With the passing of Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) last July, the world of database management has changed for Canadian marketers. No longer can we simply email a list of prospects, weed out the bad addresses and follow up with the good ones to ensure our database is clean. If an email is sent to someone who doesn't want to be on your list, it can land you in trouble!(Read more about the do's & don'ts of CASL by downloading this Greenfield CASL overview).
But what should you do if your database is a mess? Here are a few tips:
- It's the circle of life! Accept the fact that the minute you've finished updating your database, something in it will be obsolete.
- Resist buying data. Even if a list seller says they have email opt-in, don't believe it! Legal professionals tell us email permission is not transferable; it rests only with the entity who obtained permission in the first place. A list seller would have to send the email for you in other words. So be careful and buy only from reputable entities.
- Focus first on the data you do have. Set up a phone campaign. Have the list cleaned the good old fashioned way.
- Update in small chunks. Set aside a few hundred of your best records, get those updated and feel good about what you've done. And focus on keeping this chunk of data pristine. Make it your A-Team and work from there.
- Be brutal! If a contact can't be updated in a predetermined number of phone calls, archive it, delete it, or remove it, but get it our of your regularly accessible records.
- When you make a call, start at the top. An Executive Assistant to a President will know who plans the meetings within the company. To get past a tenacious receptionist, ask for Sales. The Sales department is a great place to start since they will be hosting a number of the meetings.
- Keep your funnel full by topping it up with new records. This means systematically adding to your database as you acquire new leads from a trade show, and inbound inquiry, or a networking event. Ask your new prospects if you can keep in touch via email, and send them an email with a formal opt-in request they can accept right away.
- Email regularly. Don't be afraid of email just because of CASL. Moving prospects from implied to express consent can be simplified with an opt-in campaign via e-blasting, so why not do it? And for those who have opted in, they have given you permission to email them regarding specific topics. Why not woo them with great email content and keep them coming back for more?
Data cleansing isn't rocket science but it's time-consuming and required consistency. Remember that clean client and prospect data will make you a more efficient hospitality sales and marketing organization and ensure you are follow all of the new rules!
