email marketing is an effective marketing medium when used correctly, marketers must not to fall into the ‘spam trap’. To comply with the Act, marketers must follow three important steps:
* Gain consent
* Identify yourself
* Offer an unsubscribe option
Sending unsolicited email to people on your database may actually destroy the loyalty and positive brand association people have for your product or service. To stay on side with your customers, only email by invitation; if your messages are not welcome, then you are falling into the spam trap.
A common misconception is that spam is the mass promotion of drugs, pornography and so on; however, a simple promotional email to your existing customers can have the same unwanted effect. To avoid the trap, know the pitfalls.
A spam message is not necessarily sent out in bulk to numerous addresses; under Australian law, a single commercial electronic message can also be considered spam.
A prominent restaurant ran a promotion for Father’s Day offering a free trial of the ‘chef’s special’ every month for one year. Regular diners were encouraged to enter the competition by filling in a form at the end of their meal. Contact details including residential and email addresses were collected and entered into a database. Once the competition ended and the winner was announced, the restaurant maintained people’s emails in their database for future use.
The restaurant then promoted weekly specials to people who had offered their email addresses. The restaurant considered this a cheap and easy way to advertise and to maintain contact with its regular diners. What the restaurant did not realise was that it was in direct violation of the Spam Act as it had not gained specific consent to use the data for this purpose.
Apart from being a privacy and security issue, it is an abuse of the people on the list, because they had not opted-in to receive the type of message that was sent.
To avoid this spam trap, what the restaurant could have done was asked for permission. A simple way to gain that opt-in is to give people a reason to opt-in, e.g. they will receive special offers regularly.
Any email addresses collected from non-sales routes such as prize draws or competitions where there is no opt-in have to be re-emailed, and the recipients asked if they want to continue hearing from that company. If they do not, the record has to be erased.
Even by emailing people from your existing database you are in violation of the Act if you have not gained prior consent. Marketers should re-email their entire database to check consumers’ continued permission to be emailed. Once consent has been gained, marketers should make sure they give consumers a chance to opt-out each time. (An opt-out option is when you give consumers the opportunity to unsubscribe from your messages at any time. It requires a mechanism by which people can ask to be removed from your email list.)
Another breach of the Act that I see often is when websites have the ‘tick here’ box to receive marketing emails already ticked. This practice is called ‘opt-out’ and is common on US websites where opt-out is the norm. In Australia, where ‘opt-in’ is the norm, pre-ticked boxes are too tricky by half because users have not actively agreed to be on the database.
It is very important that marketers gain a customer’s inferred or express consent. Under the Act, ‘express consent’ can be obtained in a variety of ways: through a paper form, via a website tick-box, or through a verbal conversation (including the exchange of business cards, where it is understood that commercial electronic messages may subsequently be sent). It is a good idea to keep a record of all instances where consent is given, including who gave the consent and how it was given.
‘Inferred consent’ can come about in at least two ways: through an existing business or other relationship, where there is a reasonable expectation of receiving those commercial electronic messages from the other party; or via conspicuous publication of a work-related electronic address.
If you are not confident that the existing business relationship is strong enough to infer consent, or are unsure that the recipient will want to receive your messages, you will need to obtain express consent. This can be done by simply picking up the phone and calling your customer.
A large stationery shop received many inquiries via email for product information. Realising how popular email was as a communication tool, a marketing campaign was launched to send emails for all new product introductions. Such a service would be valuable to many customers, although if this information was entering inboxes unannounced it could potentially do some damage.
A better marketing approach would have been to answer the initial email inquiries, then ask the customers to opt-in for future product announcements. The marketing manager could then monitor customers’ spending patterns and tailor the company’s solicited emails to suit each customer. In this way, email is not just a sales tool but also able to build a brand community, something that ensures a strong relationship and ongoing loyalty.
Remember, as a marketer your company’s reputation hinges on the way you email your customers. Done correctly, you become their best friend; done incorrectly, you become a public nuisance. Always remember the three most vital ingredients: obtain consent, identify yourself, and offer an unsubscribe feature.
As described in the legislation, an unsubscribe option must be clearly worded and easy to use. A common example is “Unsubscribe: if you no longer want to receive these messages, simply reply to this email with the word ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.”
Your unsubscribe facility must remain functional for at least 30 days after the message is sent, and a request to unsubscribe must be honoured within five working days. Your facility must also be able to deal with a “reasonable number” of unsubscribe responses to the same initial message.
The marketing team of an international hardware supplier purchased a database for their customer acquisition activities. Assuming that a purchased database would not infringe on the Spam Act, a mass email campaign was launched. Wrong!
Those on the email list had no relationship with the hardware supplier. Even if they had opted-in to receive third party offers from a hardware website, for example, those offers should have come from that website, i.e. the entity with the direct relationship with those on the database.
Another interesting spam wrinkle is the issue of viral marketing. This is where a website gives me the facility to recommend their product/service to my friends via email. It is a fantastic way to introduce new people to your offer. It’s also rife with spam danger if correct protocols are not followed. The simple way to do it right is to ensure that the referred friend B only receives emails from the referring friend A, NOT from the website.
Email marketing has a strong future as part of your marketing activities. It can keep your customers informed on items that are of relevance to them and it has the power to help you develop direct relationships with your customers. Equally, the improper use of email could have serious repercussions to your business reputation and credibility.
n.b. This is a practical view of email marketing based on our extensive practical experience. It should not, however, be viewed as a qualified legal opinion.