B2B Sales: Simple Email Trick to Quick-Start New Lead Relationships (and be CASL & GDPR Compliant Too)

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For those of us that work in B2B, networking is a great opportunity to meet potential clients. Talking with as many targeted individuals as possible and exchanging business cards at these conferences or events are our priorities.

But what’s next? Often we’ll add these cards to our sales pipeline sheets or CRM applications, waiting for the “right moment/opportunity/situation” to contact them. And regularly, these contacts get added to a “newsletter” list.

I often compare B2B sales to dating. You’re not going to move to “first base” with someone before you go on a date. Receiving a newsletter from someone you met at a conference, without sending them a follow-up email first, is kind of like this.

And when the person receives the newsletter, often the first thing that comes to mind is, “I never signed up to receive this” accompanied with feelings of infringement. And now, the chances of that potential client becoming a client have been greatly reduced. Or worse, your newsletter or communications are reported as spam.

But what if there were a way to go about things just slightly differently…

Imagine a simple email that could nurture that lead, and move them forward towards becoming a client instead of deterring them. An email that is also 100% compliant in the eyes of Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

So let’s start over again…

You’re at a business conference or event and you exchange business cards with a potential client, partner, supplier, etc. You both agree to stay in touch. You add that contact to your sales pipeline sheet or CRM application.

The very next thing you’ll want to do is to send the following email:

Here’s why this email is so effective:

First off, we’re making them feel good by being nice (“it was a pleasure meeting you”), giving (“I’d like to learn more about your…”), respectful (“would it be okay with you…?”), and reassuring (“whatever we send your way will be of value”) —All qualities the majority of humans appreciate and act positively towards.

We’re also meeting the legal requirements by being clear in what can be expected by the contact replying to the email (receiving future communications).

Lastly, the email is not a dead-end, as indicated by the anticipation of a future conversation.

Oh and regarding the subject line “Hi First Name…”; in B2B, the words “hi” with the person’s name followed by “…” is opened by over 95% of recipients. That’s a great open rate!

If the contact doesn’t reply back. It’s ok, you still made a good impression.

The next thing you’ll want to do is to add “implied consent – B2B exception” as your CASL consent status to that contact, along with a photo of the business card and the date and name of the event where you met. Add “legitimate interest” as your GDPR Lawful Base.

If the contact replies back positively, great! The contact’s CASL consent status is now “express”.

So there you have it, a simple email that makes all the difference. Be sure to make it your own by using your own words and expressions.

Every single email is an opportunity. Imagine all the possibilities.

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How to Segment Email Contacts for Performance and Compliance

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With the arrival of the GDPR and with CASL in full force, we are legally obliged to document and classify our contacts —either by implied/express consent for CASL and/or by citing one of the six lawful bases for GDPR.

This legal obligation is actually a great opportunity to update and revise those existing relationships.

When was the last time you UPDATED and CLEANED UP your CRM or contact lists?

Like the majority of most professionals and companies, it has probably been some time since your contacts were last updated or cleaned up. It’s a time-consuming task, and often other priorities take precedence. Once a contact has been entered into our address book, our profile tables, our CRM, our databases, it just kind of sits there.

But imagine what it would be like if you took the time to consider how those contacts, how those business relationships could evolve. Suddenly, opportunities come to mind.

Imagine what it would be like if that cold lead became a client for one of your new products or services. Imagine what it might be like if those one-time buyers transformed into frequent shoppers.

If we are more pertinent in our offerings to our contacts, clients, customers, leads, etc., through proper segmentation, these opportunities can become realities.

Here’s how to go about it…

#1 – Classify contacts according to “Legal” status

Because of our legal obligations to CASL and GDPR, you’ll want to attribute either an “implied/express consent” status or a “lawful base” to each of your contacts. It may sound time-consuming but this process is quite easy if you know the law or if you work with a professional (wink, wink).

#2 – Attribute business variable tags

Next up, you’re going to want to add tags or group your contacts based on business variables.  For B2B, this can include company type, size, industry, relationship to your business, etc. For B2C, you can use an RFM matrix model, or add items such as “high spender”, “frequent shopper”, etc.

