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Like yours, many businesses want to thrive in their B2B marketing objectives. And, to do so, you need to connect with and know your audience better. This practice becomes more important when you are performing outbound marketing.
However, various factors influence your marketing effectiveness. One of them is regulatory compliance rules for B2B outbound marketing campaigns. It covers practices like:
- Tracking the audience’s online behavior.
- Using the audience's data for marketing efforts, etc.
Compromise in such data can cost you $220,000 on average. But you can prevent it by maintaining compliance with regulations.
Doing so won't merely help dodging penalties. It’ll also help in building trust and connecting with your ideal audience.
So, let's learn about the primary and updated regulatory guidelines for outbound lead generation:
Exploring Standard Outbound Marketing Regulations in the US
When you proactively reach your target audience, you do your homework. It means you study your target audience’s demographics, firmographics, and other details. However, your target audience may not know your brand’s existence.
This is where you apply outbound lead generation strategies. It involves contacting them with cold emails and calls to introduce your brand. However, you can not simply show up to your target audience and expect them to trust you. You are required to follow the standard compliance rules regarding outbound marketing. It helps you interact with your target audience without invading their privacy.
Staying compliant will help your brand maintain a positive reputation, avoid legal troubles, and uphold ethical standards in your marketing practices. And eventually, your audience will begin to trust you.
Here are different compliance Acts for the US market:
1. For Cold Emails
Here are the standard Acts you need to follow while reaching out to your audience through email:
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CAN-SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act has been in practice since 2003. It is your guide to email marketing etiquette. The Act ensures your emails are not spammy and allows your recipients to opt-out.
If you ignore it, you might face hefty fines—up to $50,120 per email!
So, keep it legit, and your email campaigns will stay on the right side of the law.
Here's how to stay compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act:
- Avoid using misleading subject lines
- Make sure your “From” line is mentioned accurately
- Give your recipients an easy way to opt-out
- Include your company’s accurate address
2. For Cold Calls
Here are two basic Acts you must abide by while calling your potential customers:
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Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
Let's talk about the TCPA, the unsung hero (or villain, depending on your perspective) of the outbound cold-calling game.
So, the Act belongs to telemarketing regulations in the US. The law keeps automated calling systems, prerecorded voices, and unsolicited faxes in check.
If you ignore these rules, you'll dive headfirst into a pool of penalties. We're talking fines that could slap you with a bill of $500 to $1500 for each violation.
Plus, customers have the power to throw lawsuits your way if you're not following TCPA's playbook as every business should.
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Do Not Call (DNC) Registry
It’s another important Act for cold calling. It contains the list of folks who said, "No thanks!" to any telemarketing calls. Maintained by the (Federal Trade Commission) FTC, it prevents unwanted interruptions for both B2C and B2B customers.
Calling members of the DNC list can add fines that could make your wallet wince! We're talking up to $43,792 per call. Your business's credibility takes a hit, too, as repeated violations might trigger regulatory actions.
How to stay compliant with TCPA and DNC Act:
- Obtain consent through sign-ups and maintain its records
- Maintain a DNC list
- Introduce yourself and your business with proper transparency
- Train your staff on TCPA and DNC compliance
- Seek Legal Counsel
Updated Outbound Marketing Laws for 2024
Standard compliance laws mainly focus on preventing brands from unwanted interactions. Protecting users’ privacy is one of the practices in these laws.
However, the updated laws give top priority to consumer privacy while marketing. In fact, 79% of customers even avoid partnering with a business they don’t trust with their data.
Thus, the emphasis on privacy will be more in 2024 and beyond. Respecting it is non-negotiable.
So, let's learn multiple new data protection rules or Acts. It’ll help you keep your prospects’ information safe in today's cyber-sensitive world.
Here are some of the significant compliance Acts to learn about:
1. Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA)
The Act has been in action since December 31, 2023. Your business needs to abide by its clauses if it meets either of the following criteria:
- Your business revenue is at least $25 million yearly.
- You either handle personal info from 100,000+ Utah consumers or make over half their money selling personal data.
- You deal with information from 25,000+ Utah consumers.
The Utah Consumer Privacy Law gives your B2B customers the right to control their data. It involves the following:
- Customers can access and delete their data from your registry.
- You need to reveal how you’ll use their data.
- You must follow customers’ requests to stop selling their personal information.
2. Florida Digital Bill of Rights (FDBR)
The Act may apply to your business if it is making over $1 billion in yearly global revenue. The FDBR specifically lets Florida consumers say no to having their data collected. It applies to data extraction through voice and facial recognition technologies you use.
3. Oregon Consumer Information Protection Act (OCPA)
This Act secures the "personal data," of users. The data can be any information connected to a consumer or their device. Notably, it doesn't include de-identified data or publicly accessible data.
Under OCPA, you must:
- Share a privacy notice.
- Only process necessary consumer data.
- Provide a secure way for consumers to use their privacy rights under the law.
- Get consumer consent for using sensitive data.
- Conduct data protection assessments for activities like targeted ads or selling personal data.
4. Texas Privacy Protection Act (TDPSA)
The Act will come into play on July 1, 2024, giving businesses like yours time to get ready. According to TDPSA, you can only collect data that's reasonably necessary and proportional for the stated purposes.
Plus, you need to tell your consumers about the usage. Here are some essential rules you must follow to handle personal data from Texas consumers lawfully:
- Always confirm with consumers whether you are accessing and processing their personal data.
- Correct inaccuracies in consumers’ data promptly.
- Delete personal data when not needed.
- Provide a copy of consumers’ data in their request, if available. Share a portable and easy-to-use format.
- Offer the option to opt out while processing personal data for targeted ads, profiling, or selling.
5. Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (MTCDPA)
The Act covers any information that can identify a Montana resident. It goes beyond obvious stuff like names and Social Security numbers (SSNs), including online habits, IPs, and purchase history.
But, it doesn't touch de-identified or public information. To stay compliant with the rules, you must:
- Use only necessary data.
- Stick to the intended purposes.
- Give consumers a privacy heads-up.
- Check data breach risks when needed.
- Respect consumer requests.
- Provide Ink deals with service providers.
- Offer ways for consumers to skip specific data processing.
Privacy-Centric Marketing Tips for Updated Laws and Regulations
75% of US residents worry about their online data privacy. It's one of the main compelling reasons why you should not ignore the compliance rules. Here are a few ways to ensure your efforts look customer privacy-centric:
- 79% of consumers find it challenging to comprehend how companies use their data. Thus, adapt to the need for transparency in data usage.
- Shift from cookie-based tracking by embracing alternative strategies available.
- Explore emerging trends like zero-party data (consumer shares data intentionally) collection and AI-driven personalization in the context of evolving data privacy regulations.
- Actively engage in educating consumers about the value exchange between their personal data usage and the services they get.
Conclusion
To maintain your outbound marketing compliance laws, staying informed is critical. As we dive into 2024, understanding and adhering to these regulations are more crucial than ever.
To ensure seamless compliance, consider partnering with a reliable outbound marketing agency. Our expertise can help you effortlessly navigate regulatory updates. Thus, you can focus on your business while staying on the right side of the law.
Let us discuss how we can help your business. Contact us today!