Here is a short guide on good practices to adopt in order to preserve your reputation and avoid problems. The information in this article is not legal advice. Laws can change at any moment. It is your responsibility to comply with regulations.
Laws and Regulations
Regarding laws and regulations, here are 2 resources (this is non-exhaustive) depending on your case:
If your contacts are in Europe, you must get their explicit consent (implicit consents are not allowed).
Explicit consent: requires the contacts to give their consent directly to receive communications using an opt-in form or during a conversation (on the phone or in person).
Implied consent: obtained following a request for a quote or other information, a business transaction such as a product purchase, or by similar means. This type of consent has a limited duration defined by law.
In the case a complaint is filed, the burden of proof rests with the sender of the message. At the time of sending, you must be able to confirm that you have the recipient’s consent. Consequently, you must keep their consent on file for the period mentioned in the law, regardless of the consent type.
Consent Management Tools
It is strongly recommended to use the consent centre. The other tools presented are complementary.
Consent centre
- To keep a complete history of all contact subscriptions and unsubscriptions (subscription date, subscription source) provided you provide this information when acquiring or updating a contact
- To manage the admissibility of contacts for the different channels (emails, SMS, Push, etc.)
- To manage contacts subscription preferences
Acquisition forms
Different forms are available to manage the opt-in or update of your contacts' preferences.
→ See All the Form Options
Consent interception form
It's possible to display an interception form to ask for consent to a lead/contact.
→ Create an Interception Form
Unsubscribe Link
It's essential to include an unsubscribe link in every message you send, as it's required by law. DI email templates include an unsubscribe link by default, but check that it's there and working before sending. It's also mandatory to include your contact information in all your emails, without exception.
Consent Proofs
It is important to keep all the evidence of consent you may need if you ever get a complaint. For email addresses that are collected via a form, you should keep the form name and a copy of it to easily find what is written in it. Then, for phone consents, try to keep a copy of the call or send an email confirmation to the contact after your conversation. This also applies to consents obtained verbally during a business meeting or event, for example. If it is an event, you could create an electronic or paper form that you will scan later to keep evidence of it at all times. For implied consents, keep a record of all your customers’ transactions, inquiries or any other written requests and dates.
Complaint Management
To be well prepared to handle complaints, you should organize your messages. By segmenting your consent center, everyone can subscribe to the communications they need. For example, a contact can subscribe to newsletters about the company's events and blog, but not want to receive current promotions. In addition, we recommend defining your data gathering methods. Inform your future contacts of what you will do with their email address. For example, you can mention your communications frequency, and mention the use you will make of their email address. Avoid unpleasant surprises and stay true to what you promise.
If you use the consent centre (recommended), it keeps track of transaction data, including dates. A consent center also keeps proof of subscription or information on the source and subscription method. It should also consider renewals and other updates in your contact list. In this way, if you ever have complaints, you have evidence that you are following the law with proven facts. For many other reasons, you should also keep track of all your mailings.