Can You Send Anyone a Text Message?
You’re anxious to get started using text messaging. After all, you’ve read how easy, effective and inexpensive it can be. Now you can just upload your email list and start sending away SMS text messages, right?
You probably could, but you really shouldn’t.
SMS messages are classified as email communications in the Privacy and Electronics Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. That means text messaging is subject to the same opt in requirements as email. In other words, you can only send to subscribers who have given you their consent to receive the messages.
In some cases this may mean your business can send a text message to a customer without explicit permission if it relates to a specific enquiry they made. This is called a “soft opt in”. This can be perfectly legal in the strictest sense. But it may not make the best business sense.
The problem with soft opt ins is you don’t know if the customer wants to receive texts. Maybe they don’t like texting or reserve texting for just family and emergencies. Perhaps they are old fashioned and actually prefer a phone call instead.
Also you don’t know if the recipient wants to send text messages in reply. In many cases when someone responds to your text message they, not you, will be paying for the message. Some mobile users may not realise this and be quite angry at you for costing them money.
So how do you get started texting your customers? Here are a few options:
- Contact your list via email. Send them a quick note letting them know you’ve begun using text messaging. Inform them how to opt in to receive your texts. Make sure the opt in method is clear and easy for them to do.
- Send a single text message asking if they’d like to opt in to future text messages from you. Provide them a shortcode or number to reply to in order to opt in. Make sure you tell them they won’t get any more messages if they don’t reply. Always make it clear who is paying for the messages if they reply.
- If the customer has a profile on your website, ask them to provide their mobile number and check a box accepting text messages. If they ever want to stop the messages they can return to your website and uncheck the box. Make sure the process is as simple and clear as possible.
Not only will asking permission first ensure you’re in compliance with the law, it will garner trust from your customers. Whether they opt in to receive your messages or not, the good will your process created can only help your business in the future.
Related Articles
SMS Marketing – Should You Buy a List?
Starting an SMS marketing campaign can be a daunting task. Gathering explicit opt ins can take time, as you need to make an investment in advertising. So why not just get a jumpstart and buy a list of mobile numbers from an organisation that already has the opt ins? You could do that, but it’s probably harder than just getting people to opt in on their own. Here’s why.
4 Simple Steps to Staying Compliant When Using SMS Messaging
Yet another company (Quigley and Carter Limited) have been fined by the ICO for not having permission to send SMS messages. In this case, they had outsourced their marketing to a third party who then sent messages on their behalf. So is staying compliant with the regulations regarding SMS messaging so difficult? It doesn’t have to be.
Here’s Why SMS Marketing Is Literally The Best Idea Ever
Is SMS marketing the worst idea ever? That’s the opinion of one author in Entrepreneur Magazine. He gives five reasons why companies should never bother sending SMS messages to customers. I take him on, point by point to show why he’s wrong and SMS marketing is the best idea ever.
Never Use SMS Marketing the Way This Company Did
You’d think a large, multinational company would have all the resources and planning it needed to run an SMS marketing campaign. But that isn’t always the case apparently. Find out the big mistake this one company made and how you can avoid doing the same thing in this blog.
How important is it to run an SMS opt in campaign?
Best Practices for SMS Marketing
In many of our previous posts, we have discussed the whys and hows of SMS marketing, listing the benefits, and the impacts on lead generation. There’s no doubt that by employing a marketing strategy that uses business SMS as a medium that your processes will become more efficient and your leads will become more targeted, meaning a better ROI. Here we will look at the best practices for SMS marketing to ensure your campaigns are offering the best for you and your users.
SMS Marketing Compliance and The New GDPR Regulations
As with anything in business, there are rules and regulations that need to be followed. Some of the key ones are laid out in the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (PECR) - and while this can seem like a daunting document at first, it doesn't need to be...
The ONE Thing You Never Want To Do In SMS Marketing
"UK B2C data for SMS marketing" - That was the search result headline I found while researching online. Interesting I thought. It must be relating to SMS marketing statistics for B2C (business to consumer) sales. Since I was searching for some updated information and studies about SMS I decided to click and read.
