What is implied consent?
In marketing, implied consent refers to providing contact information, such as email address or phone number, for a specific purpose but not explicitly opting in to receive marketing messages.
Implied consent may hint at your audience’s interest in your brand, but it doesn’t mean they’ve explicitly agreed to receive promotional content. Sending marketing messages without priorly obtaining explicit consent can have significant drawbacks, such as non-compliance with GDPR, flagging your message as spam, and damaging your brand image.
How to change the way you obtain consent
Using explicit instead of implicit consent in your marketing efforts is the best way to make sure you’re compliant with international privacy regulations. Follow the steps below to transform your approach.
1. Assess your current consent practices
Reassess how you’re currently collecting consent. Ask the following questions about your customer data:
- How has my brand collected the information it has on my subscribers and customers?
- How does my brand’s data collection methods differ by channel?
- Do I have opt-in checkboxes on all my website sign-up forms?
- How does my brand store consent information?
- Is our data time-stamped?
- Are there disclosures in my website sign-up forms?
2. Write clear data sharing practices as part of your privacy policy
Revise your terms and conditions to make sure they fulfill compliance requirements—make them available to customers. Include details on:
- Data usage: Explain how you’ll use customer information for marketing purposes. Be specific about the types of information you collect, such as email address, name, and purchase history.
- Consent withdrawal: Inform customers about their right to opt out or withdraw consent at any time.
- Compliance with regulations: Specify how you adhere to data privacy laws.
3. Implement explicit consent collection
To successfully obtain someone’s explicit consent, integrate clear and easy opt-in options throughout their journey with your brand. Consider obtaining explicit consent through the following:
- Keyword opt-in for SMS: Customers can confirm their SMS subscription by texting a designated number with a specific keyword, for example, “YES.”
- Website pop-ups: Launch a form on your website to collect email addresses and/or phone numbers, with clear instructions and an email and/or SMS marketing opt-in checkbox.
- Double opt-in for email: After initial sign-up, customers receive a confirmation text or email and need to click on a link or reply with another keyword, such as “CONFIRM,” to verify.
- Opt-in checkboxes at checkout: After a customer purchases a product, add an opt-in checkbox to make it easy for them to subscribe to your marketing messages. Don’t add them to your marketing lists unless they’ve checked the box.
A marketing automation platform like Klaviyo simplifies implementing explicit consent principles in email and SMS marketing. Use Klaviyo to easily create mobile-friendly sign-up forms using the form builder, automate the double opt-in process, and gain real-time insights into your email and SMS list.
Klaviyo AI helps you create personalized content that boosts engagement and drives conversions. Ready to transform your email and SMS marketing initiatives? Sign up for Klaviyo today.