ABC’s of Business Texting Compliancy
The decision to invest in business texting is a strategic one, and a thorough exploration of the legal and regulatory landscape is a crucial step in ensuring a smooth and compliant transition. In this blog, we will delve into the intricacies of compliancy laws, helping compliance officers navigate the regulatory terrain with confidence.
Join us as we explore the compliance considerations that accompany business texting. Starting with our ABC’s, our aim is to empower you with the knowledge to make informed decisions and pave the way for successful, compliant business texting strategies.
“A” is for A2P 10DLC
Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging (also referred to as “non-consumer” messaging) is the transmission of text messages from an application, such as a business or organization, to an individual’s mobile device.
Simply put: if the sender represents a business or organization, the message traffic is considered non-consumer.
This form of communication is commonly used for marketing, notifications, alerts, and customer service interactions. The North American Network of Wireless Carriers, along with a few other key organizations within the messaging industry ecosystem, commonly regulate these messages.
A prime example is having an employee text one of your customers to confirm an appointment or to answer their questions about a product or service.
However, we still need to discuss the second part of A2P 10DLC, which stands for 10-digit long code. In other words, a landline number. And while there are a few different ways a business can text – texting from your landline number is the most reliable, effective and affordable route to go!
“B” is for Brand
For B, we are going to talk about your “brand.” In short, a brand verifies your company is who you say it is. This helps prevent scammers from texting consumers and increases the trust in business texting.
Remember, businesses are held to an entirely different standard when it comes to legal & regulatory requirements. And there is a lot of work behind the scenes before a business can just start texting.
To start, ensuring proper registration of your brand is crucial.
Registration assures everyone involved that your brand is legitimate. Without proper registration, messaging platforms will block and label your messages as spam. Yikes!
To register your brand, it’s important to team up with a texting provider who knows how to navigate industry best practices and other relevant laws applicable to your texting use case.
“C” is for Consent
C is for consent! TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) is a federal law in the Unites States. It regulates telemarketing and text messaging. Under TCPA, companies are required to obtain consent from their customers before making telemarketing calls or sending text messages.
How do you obtain consent? There are two types of consent: implied and expressed. Implied consent is the consumer reaching out first. So, if the consumer texts you first, it is implied consent for you to text back. The other form of consent is express consent which is when the consumer gives express consent for businesses to text them. Companies can get express consent through web forms, paper forms, and several other ways. As long as there the documentation of the consumer giving consent. Whichever way you prefer is up to you, but you must obtain consent for business texting.
The second part of consent is continued consent. The consumer must be able to opt out at any given moment. Once the consumer has opted out, no one from the company can contact them again without risking the business being sued. This applies not only to the number they texted opted out to, but to any number at the organization as a whole.
Conclusion
Yes, business texting compliancy can be daunting. But if you want to avoid being sued or having your texts blocked, it is essential.
In short, businesses looking to text should team up with a texting provider that knows how to navigate A2P 10DLC, industry best practices and other relevant laws applicable to your texting use case – like TextBetter.
In addition to white glove service, all of our solutions come with a variety of compliance protection tools to ensure your never violate an opt-out request, and all of your text history is searchable and stored!
*Disclaimer: Please note that this is not legal advice and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to substitute for advice from qualified legal counsel, nor is it to assist you or help you be compliant as you assume 100% responsibility in all legal matters.
