In recent times, industry regulations like GDPR and CCPA have highlighted the importance of data privacy for individual customers. To this effect, even Google has moved its deadline for stopping third-party cookies to 2023. Since 2014, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has also emphasised the importance of consumer privacy.
As data privacy regulations transform the consumer market, digital advertisers are looking at innovative ways to engage with potential customers. Although it is not new, permission or consent-based marketing is becoming a more relevant tool today. Seth Godin, author of the book “Permission Marketing,” says this form of marketing “turns strangers into friends and friends into loyal customers.”
A consent-based marketing structure is a win-win arrangement for both consumers and marketers. For instance, marketers now have a clear understanding of what their consumers pay to buy (based on the data shared by them).
But what exactly is consent marketing, and why is it important? Let’s delve deeper into this.
What is Consent Marketing?
Consent-based marketing is defined as the practice of companies taking prior consent from the consumer before contacting them with business offers. The primary objective is that only “active” users who have expressed interest in the brand should be added to the sales funnel.
For consumers, this form of marketing means they are in control of their data. On the other end, marketers can shift from data quantity to data quality. Effectively, this drives their reliance on zero-party data and reduces dependence on third-party data.
Consent marketing works through a series of organized steps, namely:
- Capturing the customer’s consent by asking for their contact information.
- Documenting the consumer consent for legal compliance. For example, the “Telephone Consumer Protection Act” for Telecom companies.
- Qualifying the collected consumer data for sales leads or prospects.
- Filtering out the fraudulent and duplicate sales leads.
- Contacting qualified consumers through telephone or email marketing.
With the right technology platform, consent marketing is a valuable marketing tool to win more consumers. Next, let’s discuss why consent marketing is important to business enterprises.
Why Does Consent Marketing Matter?
Why is consent-based marketing important in the age of digital privacy? Here are a few reasons:
1. GDPR Violations
Consent marketing is essential to avoid any GDPR-related violations. Over the last few years, GDPR fines have risen astronomically as consumers are more sensitive about sharing their personal information. Apart from technology companies, telecom companies are more prone to data privacy violations.
In the year 2020, there were 69 privacy-related fines applied to the telecom sector. In a recent case, Vodafone was fined around $9.7 million in Spain, mostly for violating GDPR norms.
2. Customer Consent in Email and Telephone Marketing
Even without the GDPR restrictions, consent marketing is essential when businesses approach consumers through email marketing or on the telephone. Companies can benefit by knowing the specific users who have signed up for their business.
Customer consent is regarded as the user “subscribing” to receiving communications from the brand. What’s more, consumers always have the option to “unsubscribe” or “sign out” from receiving business calls and emails.
3. Customer Experience (CX)
In the age of consumer protection, customers do feel overwhelmed by the volume of business emails and calls they receive daily. Personalised messages or calls are the way forward to enhance their CX. Through consent marketing, businesses can personalise their marketing message based on the user’s shared data.
Also Read: Why it’s Time for Telecom Companies to Modernise their Tech Strategy
How can Consent Management Platforms help telecom companies to achieve compliance? Let’s discuss that next.
How Consent Management Platforms Can Help Telecom Companies
As Telecom companies continue to face GDPR-related penalties, they need an efficient mode of obtaining customer consent. But how should telecom companies implement consent management to streamline the process? Here are a few of the best practices:
- Ensure that you include the consent-related details (exactly for what the user’s permission is being sought).
- Be transparent with customers about how their collected data will be used and why it is needed.
- Make it simpler for consenting customers to withdraw their consent anytime.
- Enable consumers to use business services even without providing their consent.
With a Consent Management Platform (or CMP), companies can easily implement these best practices. The CMP is an efficient solution that enables business enterprises to collect and manage customer information in line with compliance requirements. How does a CMP benefit telecom companies?
- Simplifies the process of obtaining customer consent with precise information.
- Enables customers to withdraw their consent whenever they want to.
- Helps the company keep track of their potential customers who have given consent (or not).
- Helps distribute and manage customer consent across different marketing channels, including telephone and emails.
- Provides transparency to the entire consent-related process, thus ensuring compliance with industry regulations.
Conclusion
To avoid penalties for GDPR-related violations, business enterprises (including telecom companies) must communicate with their customers and seek their consent or permission. A Consent Management Platform is the best automation tool available to enable consent-based marketing for customer-facing companies.
As the enterprise “arm” of Globe Teleservices, CERF provides enterprise-grade products that can enhance data privacy and customer experience. With our Consentica consent management platform, our customers can leverage a centralised platform to collect, manage and document the user’s consent following regulations like GDPR, TCCCPR, and CCPA.
With CERF solutions, telecom companies can deliver efficient telephone-based consent marketing to their frontline customers. If you need professional help with consent marketing, we can help. Get in touch with us.