When you segment emails on these variables, your best opportunities suddenly come into focus, and the time spent on marketing efforts is used more effectively.

For example, instead of sending a general promo to your entire list, you’ll send a more specific incentive to just your high-spenders. Resulting in more overall direct sales at a higher cart value.

# 3 – Attribute personal interests

Lastly, you’ll want to attribute personal interests and preferences to your contacts, so that you can personalize content. This can include language, gender, activities, etc.

For example, perhaps you run a tourism company and offer different excursions. Certain customers are going to be more interested in one type of activity than others. By asking them what activities interest them on sign up forms, or based on past purchases, or links clicked in emails, you can determine which activities interest a contact most.

By doing this, email conversations and communications suddenly become more relevant, pertinent and meaningful to your audience.

Your contacts will reward your efforts with increased open and click-through rates and increased sales and revenue.

Remember, every single email is an opportunity. Imagine all the possibilities.

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GDPR: (re)confirming consent, an error to avoid

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With the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25th, you’ve probably received dozens of emails asking you to consent (or re-consent) to the processing of your personal data.

Now, you may be wondering if you should do the same for your own business.

The answer is no, and here’s why:

Firstly, the GDPR only concerns you if your company is active on the European market.

If your company doesn’t deal with European consumers, you don’t have to worry about the GDPR. It’s much more important to ensure that you comply with the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), which is almost as severe as the GDPR but focuses on Canadian companies, and commercial electronic communications to and from Canada.

If, however, you are active in Europe, whether you are physically present there or not, compliance with the GDPR is your concern, but this is not a reason to bombard your contacts with requests for confirmation of consent. It is a harmful and often useless step because there are other ways to put you in good standing.

Counterproductive results

From a marketing perspective, confirmation of consent is probably the worst legal basis to justify the processing, use and storage of personal data.

Indeed, companies having opted for “consent confirmation” campaigns have been able to note the danger of these. For example, many of their contacts took the opportunity to withdraw their consent in frustration following the avalanche of similar messages received. This is a quick and easy way to destroy your marketing database.

The same thing happened in 2014 when CASL came into force. Thousands of messages were received by consumers asking if they would agree to continue receiving business messages. These messages were initially useless because a temporary provision gave the sender an implicit right to send messages until July 2017. Above all, these emails damaged the reputation of several companies and had the opposite result; the loss of consent of the vast majority of their marketing contacts leading some SMBs to bankruptcy.

A request for consent probably not necessary

Firstly, explicit consent by means of a form in accordance with a European Parliament directive on the protection of privacy (Directive 95/46 / EC) is also valid for the GDPR. If your forms comply with the Canadian Anti-Spam Law, then your consents respect the GDPR. It is, therefore, unnecessary to waste your time and that of your clients to ask them for a new consent.

In addition, the GDPR provides five other legal bases to justify the collection and processing of personal data. These five legal bases are: the contractual necessity, the respect of a legal obligation, the safeguarding of the interests of the person concerned or another physical person, the public interest and finally, the legitimate interests (article 6 of the GDPR).

 

“Legitimate interest” as an ally

From a marketing perspective, “legitimate interest” is definitely the most interesting and easy option to use. Section 6 (1) (f) of the GDPR defines it as treatment “necessary for the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party unless the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the person concerned prevail, which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.” 1

In other words, your interest in developing your business justifies that you collect and use the relevant personal information of your contacts for your email marketing campaigns as long as it does not affect the rights of your contacts. For example, if you use the name and email address that someone has provided to you, to send them interesting promotional information and give them the opportunity to unsubscribe, you are in the justified under “legitimate interests”. On the other hand, this would not justify collecting and processing irrelevant personal information such as his Social Insurance Number or his sexual orientation.

Think strategically

It’s not because email sendout providers like MailChimp or Cyberimpact are offering you a consent request email template that it’s relevant to use it. Unfortunately, these companies often have limited knowledge of these regulations and their compliance requirements. It’s better to put yourself in the shoes of the average consumer who has received 23 emails of this type this week and who is expecting you to have more interesting emails.

