Marketing communication is an essential aspect of any business, and companies use various channels to reach their customers. However, with new regulations in some countries and to minimize legal exposure, we recommend businesses collect explicit consent from their customers for marketing communication, rather than relying on passive consent. In this article, we will discuss different ways to gather consent from customers for marketing through email and SMS.

Passive Marketing Communication Consent

Passive marketing communication consent occurs when companies do not add checkbox fields to their registration forms to allow SMS or email communication. Instead, they rely on Terms & Conditions documents that state by signing up for a loyalty program, the member is also signing up for marketing communication. This type of consent is no longer sufficient under many new regulations.

Explicit Marketing Communication Consent

Explicit marketing communication consent requires that the end-user clearly sees and accepts the consent of marketing communication. This can be achieved by adding the "allow email" or "allow SMS" checkbox fields to the registration form. It is essential to note, in many countries, marketing communication opt-in must be captured explicitly and cannot only be outlined in the Privacy Policy or Terms and Conditions of service.

One way to collect explicit consent with Como is by using the Como registration form:
An "Allow Marketing Communication" field has been added to our default registration form, which will control both the "allow email" and "allow SMS" settings. Therefore, businesses can choose whether to collect general consent or separate consent per channel. Additionally, the registration form legal disclaimer text of "By registering, I hereby..." will be updated automatically in all accounts that do not have "Allow SMS"/ "Allow email"/"Allow Marketing Communication" fields in their registration forms. The registration form can be implemented with an iframe on any website, Kiosk, and app. It is also native in the sign-up process in any Como app.

Another way to collect explicit consent is by creating your own registration form and using the giveConsent API call. This method allows you to collect consent directly from your customers and update the member settings on Como using your own UI.

Lastly, you can create a rule to update every new customer with consent in their profile, provided you gave a statement in the sign-up form that they are giving consent by registering. To create this rule, go to Hub2 > Campaigns > New rule > Choose condition when a member "joins the program" do action > "update member preferences" to "give consent"/"allow email"/"allow SMS."  Please note, this method may not be legally satisfactory in all countries due to regulations changing in recent years.

We highly recommend collecting explicit consent from your users for marketing communication to minimize legal exposure. It is crucial to follow the regulations in your country and choose the appropriate method to gather consent within your Country. Fortunately, with the new settings in the registration form as well as our giveConsent API, collecting consent has never been easier!