Articles
Email Marketing: Leveraging the Electronic Commerce Protection Act
In today’s electronic age, email marketing is a very valuable tool for marketers. But with most people’s inbox being flooded daily with spam emails hocking everything from discount vacations to the latest and greatest magic little blue pill, best practices need to be in place to ensure your message is well received by prospective customers. Canada’s new Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA) is a set of rules that will help marketers achieve this goal.
Set to come into law in 2010, the ECPA aims to protect customers while encouraging and supporting electronic commerce. Basically, the ECPA elevates the reach and scope of the CAN-SPAM law which has been the standard for marketers across North America. In a nut shell, the purpose of the ECPA is to:
1. Promote email best practices
2. Protect consumers against spam or unsolicited junk mail
3. Allow for more innovation in email marketing programs
4. Allow Canadian businesses to compete on a level playing field with global business e-commerce
The ECPA will require that marketers understand and accommodate a new set of rules and requirements for email marketing initiatives. Some of these new requirements include having explicit or implied consent that email recipients have agreed to receive your emails. This differs from the CAN-SPAM law that allowed marketers to send emails to anyone as long as they didn’t opt out or unsubscribe from an existing email subscription. The ECPA also states that explicit consent is valid for 18 months, after which a new approval to receive emails is required. Regarding accommodation for individuals not wanting to receive emails, according to the ECPA, marketers must establish and maintain clear policies and procedures for unsubscribing and this policy must be included with each email. Also, requests to unsubscribe must be honoured within 10 calendar days of receiving the request.
Following email best practices like these should go a long way to both protect consumers from unwanted junk mail, while allowing marketers to better utilize email marketing to connect businesses with their existing and prospective clients. And just to make sure people take these laws seriously, the penalties for non-compliance are steep. Violating ECPA rules can result in a maximum penalty of $1 million for an offending individual or $10 million in the case of businesses. With over 85% of all Canadian homes using the Internet and email on a daily basis, it was only a matter of time before a tighter set of rules for e-commerce.