If you are afraid that some of your consents are not in compliance and you need to get a confirmation, go step by step to reduce the impact on your database.

Start by separating all your European contacts from the other contacts in your database and group them according to the different legal bases that may correspond to them. If some contacts do not fit into any of the six legal bases and you have not obtained them by a consent form, you must send a consent confirmation message only to those contacts, making sure to do so in a tone that corresponds to relationship style that you develop with your customers. A too “legal” tone will bother your customers or at worst scare them.

In short, the GDPR should not push you to make mistakes in panic mode but is an issue that you must take seriously if you do business with Europeans. It’s also an opportunity to structure and enrich your databases and digital marketing strategy by building the trust of your customers.

As with CASL, it is not enough to have “consent” to comply with the GDPR. All other regulatory requirements must be met, which only a formal compliance program can provide.

If you want to comply with the GDPR to strengthen the trust of your European customers or avoid fines and legal proceedings, contact one of our advisers today. The Certimail team offers GDPR compliance programs tailored to the constraints of Canadian SMBs that can even be combined with a CASL compliance process, saving you time and money.

 

GDPR & CASL: When to use “Legitimate Interests” or “Consent” as a lawful base

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If you are a Canadian marketer and you send emails to the European Union (E.U.), under GDPR you’ll need to justify why you collect and store data for each of your contacts. And by data, I’m referring to contact information (first name, last name, email address, etc.) and how you use this data (marketing, transactional, etc.).

The lawful bases

Because GDPR governs data security and protection, an individual or organization may reference one of the six lawful bases to justify the collection of data of their clients, leads, partners, members, marketing contacts, etc.

From a purely marketing perspective, there are two lawful bases that one will cite regularly in their records and documentation: “Legitimate Interests” and “Consent”.

  • “Legitimate Interests” as a lawful base can be relied upon for marketing activities if you can show that how you use people’s data is proportionate, has a minimal privacy impact, and people would not be surprised or likely to object.
  • “Consent” as a lawful base is appropriate if you can offer people real choice and control over how you use their data, and want to build their trust and engagement.

Which lawful base to apply for email marketing purposes…

Knowing that:

  • Under CASL, which governs commercial electronic messages, a consent status needs to be attributed to and documented appropriately for each contact, for you to have the legal right to send them electronic commercial messages. Either “express” or “implied” consent.
  • Under GDPR, which governs data security and protection, a lawful base needs to be attributed to and documented appropriately for each contact, for you to have the legal right to store and use a contact’s information.

Hence as a Canadian marketer (sending marketing messages to the E.U. ) , you must take into consideration and comply with the rules of GDPR -AND- CASL , thus adding a certain complexity.

Despite this complexity, there are totally legitimate, quick, and easy solutions for you to use:

For B2C email marketing

“Consent” as a lawful base is one of the ways, and the easiest for email marketers, to prove lawfulness and compliance in the eyes of GDPR.

However, there are strict requirements and you will need to obtain explicit consent (note that there is no such thing as “implied consent” under GDPR) moving forward from all your marketing communication subscribers or from anyone that fills out forms on your web pages to receive communications from you.

If you use “Consent” as a lawful base.

  • Consent must be specific to distinct purposes.
  • Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity does not constitute consent; data subjects must explicitly opt-in to the storage, use, and management of their personal data. A double opt-in procedure is the best and safest way forward.
  • Separate consent must be obtained for different processing activities, which means you must be clear about how the data will be used when you obtain consent. The opt-in message that is used has to state all the ways you could possibly use the personal data you collect and how you are protecting that data. (ex.: state that you take data protection seriously by including a link to your Privacy Policy, and indicate that a person can access, rectify, or erase their data at any time.)
  • Consent must be verifiable and requires a written record of when and how someone agreed to let you process their personal data.

This process, not only enables you to comply with GDPR, but also gives you “express” consent under CASL.

