Marketing email notifications about data breaches, exposure of sensitive information and compromised website passwords are at the forefront of why marketing email laws are passed and updated regularly.
Consumers are more aware who has access to their information, how it’s being used and whether they can trust the companies to which they provide information. This shift has led to evolving laws around email compliance regulations, making it crucial for businesses to stay informed and proactive when dealing with sensitive personal information.
So, how do you protect the data of your franchise development program and keep your security up to date? A reliable CRM and the ability to know how to use it is a great first step.
Why Compliance Matters
Laws are moving targets. They change constantly from year-to-year, state-to-state and country-to-country. If your franchise development marketing emails don’t meet compliance standards, email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft and others will deliver your thoughtfully designed emails to the spam folder. They won’t see the light of day.
Maintaining compliance is about more than just avoiding penalties. It’s about protecting your customers and maintaining a reliable sender reputation score.
A reputation score is a metric that represents your reliability and trustworthiness, often displayed as a scale from 0 to 100. The higher your score, the more reliable you are deemed to be in the digital eyes of email providers. On the flip side, if your score is on the lower side, expect your emails to end up bounced or be caught in spam filters.
Most CRMs provide a sender score that helps track email performance. We review ours monthly to make sure everything is up to code. For those who don’t use a CRM, third-party tools are available to verify compliance. Additionally, AI-powered platforms like Litmus can flag potential compliance issues before emails are sent.
Compliance Factors to Watch
Franchise brands that actively monitor their email marketing practices can prevent compliance issues before they arise through monitoring and tracking several key elements. Many CRM platforms have built-in tools to help monitor email health and flag inactive addresses.
One element we often notice missing in the emails of new clients is a clear option to unsubscribe. Sometimes it’s hidden in a way that makes it difficult to find, but it should be a simple, one-click process. The consumer shouldn’t have to spend much time finding it.
If your company doesn’t have a proper unsubscribe link, or if something is hidden or broken, email providers will notice. People will flag your emails, and your sender score will drop. A poor sender reputation can lead to future emails being automatically filtered into spam folders, rendering your marketing efforts ineffective.
Don’t forget your sender information. Your email should always include correct sender details. Misleading or missing sender information can result in complaints and negatively impact your sender score.
Misleading subject lines are also a big problem. For example, if the subject line says, “Congrats, you won $100!” but the email actually promotes a business opportunity, that kind of deception can get you flagged. Maintaining a clean email list is also essential. A sender list, which includes all email addresses, needs to be regularly updated and scrubbed of old or dead emails. Likewise, if a member of your company leaves and their email bounces, continuing to send messages to that address can hurt your sender reputation.
Adapting to Future Changes
Regulations around email marketing are likely to continue evolving, and staying ahead requires vigilance. Email providers often send updates about new rules well in advance, giving businesses time to adapt.
Email compliance regulations aren’t all about avoiding email spam filters. The ultimate goal is to maintain trust with your audience. By ensuring clear opt-outs, accurate sender information and transparent subject lines, franchise brands can better ensure their email campaigns end up in front of the correct audience and that their reputation is protected.
