Contacting Old Customers

[mizambar]

I have a database of about 200 former customers of mine. I would like to contact them for future product offerings and discounts, but don't want to be accused of spam. Does anyone know what the "regulations" are for sending emails to people who have already purchased a product? Thanks.

Scott

[cyanide]

Well, I don't know what the rules are for this... might be considered grey area.

Personally though, I would go ahead and do it.
These people have purchased from you, so they know who you are.

But the question, is... is this a one time shot, or are you contacting them reuglarly? - Be sure to have an unsubscribe link.

[John Glube]

Originally Posted by mizambar

I have a database of about 200 former customers of mine. I would like to contact them for future product offerings and discounts, but don't want to be accused of spam. Does anyone know what the "regulations" are for sending emails to people who have already purchased a product? Thanks.

Scott

Scott,

Unlike the Direct Marketing Association (which condones unsolicited non fraudulent Can Spam compliant email, or spam), the Canadian Marketing Association takes a different approach.

The most recent version of the CMA's email marketing guidelines read as follows:

"E4.1.2 e-Mail Purpose: Organizations must identify the purpose for which an individual's e-mail address is being requested prior to or at the time the e-mail address is collected.

The e-mail address that has been collected can be used only for those purposes identified.

E4.1.3 e-Mail Consent: Marketers shall not send e-mail marketing communications without the express consent of the recipient, except where there is an existing business relationship.

Existing Business Relationship
In cases where a consumer has provided his or her e-mail address to an organization, the organization has implied consent to e-mail the consumer. Notwithstanding this requirement, marketers shall not send e-mail to consumers who have indicated they do not wish to receive further e-mail marketing communications from that marketer.

Disclosing e-Mail Addresses to a Third Party
An organization shall not disclose a consumer's e-mail address to a third party without the express consent of the consumer."

For details on these new guidelines, use this.

Please note these guidelines do not have force of law.

However, the guidelines do represent a standard for best practices.

(These specific guidelines go into force on April 1, 2004.)

In essence, under these guidelines, if you want to send email to previous customers, at the time of collecting the customer's email address, you will want to have indicated you are collecting the person's email address for the purpose of [insert here the specific purpose].

I appreciate it is unlikely you had any notice on your site at the time you collected your customer's email address.

To minimize the issues, you will want to send out a verification notice to your customers first, asking each customer to confirm his or her willingness to receive further commercial messages from you.

Something like:

Subject line: A new service from [insert web site name]

Dear [insert name]

I trust this note finds you well and in good health.

Sometime ago, you purchased [insert nature of purchase] from our store at [insert website address].

We have put together a special service for the benefit of customers.

[insert benefits]

To receive access to this service, simply use the following:

[insert link to verify willingness to receive email]

Looking forward to being of continued service.

Kind regards,

[insert name]

[insert sig file]

------------------------

If you do not wish to receive further notices about the availability of this special service in the future, please use the following:

[opt-out link]

------------------------

(I add, readers will want to tailor the verification notice to their own specific requirements and may want to review the notice with a knowledgeable advisor.)

For those who reside in the United States, or do mailings either from, or into the US, you may find the following articles of benefit:

The Federal Regulators Are Coming To Town

- and -

The Guys And Gals In Blue Have Arrived

Trusting these comments are of assistance.

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada

[mizambar]

Thanks for the information....the last thing I want to do is be accused of spam!

[Delgado]

Under Guideline 6 of the Can-Spam Act of 2003, emailing customers whom you've done business with in the past is permitted, called relational or transactional emails. When you send your email some good rules of thumb would be to stay honest about what your message is, and make sure your unsubscribe function, as well as a postal address, are included in your email message.

[Andilinks]

Since you are only sending 200, being accused of spam is probably less of a problem than being mistaken for spam and filtered out either by a filtering program or the scanning eye of the receiver.

Avoid "sales-type words," that might be included in a spam, keep it short and sweet and just include a link to any promotional-type language. Since these people should be familiar with your name and product have these prominent in the sender name and subject line to avoid being deleted unopened.

Andi

[John Glube]

Originally Posted by Delgado

Under Guideline 6 of the Can-Spam Act of 2003, emailing customers whom you've done business with in the past is permitted, called relational or transactional emails. When you send your email some good rules of thumb would be to stay honest about what your message is, and make sure your unsubscribe function, as well as a postal address, are included in your email message.