For B2B email marketing

Particularly for those in sales, many of our contacts can be filed and recorded as “Implied Consent” under CASL, and as “Legitimate Interests” under GDPR.

You are required, however, to document the Legitimate Interests Assessment for each contact (LIA):

Whoa, that’s a lot to take in and document! But wait… whether you’re marketing B2C or B2B, or both, the arrival of GDPR is a great opportunity and occasion to convert “implied consent” Canadian contacts to “express consent” contacts, and classify E.U. contacts under “Consent” as a lawful base. See this article, “How to Write Emails to Get Consent for GDPR (and CASL)“.

Disclaimer:

Understandably, different sized organisations and types of messages need to be taken into consideration. Be sure to adapt accordingly to your organisation’s structure, operations, and unique situation.

Applying both CASL and GDPR legislations responsibly and taking the appropriate action is not at all an easy task. There are many details to pay attention to and to follow. It can be a difficult, time-consuming, and frustrating task if you are not completely versed in both legislations. In addition, mistakes can run costly fines for individual executives and companies alike.

If you need help or have questions, you can leave a comment or contact us at any time.

How to Write Emails to Get Consent for GDPR (and CASL)

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The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect May 25th. From that date onwards, an organization must be able to demonstrate they are being lawful and prove compliance with this regulation.

Because GDPR governs data security and protection (unlike CASL with governs commercial electronic messages — for more information on the differences between GDPR and CASL click here) an individual or organization may reference one of the six lawful bases to justify the collection of data of their clients, leads, partners, members, marketing contacts, etc.

Because email is such a key medium for our business transactions and marketing communications, it’s important to note that any organization sending emails to individuals in the European Union is subject to GDPR, regardless of the originating country of the emails.

Now then, specifically for your marketing contacts, you’re going to want to know about Consent as a Lawful Base, to justify the collection and storage of your marketing contacts’ information.

“Consent” as a lawful base is one of the ways, and the easiest for email marketers, to prove lawfulness and compliance in the eyes of GDPR. However, there are strict requirements and you will need to obtain explicit consent (note that there is no such thing as implied consent under GDPR) moving forward from all your marketing communication subscribers or from anyone that fills out forms on your web pages to receive communications from you.

If you use “Consent” as a lawful base.

  • Consent must be specific to distinct purposes.
  • Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity does not constitute consent; data subjects must explicitly opt-in to the storage, use, and management of their personal data. A double opt-in procedure is the best and safest way forward.
  • Separate consent must be obtained for different processing activities, which means you must be clear about how the data will be used when you obtain consent. The opt-in message that is used has to state all the ways you could possibly use the personal data you collect and how you are protecting that data. (ex.: state that you take data protection seriously by including a link to your Privacy Policy, and indicate that a person can access, rectify, or erase their data at any time.)
  • Consent must be verifiable and requires a written record of when and how someone agreed to let you process their personal data.

For those marketing contacts that you already have in your database (that are not clients, partners, members, employees or associates —as other lawful bases are easier to use for those contacts, although you can still send them the following email to ask them for their consent as there’s no harm in being safe than sorry) here is how you are going to want to ask them for consent.

N.B.: For those doing business in Canada, under CASL, if you already have implied consent for your contacts, and if you are still within the allowed time period (ex.: A person, who fills out a web form on your website, is considered to have given you “implied consent”, and you have a 6-month time frame in which you can communicate with them), the following email is valid to obtain explicit/express consent.

From name and subject line

These are the two elements that are the most crucial part of any email, as these items determine whether we’ll open an email or not.

For the “From” name, you’re going to want to make personal (from a real person, because as humans we prefer interacting with other humans) and professional (company name).

Ex. Rebecca Coggan | CompanyName, or Rebecca @ CompanyName, or use your full name and add the company name to the subject line.

For the subject line, you’re going to want to include the words “action required”.

TIP: Typically, when these words are surrounded by square brackets and in all caps, ex. [ACTION REQUIRED], we tend to take it more seriously.

And of course, in the subject line, you’ll also need to add the reason why you are contacting the person.

