Optout of Direct Marketing
February 9th, 2010 |
The unfortunate side to direct marketing is receiving unwanted mail. As such, optout allows individuals to put a stop to unsolicited product or service information. That almost seems too good to be true. In order to determine whether an individual can put an end to unwanted mail, let’s consider what steps are needed to be completed and then determine how effective the results may be. The three areas that are targeted and usually associated with direct marketing campaigns are telemarketing, email marketing and direct mail.
In an effort to reduce the number of calls to consumers may receive at home, the U. S. Federal government created the National Do Not Call Registry. Initially, this registry was set up so that numbers would not be contacted for five years, but effective in April 2007, those numbers will remain permanently on the list, since it is now a law as of February 2008. An interesting tryst is the UK’s Direct Marketing Association operates a scheme to reduce unsolicited calls. However, it does not stop solicited calls, market research calls, silent calls or oversea calls.
Email marketing provides a link or opt-out button that provides the sender that the recipient-consumer may choose to not receive any further emails. However, there is a side effect to this option. By clicking on the link or button will confirm to the sender that the email address is valid, and in turns, opens up the possibility for further unsolicited email or spam.
Each year American consumers by the droves receive written offers of credit or insurance that they did not request. Often the senders have prescreened the recipients for creditworthiness. The Fair Credit Reporting Act permits creditors and insurers to use CRA information as a basis for sending unsolicited firm offers of credit or insurance. Additionally, the FCRA also provides a mechanism that consumers can elect not to receive solicitations by directing CRAs to exclude their name and address from lists that are provided to these agencies for sending prescreened solicitations. The caveat is that consumers will still receive these offers but these offers will not be based on the credit records that are maintained by the CRAs. Consumers are able to opt-out of receiving any offers from any U S national credit bureaus.
Finally, the US has the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Services provides an opt-out service. By using this service, the consumer’s name is added to a “delete” file list, which is available to direct marketers. While there is no charge for this service, there is a $1 fee to register through regular mail. Another service will assist with stopping mail being delivered to a deceased person. Registration will not completely stop the delivery if the organization is not registered the DMA.
The unfortunate side to unwanted mail is that it seems next to impossible to get you name removed from a solicitation list. You may be able to remove your name from one list, only to find that it generates additional mail from another source.
RESOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opt-out
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