Steve,

When the Bill was amended, after the House and Senate cut the deal to allow for passage, unfortunately the definition of implied consent was removed. This was the provision which specifically permitted sending commercial email messages to prior customers.

It is an open question as to whether the safe harbor provision for transactional or relationship messages is broad enough to cover sending promotional or commercial email to former customers per se.

(In my view it is not, but others may be of a different position.)

The definition of transactional or relationship message is found in section 3 (17) of the Act and reads as follows:

(17) Transactional or relationship message-

(A) IN GENERAL- The term `transactional or relationship message' means an electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is--

(i) to facilitate, complete, or confirm a commercial transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender;

(ii) to provide warranty information, product recall information, or safety or security information with respect to a commercial product or service used or purchased by the recipient;

(iii) to provide--

(I) notification concerning a change in the terms or features of;

(II) notification of a change in the recipient's standing or status with respect to; or

(III) at regular periodic intervals, account balance information or other type of account statement with respect to,

a subscription, membership, account, loan, or comparable ongoing commercial relationship involving the ongoing purchase or use by the recipient of products or services offered by the sender;

(iv) to provide information directly related to an employment relationship or related benefit plan in which the recipient is currently involved, participating, or enrolled; or

(v) to deliver goods or services, including product updates or upgrades, that the recipient is entitled to receive under the terms of a transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender.

The relevant portion is the last sub-paragraph. It speaks of delivering goods or services, including product updates or upgrades. It does not speak of providing notice of sales, etc.

In any event, the FTC is presently going through a rules process, and I urge marketers to participate in this process.

One of the questions the FTC has asked is whether it is appropriate for transactional or relationship messages to include advertising.

Please note that under the Act, the opt-out and postal address requirements are not mandated for transactional or relationship messages. However, prudent business practice would suggest including this information along with other relevant information in mailings to prior customers.

Trusting these comments are of assistance.

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada

[kjohnson5576]

How about a quick post card? Placed like Vista Print and 4overinc can print custom post cards quite cheaply. Cost for postage is less than a letter, but still more than email.

I have no problems sending post cards to customers, most don't mind a solicitation in the mail. Email is a whole 'nuther story though. It's a matter of trust between us. I don't have it written on my site, but if I ever talk to anyone, I tell them I only send email as a matter of followup or business, not advertising. If they want advertising, they can "opt into" my contest.

[Conficio]

Hi kjohnson,
quick question: What is 4overinc?

Thanks
K<o>

[Andilinks]

I think kjohnson means http://www.4over.com/

And I think the post card idea is great. For 200 pieces the cost can't be prohibitive and they have a much better chance than emails at being seen.

Postcards are more durable, they will stay on the desk much longer, are more likely to garner a response for that reason.

Once an email is filed away 99% of the time it's gone forever.

Andi

[kjohnson5576]

Yes www.4over.com is the place.

[Conficio]

Thanks for the clarification!

Do I feel lucky, that I'm not in the web-design business. I would have to send them an offer to overhaul their site. Haven't seen tables overlapping in IE 6.0 like this one for a long time. Not to mention the switches in colors, layout, domains, if I click around.

Anyone out there to earn a buck?

:-) :-) ;-)

K<o>

[equickxpress]

I have been wondering the same things about sending promotional and website news to my former customers, the information here has helped me out alot so thanks,

I do have policy's listed on my site which explain what I will do with the emails, located at http://equickxpress.com/privacy_policy.htm

but I was wondering if I was to create a new company that offered different items would it be legal to send them information on the new business and what it has to offer?

[John Glube]

Equickxpress

Originally Posted by equickxpress

but I was wondering if I was to create a new company that offered different items would it be legal to send them information on the new business and what it has to offer?

The rule of thumb:

* You can't take names on one mailing list and simply add them to another mailing list without their consent.

(This is an etiquette rule, not a legal rule unless you have a stated privacy policy. In which case, if the movement from list A to list B is not clearly stated it violates the policy and the FTC can enforce violations.)

* As to telling people on list A about the opening of a new business by the owners of list A, looking at how you have written your privacy policy:

"If you provide our Web site with your E–mail address, such as our guest book, news letter subscriptions, contests, and information request forms, you will be added to our mailing list and may receive E–mails from our Web site stating upcoming sales, events, or news on new additions to our Web Site."

I would suggest you have limited yourself to providing "E-mails from our Web site stating upcoming sales, events, or news on new additions to our Web Site."