Example of all the elements together:

Other variations are possible. Be sure to make it your own.

Body copy

The three most important things when it comes to body copy is that it needs 1) to be brief, 2) to clearly demonstrate the “what’s in it me” for the recipient of the email and 3) written using an empathetic tone.

N.B.: By the way, if you respect these three key elements in your body copy, your open rates will steadily increase and your audience will trust you more and more.)

TIP: When it comes to these specific types of communications (updating information, account status etc.), text-based emails tend to be taken more seriously, are read more than scanned, and are acted upon more than ignored.

Example of all the elements together:

The body copy also includes many essential items: person’s name, deadline, the action required, incentive, instructions for future requests, a warm thank-you, and detailed sender information.

Here too, other variations are possible depending on your own situation. You can also send a follow-up email if you don’t get a response or action as quickly as hoped for. Be sure to make it your own.

So there you have it. Simple and easy.

GDPR Compliance & Emails: What Canadian SMBs Need to Know

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The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect May 25th, and although details of the law are still being worked out, when it comes into effect, in the eyes of European law, an organization must demonstrate they are being lawful and must be able to prove compliance.

Who is subject to GDPR?

For those of us here in North America who do business with European countries, we are subject to GDPR because of international collaboration between authorities. Specifically, though, GDPR applies to:

  • Any organization that collects, changes, transmits, erases, or otherwise uses or stores the personal data of EU citizens. (Personal data is any piece of data that, used alone or with other data, could identify a person).
  • Any person or organization which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data, known as the “Controller”, is accountable under GDPR.
  • Any organization sending emails to individuals in the European Union is subject to GDPR, regardless of the originating country of the emails.

What are the two main DIFFERENCES between CASL and GDPR?

  1. Commercial Electronic Message vs. Data Protection

The biggest differentiator between CASL and GDPR is that CASL governs Commercial Electronic Messages (CEMs) while GDPR governs data security and protection.

  1. Compliance Program vs. Lawful Bases

When proving compliance, a CASL Compliance Program that meets the CRTC’s eight requirements is one’s only defense in Canada. For GDPR, an individual or organization may reference one of the six lawful bases, as long as one can prove and demonstrate that they respected all the details and took all the action required of the lawful base cited.

About Consent

Some lawful bases don’t apply to all businesses and marketers, but if you send emails, you’ll want to know about Consent as a Lawful Base.

Remember, a company must be able to fully justify why they are collecting the information of an individual or organization, to what means they are using it, and how that information is being protected.

Consent is one of the ways, and the easiest for email marketers, to prove lawfulness and compliance in the eyes of GDPR. However, there are strict requirements and you will need to obtain explicit consent moving forward from all your subscribers or from anyone that fills out forms on your web pages to receive communications from you, if you use Consent as a lawful base.

Important: unlike CASL there is no implied consent in the eyes of GDPR nor are there B2B exceptions. There is only explicit consent. Note that:

  • Consent must be specific to distinct purposes.
  • Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity does not constitute consent; data subjects must explicitly opt-in to the storage, use, and management of their personal data. A double opt-in procedure is the best and safest way forward.
  • Separate consent must be obtained for different processing activities, which means you must be clear about how the data will be used when you obtain consent. The opt-in message that is used has to state all the ways you could possibly use the personal data you collect and how you are protecting that data. (ex.: state that you take data protection seriously by including a link to your Privacy Policy, and indicate that a person can access, rectify, or erase their data at any time.)
  • Consent must be verifiable and requires a written record of when and how someone agreed to let you process their personal data.

Access, Rectify, and Erase

Additionally, as you collect an individual’s data through your online forms (ex.: first name, last name, email, etc.) under GDPR an individual must able be to access, rectify and erase their data at any given time. Thus, we suggest that you include a section in your Privacy Policy as to how an individual may go about this (ex.: by sending an email with the request to [email protected]).

Record keeping and a centralized database

Within the rules and regulations of both CASL and GDPR, good record-keeping practices is not only necessary to establish a due diligence defense in the event of complaints against your business, but good recording keeping helps businesses (i) identify potential non-compliance issues, (ii) investigate and respond to consumer complaints, (iii) respond to questions about the business’s practices and procedures, (iv) monitor their corporate compliance program, (v) and identify the need for corrective actions and demonstrate that these actions were implemented.

Additionally, in order to meet the requirements of GDPR regarding Data Privacy and Consent, a centralized database for contact management, processing and documentation are helpful, not only for client relationships, smooth and efficient operations, but also for proving lawfulness and compliance.

As an individual or organization that sends emails, for marketing or business purposes, what’s your best bet?

A CASL compliance program is considered the gold-standard and best in breed where it comes to protecting yourself against hefty fines. Remember CASL applies to individual emails as much as group emails and newsletters regardless of whether there is promotion content or not.

Implementing a CASL compliance program, that meets all the requirements of the CRTC, is not only required by the law in Canada, but by doing so, you’ll increase your protection with regards to GDPR.

 

 

Learn How CASL’s Parliamentary Review Will Effect Your Email Marketing In 2018

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Last year was a landmark year for CASL. There was a lot of activity; notably the end of the grace period, several huge fines, and parliamentary reviews. We’ve followed and tracked all the changes and modifications, particularly how it affects businesses like yours and its impact on email marketing.

Here’s a recap of the last year, what you can expect in 2018, and a few recommendations.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2017:

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2018:

  • More requests for information and notices to businesses from the CRTC regarding the proper documentation of implied consent
  • More requests for information and notices regarding proper identification information, unsubscribe and complaint mechanisms in SMS messages
  • An increase in the number of fines issued
  • More outreach and education by the CRTC with respect to the law
  • Modifications to the actual name and title of the law
  • Modifications to certain articles in the law, especially with regards to those items that are ambiguous has already started this past December

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS YEAR:

  • Properly organize and document all the various consent types for all your contacts. A centralized database or CRM is key. Remember to also take into account the expiration of your various consent types (there are several).
  • We can’t stress it enough, but a CASL compliance program that meets the 8 requirements of the CRTC, is your sole protection in case you receive a request for information or notice from the CRTC.
  • Another way to help reduce complaints is to not only develop a solid email strategy with a focus on your business objectives, but develop a communication strategy that is of pertinence to your audience. The “what’s in it for them” (instead of you) never goes out of style.
  • When sending emails, be sure to make the most of segmentation, personalization (based on segmentation and not just a first and last name), and frequency (irregular timing gets higher open rates).

Stay tuned, another update from Parliament is due in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

[Study] Marketing Professionals’ knowledge of CASL – Spoiler: It’s not good…

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Today, the AMR (Quebec’s Association of Relationship Marketing) unveiled its first study asking Quebec marketing professional how well they know (or think they know) CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Law) and its compliance requirements. While the Canadian ministry, responsible for CASL, will soon respond to recommendations made by Parliament in the law’s first review and amendments, it was important to measure the understanding and application by Quebec professionals that are most impacted by it.

This study was conducted in collaboration with LJT, a law firm renowned for its expertise in marketing law, and Certimail, the Canadian leader in CASL compliance for SMBs.

Companies are not familiar with CASL

While 96% of respondents send commercial electronic messages (emails specifically), less than 6% correctly answered 7 simple questions about CASL and its application. Of the respondents (71%) who said they were familiar with CASL, 85% failed this basic test.

One in two believes that the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation only regulates promotional items (i.e. newsletters), however, governs ALL commercial electronic communications (individual, group, batch, sales, transactional, regardless of whether there is promotional content or not).

10% of respondents are unaware that CASL applies to their organization and business practices.

“It’s been three years since CASL has come into full enforcement, and yet professionals still don’t know its constraints and scope,” says Marc Roussin, president of the AMR. “Our association is, therefore, launching a series of activities to demystify the requirements of this law, that governs all commercial electronic messages.“

A big misunderstanding of compliance

60% of respondents said their businesses are fully compliant with CASL. Yet, less than 10% have incorporated a withdrawal mechanism into employee email signatures, a CASL obligation. Barely 11% completed an audit, as recommended by the CRTC. Only 40% have a written compliance policy and 75% of companies have not yet trained their employees with regards to this law.

“If one doesn’t know the real dangers to which they are exposed, a company can’t properly execute good risk management and governance,” says Sophie Deschênes-Hébert, a lawyer specializing in advertising and technology at LJT. “The results of the study show that in digital marketing, many make strategic decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information and expose themselves to costly and easily avoidable consequences.“

A misunderstanding of CASL directly affects one’s marketing effectiveness

Since the launch of CASL, approximately 9% of respondents stopped using email marketing altogether, while 11% reduced their use of this marketing channel.

This sort of practice is flawed because CASL and all its regulations equally applies to emails sent by employees. Several fines issued by the CRTC (ex.: William Rapanos and POF Media cases) show that sometimes only a few complaints are required for a company to be investigated.

Eliminating or reducing email marketing is also a bad business decision because, with a return on investment of 44 to 1, email still remains the most profitable digital marketing tool for companies and organizations.

“Too many companies are afraid of this legislation, and it’s too bad because it’s an excellent opportunity to improve one’s marketing,” says Philippe Le Roux, president of Certimail. “Implementing a CASL compliance program not only protects you against fines but it improves marketing and operational effectiveness.“

Since the introduction of CASL, email marketing indicators have improved significantly in Canada, according to a recent IBM global study.

AMR launches an outreach program

In light of the results of the study, AMR will be launching a program of activities to help marketers learn about CASL’s regulatory requirements and provide guidance to help them achieve business compliance. This program will launch on May 3rd, 2018 during a conference dedicated to email and compliance. During the event, the CRTC will present its CASL enforcement methods. Several experts will also share their knowledge and experiences regarding compliant and effective email marketing. Additionally, a series of webinars will allow professionals to deepen their knowledge and to benefit from tried and true advice.

Consult the complete study (in French only).

Horrifying Email Marketing Requests and their Saintly Solutions

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Although Halloween is soon upon us, scary email marketing strategies regularly occur throughout the year. Fellow email marketing professionals at MediaPost’s Email Marketing Daily recently published the commentary “Horrifying Email Marketing Requests.” It’s hard to imagine that companies still engage in such nefarious practices. But even our colleagues here at Certimail, are no stranger to similar requests, even with CASL in full force.

Let’s look at each one with regards to CASL and marketing efficiency.

1. Why can’t I spam my clients?

Although businesses may not necessarily say this out-rightly, many still do want to mass-communicate to a single list. If you have consent, it’s not necessarily spamming in the eyes of CASL, but mass email communication is SPAM-like. Simply because such a practice doesn’t take into account the preferences of the receiver; the value for them, the relevancy, the “what’s in it for me?”.

A one-size-fits-all approach can have you looking like a ghoul and will eventually lead to unsubscribes and complaints to the CRTC.

Instead, focus your main content and segment your emails based on customer, client, and contact interest clusters.

(For example, if you are a Vampire blood supply company, you can segment by blood types, antibody types, fresh harvest, aged harvest, etc.)

The BENEFITS of segmentation are plentiful in the short, medium and long-term, they include: higher open rates, higher click-through rates, higher to click-to-purchase rates, lower churn rates, lower unsubscribe rates, etc.

2. But I need to move this product!

Of course, you do! But that doesn’t mean that your entire email list is interested in that particular product. Remember, a one-size-fits-all approach will lead to unsubscribes and complaints to the CRTC.

Smart goblins segment on a combination of the following criteria: past purchases, cart abandonment, and past campaign clicks on the said product.

(For example, if you are a clothing company for monsters, based on past purchases, you don’t want to send emails about Witch outfits to Vampires. If a Vampire has left a velvet cape in her cart but didn’t purchase it, an email out velvet capes to her would be a good idea).

If you want to take it one step further, further segment based on RFM (recency, frequency, and monetary value) matrices. For quick wins, prioritize those high value/income generating segments.

