marketing MBA 563 Week 6

Overview: marketing The new Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL)

MARKETING

usage by organizations Inbound – part of CRM – Firms need clear policies for provision of addresses to customers – Clear processes for ensuring that inbound is dealt with fully and promptly – is a key part of customer service Outbound – part of IMC – Many advantages as a direct marketing medium – Increasingly problematic for marketers to manage Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

Direct marketing using - Advantages – Push medium – it appears in customer’s inbox – Good for retaining customers and maintaining relationships – Direct response - deep link to website landing page (url need not be memorized or copied) – Easy to quantify effectiveness – Cheaper to send than print – Lower creative costs than print – Fast execution time – Fast response time Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

Disadvantages of – Bad reputation – SPAM (90%+) – Deliverability – filters (both personal and mailbox provider) – Very poor for acquiring new customers (requires opt-in for success) – Must compete with lots of clutter in in-box – Bad list data - multiple addresses and churn Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

metrics – methods of measuring effectiveness Delivery rate / bounce rate Open rate – for html messages only – How do we know whether the has been opened? – Problems? Preview pane Image blocking Click rate Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

SPAM Traditional definition of SPAM – Unsolicited commercial sent in bulk(UCE) New Canadian Anti-Spam legislation (CASL) broadens the definition to: – Spamming: “the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages (“CEMs”) whether in the form of , text messages, social media or other means of telecommunication” – does not have to be sent in bulk to fall under this legislation

How much SPAM is there? Marketers have abused and misused The Spamhaus Project estimates that 90% of incoming traffic is spam in North America, Europe or Australasia. By June % of received by businesses was spam (at VIU it is around 98%).Spamhaus Project

Why does SPAM continue? Cost to sender is minimal Very low response rate required to make SPAM profitable. Spammers are turning a profit despite only getting one response for every 12.5m s they send. Spammers are turning a profit despite only getting one response for every 12.5m s they send. Nature of the worldwide global network enables SPAM Spamhaus project (spamhaus.org) Spamhaus project Legal penalties difficult to enforce – US law – the “Can Spam” Act – came into force on Jan 1, 2004 Requirements for commercial ers – Canada introduced comprehensive anti-spam legislation (CASL) – July 2014

So what does the law say? CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) – Passed December 2010 (after many years in development) – Sections covering “commercial electronic messages” came into force July 1, 2014 – January 15, 2015, sections of the Act related to the unsolicited installation of computer programs or software come into force. This is very comprehensive and stringent legislation Penalties: up to $1,000,000 per violation for individuals and up to $10,000,000 for corporations Private rights of action after 1 July 2017 – ie. recipients can sue

CASL generally prohibits: sending of commercial electronic messages without the recipient's consent (permission), including messages to addresses and social networking accounts, and text messages sent to a cell phone; alteration of transmission data in an electronic message which results in the message being delivered to a different destination without express consent; installation of computer programs without the express consent of the owner of the computer system or its agent, such as an authorized employee; use of false or misleading representations online in the promotion of products or services; collection of electronic addresses by the use of computer programs or the use of such addresses, without permission (address harvesting).

What is a “commercial electronic message”? A commercial electronic message (CEM) is defined as – a digital message sent to any electronic address (i.e. address, social media account, text message) – that promotes or advertises a product, person, event, investment, or business. So if there is any commercial activity tied to the message it would be considered a CEM under CASL. This applies to individual messages as well as bulk messages (very different from typical anti-spam legislation)

What’s an electronic address? “A typical advertisement placed on a website or blog post would not be captured.” “Whether communication using social media fits the definition of "electronic address," must be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending upon, for example, how the specific social media platform in question functions and is used.“ – “For example, a Facebook wall post would not be captured.” – “However, messages sent to other users using a social media messaging system (e.g., Facebook messaging and LinkedIn messaging), would qualify as sending messages to "electronic addresses." – “Websites, blogs and micro-blogging would typically not be considered to be electronic addresses."

Consent is really important You can legally send CEMs only with the full CONSENT of the recipient – Express consent: Direct, positive opt-in (absolutely no pre-checked boxes) - remains in force until the customer opts out – Implied consent – exists where there is a previous business relationship – BUT expires after 2 years – then Express consent is needed to continue sending messages 3 things to think about when sending electronic messages (Infographic from Gov’t of Canada) 3 things to think about when sending electronic messages

How ethical marketers manage in the SPAM era Permission marketing (opt-in versus opt-out direct marketing) – applies particularly to marketing 1.Ask people what they are interested in 2.Ask permission to send them information 3.Then do it in an entertaining, educational, or interesting manner Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

marketing challenges Even with permission marketing and opt-in, there are considerable challenges in: – Getting addresses (NEVER buy a list from a third-party firm) – Getting your to the recipient (spam filters etc) – Getting them to open it when they get it Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

Some tactics to help get your delivered and opened Comply with the law – Use “affirmative consent” – ideally use the double opt-in subscription process – No pre-checked boxes – Include physical address, link to privacy policy Include a visible “ update preferences” link (and make sure it is compliant with CASL!) “ update preferences” Make sure the is expected A recognized, consistent sender name “Branded” subject lines and subject line content Consistency between subject line and content Based on DMA “ Delivery Best Practices”

Some tactics to help get your delivered and opened (cont’d) Be aware of how content (spam) filtering works Message proofing and pre-testing Think about images instead of text (downside!) Manage user expectations Select appropriate send time DMA Chart showing what to look for in a commercial (use this for your project to make sure that your sample s comply) DMA Chart showing what to look for in a commercial Based on DMA “ Delivery Best Practices”

marketing success factors: CRITICAL Creative – design, colours, images etc Relevance – does it meet my needs? Incentive (or offer) – Benefit? What’s in it for me? Targeting and timing – is it tailored just for me and my interests. Does it arrive at a useful time? Related to any other event? Integration (with other campaigns) – does it fit? Consistent brand and message? Copy – structure style and explanation of the offer, including location of hyperlinks Attributes (of the ) – subject line, text or html? Landing page (or microsite) – appropriate, engaging? Source: eMarketing eXcellence Smith &Chaffey

Software for managing – a couple of examples Mailchimp – offers software to help create, track, and analyze for businesses and organizations Mailchimp ConstantContact Salesforce.com – part of their CRM software suite Salesforce.com