Meaning it looks like your stuck and unless you can fit the news of your opening a new business within one of the 3 categories, unfortunately no dice.

(It might be construed as an event, although I suspect this is a stretch given the purpose of the site.)

I add, normally the issuer of a privacy policy leaves it open, meaning:

* The publisher can change the policy by simply posting a revised policy and giving notice of the change to all those on the applicable mailing lists; and,

* The publisher usually has a broader statement as to the inclusion of 3rd party messages, although this depends on the site objective.

I would review this policy with a competent advisor as some of the language could come back and haunt the site owner in the future.

I am a business person, not a lawyer, although I do have a law degree. These comments are for educational purposes only. Specific concerns should be directed to a competent advisor.

Kind regards,

John

P.S. On the whole issue of sending personalized unsolicited commercial email to a limited number of people, a few words of follow up.

The Commission has recently issued guidelines for commercial emailers defined as those who send unsolicited commercial email.

There is a huge distinction between "affirmative consent" commercial email and unsolicited commercial email. We will know better how the Commission decides to treat "affirmative consent" commercial email once the rules to implement the Act are published.

Allhough the presumption is that a commercial emailer initiates the transmission of unsolicited commercial email in bulk, people need to understand:

* The Commission defines spam as unsolicited commercial email, usually sent in bulk.

(I happen to consider the better definition is unsolicited bulk email, meaning the message must be both unsolicited and sent in bulk, but hey, the view of the Commission is what counts.)

* As such, the guidelines label: (i) unsolicitd commercial email or UCE as spam; and (ii) commercial emailers who initiate the transmission of UCE and those whose products or services are advertised in UCE as spammers.

(Implicit in this is the Commission's view the Act gives consumers the right to opt-out from receiving spam, with spam meaning unsolicited commercial email.)

Bottom line? The Commission is not buying into the distinction made by the Direct Marketing Association and others between unsolicited non-fraudulent commercial email and unsolicited fraudulent commercial email.

In the eyes of the Commission it is all UCE or spam and the Commission is going to use its bully pulpit to label all those who "initiate" or "send" UCE as spammers.

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada

[equickxpress]

Thanks for the great information John, That is what I though but I figured I would ask! I do have a statement in my policy that says I hold the right to change this policy at any time and the customers should review it periodically. But I dont think that is would be right to use that statement to my advantage like that! Thanks for the info.

[John Glube]

Originally Posted by equickxpress

Thanks for the great information John, That is what I though but I figured I would ask! I do have a statement in my policy that says I hold the right to change this policy at any time and the customers should review it periodically. But I dont think that is would be right to use that statement to my advantage like that! Thanks for the info.

Glad to help. Yes, I agree changing your policy to allow for the transfer of a mailing list, or a fundamental change in practice, would likely end up getting you into more trouble from a business perspective.

At the end of the day, the only thing we have is the trust of our subscribers. Kill that and you might as well give up the ghost.

The only way to properly do this would be to proceed to ask your existing list for specific consent by way of an opt-in link or web form before sending out "off topic material" and then only send it to those who gave specific consent.

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada

[equickxpress]

Thanks for the advice and information John, I think I will place a little opt in link and message on one of my newsletters. Maybe something to the form of:

"The EQuick Xpress owner is working with another company to provide its customers with a new way to shop online would you also like to receive information about this site?"

It might be worded a little differently but something like that. Do you think that would be ok? Thanks

[John Glube]

Originally Posted by equickxpress

Thanks for the advice and information John, I think I will place a little opt in link and message on one of my newsletters. Maybe something to the form of:

"The EQuick Xpress owner is working with another company to provide its customers with a new way to shop online would you also like to receive information about this site?"

It might be worded a little differently but something like that. Do you think that would be ok? Thanks

Andrew,

Please excuse me for taking so long to respond.

An announcement with an opt-in link is a fair approach. The wording will depend on the style you use in your e-zine.

For example, if the e-zine you publish is written in a personal style, you might write something like:

"Just a quick announcement. Equick Xpress's owner (that's me) is working on a new project, being an innovative way for people to shop online.

Now, before you go 'yawn ... not another online shopping mall, to keep my loyal readers informed, I have set up a separate mailing list. Just use this:

[insert link here]

Oh, forget to mention. When you subscribe, there is an extra bonus (but it's a surprise, you have to use the link to get the details) and don't worry, I will hold your contact info in strict confidence."

Trusting this helps,

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada