Canadian Retailer - Spring 2015 - 35

2014 without express consent would qualify as implied consent
records based on a transaction, and these consent records expire
after two years-starting July 1, 2016.
The only practical solution to the complexity created by these
expiring consent types is some form of automation. However,
most business systems for managing inquiries and transactions
were never set up to track consent as mandated by CASL. System
vendors are playing catch-up and even six months after the law
was enacted, this can seem like a moving target.
Implied consent contacts can't be automatically converted to
the express consent status under CASL without an action on their
part. So, how do you upgrade your existing contacts without losing most of your list to meet the requirements of the new law?
There are three practical steps you should consider implementing:
1. obtain express consent from all new contacts
If your company hasn't already implemented a system for
obtaining express consent, then this must be your first
step. Review all your point of sale practices, as well as all
existing web and paper forms, to ensure you're making the
appropriate efforts to acquire express consent from your
customers and potential customers. The best way to do
this is to have your customers provide consent at checkout, whether in-store or online. This is the easiest way to
automate the process, versus maintaining paper records or
relying on a verbal consent provided over the phone.
2. Keep asking for express consent from existing contacts
Develop a method for upgrading your existing contacts'
consent status over the transition period so you're not
scrambling when the real deadline hits in 2017.
3. Manage consent separately from subscriptions
Implement multiple subscription options according to the
types of emails you send, such as sales event invitations,
flyers and alerts. This allows your customers to control
what they receive from you without withdrawing their
consent entirely.
consent, but the designation that applies to many
business contacts is where an 'existing business
relationship' occurs-usually where the contact
has provided their email address without any express notice that they don't want to receive CEMs
from your company. These implied consent records are allowable up until July 2017 under CASL.
However, the implied consent that applies to
email inquiries your company receives from
individuals seeking product or other information after the CASL implementation date of
July 1, 2014 only has a shelf life of six months.
That means that as of Jan. 1, 2015, the implied
consent status for these new contacts will be expired unless they are converted to express consent. Any new customers acquired since July 1,
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wiiFM rule

In conjunction with the last point above, a key consideration
in any CASL consent acquisition strategy should be the WIIFM
rule-i.e. "What's in it for me?" Offering your customers more
direct control over the type of electronic communications they
receive from you will be perceived as an important and valuable
benefit that works in your favour.
You can do this by providing multiple options for the types of
email messages you send to your customers and other contacts.
For instance, instead of a single e-flyer that goes to everyone in your database on a monthly basis, think about how your
communications can be broken down into different streams or
subscriptions. Some of your customers may be happy to get a
weekly, or even daily, email alert from you with exciting product
or sale information. Others will only want to be notified periodically of major sale events.

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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2015

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