If you
have decided to take advantage of increased confidence in the economy and boost
your marketing efforts, something you may be thinking about trying is
telemarketing. It is certainly a very popular initiative, but, as with all
marketing, there are particular guidelines you need to adhere to. So before you
get started on your campaign, have a read of this article so you can get it off
the ground whilst staying within the law.
The first
thing to take in is that the Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) is not shy
when it comes to issuing fines, and of significant sums. Not so long ago they
issued one of £90,000 and another of £225,000 for breaches of the regulations. In
response to this, the following advice has helpfully been published by John
Mitchison who is head of the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).
List Screening
Screening
marketing lists against the TPS and CTPS (Corporate Telephone Preference)
registers is the first place to start before preparing any campaigns. Under the
Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, businesses are prohibited
from making unsolicited sales and marketing calls to anyone who is registered
under these services, unless express consent has been provided.
Updating Databases
Keeping
databases up to date is crucial. By law, any lists to be used in a marketing
campaign must be screened against the TPS register 28 days or less before any
unsolicited calls are made. Buying lists from a list broker? The responsibility
for screening is still yours. If the supplier states their lists have been
screened, you still need to carry out due diligence.
Managing ‘Do not Call’ Lists
During
the course of your marketing campaigns, you will come across requests from
people you contact to remove them from your list. You are obliged to honour
these requests and it is very important that you have measures in place to
ensure these people are not contacted again. Not only could it lead to
complaints to the regulator and possible fines, it can also damage
relationships and public profile.
Training Personnel
When your
personnel are well versed with the regulations and aware of their
responsibilities around TPS and ‘do not call’ lists they will help keep your
business safe from risk. Keep them up to date with any legislation changes and
ensure new staff are trained in your procedures.
Getting
things wrong with telemarketing – or any other type of marketing campaign -
could prove extremely costly. If you are unsure of what you can and can’t do
under the Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations, which also control
email marketing, a good place to go for advice in the first instance is your bookkeepers who will be able to
give you an overview and general guidance to help keep you within the law.
