If you haven’t heard of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
(TCPA), it’s the legislation that keeps mobile marketers up at night. Chances
are you have heard of the “Do Not Call” registry. That falls under the TCPA.
But it’s the new addition to the TCPA guidelines that’s really got mobile
marketers worried. Though amended back in early 2012, the new guidelines only
took effect on October 16 of this year. If you own a business that has a mobile
marketing strategy, it’s important that you are up to date with the TCPA’s new
guidelines and that you know how they affect your business and your customers.
What Are The Changes?
Most likely the first question that’s on your mind is what
changed. Until recently, text messages didn’t fall under the category of
automated calls. Now they do. As a result, there are new regulations in place
to protect consumers from receiving excessive and unwanted text messages. The
most important change to the TCPA guidelines is that any business that sends
out automated texts needs to first obtain and maintain a record of written
consent. It’s no longer sufficient to have consumers text in a keyword to a
short code. A request for consent has to be sent and it must specify that the
consumer’s “consent is not a condition of purchase.” In other words, it needs
to be clear to consumers that they do not have to consent to receive a
business’s messages in order to purchase from that business.
Businesses should have already been obtaining consent before the
new guidelines took effect and as a result, many businesses already have a
business relationship with many consumers. This does not override the written
consent requirement however. Even consumers who have given prior consent need
to receive the new request for written consent that contains the specific
language.
How These Changes Affect You And Your Customers
The most important implication of the new guidelines is that
you’ve got some work to do in regard to your texting list. You’ll need to
contact everyone on your subscriber list to obtain written consent. For all
those who do not respond, you can no longer continue to send texts. If you’re
not sure if your prior consent was valid according to the new regulations, it’s
best to play it safe and send out the new request. Currently, the Mobile
Marketing Association is working on a petition asking the FCC for clarification
about the new TCPA guidelines
The only real effect the new guidelines are having on customers is
that they are being asked to consent for the second time and in some cases it
is causing some confusion. Also, because text messages are limited to a certain
number of characters, the new legal language that must be included in text
correspondence may cause texts to be sent as a two-part message.
Short term, the new guidelines are causing some confusion and fear
of legal action. In the long term however, the new guidelines will serve to
strengthen the relationship between brands and consumers.
Mobile Technology News brought to you by businesstexter.com
Source:
marketingland.com/new-tcpa-guidelines-what-is-all-the-fuss-about-64491
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