This way you can still email groups of people, but you’ll be more efficient and see better results to your bottom line. Understand that there’s no need to communicate to someone who is not listening. It’s a waste of time and money.

3. We should capture 100 million email addresses.

Whoa OK! Remember that you need to have either EXPRESS or IMPLIED consent for each contact. Each has its conditions and limitations. And records of consent for each contact are required.

It also takes time and money to get those emails, and they won’t be of high quality if you are mass-harvesting them. Additionally, most Email Sendout Providers charge per batch of X number of contacts. So it’s a waste of time and money if you are trying to communicate to someone who is not listening.

Don’t be that fire-breathing hoarding dragon Smaug, instead, focus on smaller clusters, but that are of higher value. When it comes to getting email addresses, your website landing pages are your best sources. Make sure they are properly worded and placed.

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Do you want to know if your email marketing program is raking it in like Gringotts? Here’s a quick algorithm to see if it’s performing as well as it should:  1$ spent on email = 38$ in revenue.

If you’re not sure about your email marketing program or have questions and concerns, one of the best places to start is with an email marketing diagnostic. Doing so will identify the problems and solutions to implement.

In the meantime, have a Happy Halloween and try to shelf those scary strategies.

The Latest 2017 Email Marketing Stats & Info

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The latest statistics and information from several reports recently published by Campaign Monitor (2017 Consumer Email Habits Report: What Do Your Customers Really Want?) and Cheetah Digital (Quarterly email benchmark reports Q1 & Q2), show that email continues to dominate.

In summary, more email is being sent than ever before across a variety of industries, and it is still by far the preferred way to receive updates from brands. People continue to check their email obsessively and agree that content is more and more relevant to them. Personalization and discounts are big motivating factors to open an email, while Millennials take the most action.

Email is still #1, and businesses are sending more of it

In general, companies are sending more email across a variety of industries, as email volume is up by 14.7% in Q1-Q2 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. It comes as no surprise as the latest reports show that email is the preferred way to receive updates from brands (compared to direct mail, mobile apps, social media, push notifications, and mobile wallet) across all primary industries. Additionally, email is not just preferred by a small percentage over other mediums; it’s more than double in popularity. And believe it or not, more than 50% of consumers check their email account more than 10 times a day.

So if you’re thinking of slowing down or stopping your email marketing altogether because of CASL, think again.

Content is becoming more and more relevant

76% of consumers agree that retail brands are sending relevant, accurate emails which reflect their shopping preferences, location or purchase history. It’s safe to say that CASL has helped businesses become more relevant. Long gone are the days of mass sendouts. If you’re not relevant, your consumers will either unsubscribe or signal your communications as spam.

Businesses are being rewarded by consumers

As companies improve the relevancy of the content they send out, consumers are rewarding them with increases in open and transaction rates. This includes business products, consumer products, specialty products, home brands, publishers, while department stores and luxury brands saw the biggest gains in year-over-year revenue per email.

With all the data we can collect, and with all the tools that exist nowadays, there’s no excuse not to create relevant campaigns. And, with personalisation, it’s an easy way to start.

Personalisation is key

Overall, consumers overwhelmingly prefer to receive personalised emails across verticals. And this is especially true with Millenials: when looking at email personalisation preferences among Millennials versus baby boomers, Millennials prefer it by a wide margin.

Discounts drive subscriptions and opens

Personalization and discounts continue to remain the top reasons consumers will open an email from a brand. Similarly, discounts – ranks as one of the top reasons for subscribing to an email newsletter.

Millenials most inclined to take action on emails

There’s much talk about reaching out to Millennials on social mediums, but the data shows that this group is far more likely to take action on a relevant email than all other forms of customer communication. It is by far the most engaging method of communication amongst this group. And Millenials are more engaged with email, than all other generations.

The bottom line? Marketers can no longer hide their head in the sand and ignore today’s state of email marketing. Getting a compliance program in place, cleaning up one’s data and procedures are a must to be successful in the marketing arena.