Permission marketing: how to build a relationship of trust with your customers?
"Permission marketing": what is it?
The " Marketing permission Permission marketing (or permission marketing) is a marketing/advertising method that consists of ask gradually increasingly binding consents to consumersAnd of course, this also involves to scrupulously respect the level of consent got before sending offers, marketing communications or targeted advertisements to a prospect or customer.
The principle of permission marketing was popularized by Seth Godin, an American entrepreneur and former head of direct marketing at Yahoo.
In 1999, he first discussed at length the idea of permission marketing in his free « Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends, And Friends Into Customers"
According to Seth Godin, permission marketing must be anticipated, Tailored et relevantHe is often positioned in the book as the opposite of the Direct marketing which traditionally consists of distributing promotional material to a large population of customers without distinction of preferences.
The purpose of permission marketing is to encourage the customer to enter and then accept increasing levels of permission, i.e. consent to a brand or product, via a relationship marketing program.
Source: Wikipedia
Why is "permission marketing" important for brands?
Permission marketing is a virtuous practicebecause it gives consumers the opportunity to choose voluntarily what they want to know more about without feeling polluted or overwhelmed by communications from brands.
For brands, the goal of this approach is toidentify customers or prospects who have expressed interest in a piece of content, a product, a service or a product category and then target them precisely with dedicated marketing campaigns and finally to personalize and individualize communication depending on individual needs.
« Direct marketing by means of an automated calling system, fax machine or email using, in any form whatsoever, the contact details of a natural person who has not given prior consent to receive direct marketing by this means is prohibited.«
source: Law No. 2004-575 of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the economy digital (1).
Benefits for customers and users
Permission marketing allows customers and users to:
- to give their consent to the brand,
- to choose the types of content they wish to receive,
- to choose a communication frequency that suits them,
- to receive communications only on the channel or canals desired,
- to avoid being over-solicited by a brand with which he has just committed (by registering or becoming a customer),
- to be able to change one's preferences or unsubscribe at any time…
Benefits for brands and advertisers
Permission marketing allows brands and advertisers to:
- de manage consents more precisely of their users
- de gradually ask for (and obtain) their agreementwithout rushing them,
- de manage marketing pressure individually and commercial,
- de personalize the content of communications depending on user preferences,
- to increase the deliverability of its messages,
- byincrease the rate ofcommitment and conversion
- de retain customers by establishing a relationship of trust.
Establish a relationship of trust
According to SalesForce : " Obtaining a prospect's agreement and email address is not an end in itself. Above all, this authorization should not be taken as an invitation to do whatever you want."
You understand, a virtuous approach guarantees that brands that pay closer attention to their customers' choices create a more significant impact and achieve stronger engagement…
In summary, thanks to Permission Marketing, brands establish a true a relationship of trust with their prospects and clients.
How to implement a "permission marketing" strategy?
Collection
To deploy an effective permission marketing strategy, the following is first necessary:
1- to identify the different communication channels used by the brand,
2- of collect consents of the customer or prospect (ideally for each channel),
3- to ask him his preferences (in terms of content, frequency, etc.)
4- of store and update This information should be sent regularly, as a customer may change their mind…
5- And, of course, to update the Privacy Policy of the brand depending on the choices made.
To carry out this collection, the brand can generally rely on different tools.
For example, if the customer makes their purchases online, it is probably the E-commerce site or a preference center linked to the user's account who will be responsible for this collection. On the other hand, if the customer makes their purchases in-store (i.e., offline), it is rather the point-of-sale software or point-of-sale terminal which will enable this collection.
So, as you might have guessed, if a customer makes purchases both online and in-store, there could be a disparity in information between the different data collection systems. This is where CDPs (Customer Data Platforms) come in.Customer Data Platform) which will centralize et refresh collecting information to make it actionable through marketing.
What tools?
As we saw above, for data collection and the activation of marketing campaigns, a brand will need to equip itself with several tools.
- The " preference center A preference center (or preference center) is typically a web page or mobile application interface that gives users access to their personal information and communication preferences (channel, content type, favorite products, communication frequency, etc.). The preference center is often linked to a user account on e-commerce websites or mobile applications. Finally, it allows consumers to manage their privacy settings, track their order history, and in some cases, join a loyalty program.
- The consent management platform The Consent Management Platform (CMP) aims primarily to help global brands comply with laws protecting the personal data and privacy of consumers worldwide. Deployed across brands' various websites and applications, the CMP will essentially display banners to collect user consent. This data collection allows brands to... attest to their conformity with regard to regulations and laws in the field of personal data management.
- And " one ring to rule them all " : there " Customer Data Platform"It sounds obvious, but when you're talking about ingesting real-time data, centralizing customer information, creating a unified view, and being able to redistribute data to other systems, then..." CDP of course, it remains the reference tool….
But, you might ask, what is the point of a CDP if I am already equipped with a "Preference Center" or a "Consent Management Platform"?
Each tool plays a different role and they are obviously complementary.
First, the CDP will have no problem collecting data from your Preference Center and Consent Management Platform. Second, it allows the brand tounify this data in a Single Customer ViewFinally, it also allows you to visualize this data, segment customers and activate them in marketing campaigns or loyalty programs… Something that Preference Centers or Consent Management Platforms do not do.
Now that we have seen how to implement a permission marketing strategy and what tools to use, let's see how to do it with examples and best practices.
activation
Now that the brand has obtained "permission" from its client, it will be able to send them communications.
But be careful, this is where you need to be rigorous. Doing just anything is out of the question; that would be a breaking immediate effect of the "contract of trust" that she established with her client…
In other words: the " mass-mailing "And long live the targeting precision and personalization!
Care must be taken to send communications to the consumer on their preferred channels, respecting their choices in terms of content preferences and sending frequency.
Here, one of the important keywords is the concept of "marketing pressure" or "commercial pressure." The pressure (the number of communications and their sending frequency) can be managed individually For example, by allowing daily communications for consumers who have opted in. Therefore, the brand must be careful not to over-expose its customer/prospect base, otherwise it risks causing disengagement and early attrition.
The key point to remember here is that, at the time of activation, the brand must respect its commitments and offer the consumer the possibility of changing their preferences.
Of course, within the legal framework (GDPR in Europe, CCAC in California, or elsewhere) the brand will also give the recipient the opportunity to exercise a right with each communication (unsubscribe, request to delete their personal data, request access and consultation of their data, etc.).
In the context of e-commerce, what are the best practices?
To answer this question, I would rely on an excellent video by The E-Commerce Society Presented by Michel Juvillier. He and his guests return to... the levers of permission marketing for e-commerce.
The show's guests: Yannig Roth from Didomi, Marion Duchatelet from Badsender and Mélanie Defoort from Valiuz, the show gives some tips to increase the performance of your marketing campaigns.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would simply say that more and more brands should take a closer look at the possibilities of Marketing PermissionFirstly, because it is gradually and increasingly being incorporated into the laws of many countries (GDPR, CCPA, etc.). But also because consumers crave transparency regarding their personal data and hate being bombarded with solicitations by less attentive and scrupulous actors.
And, in a way, this personal data becomes a currency of exchange with the brand.
To such an extent that " Without proof of consent (purpose of processing, legal basis, retention period, etc.), customer data no longer has any value for brands and should therefore not be used.…” according to Christophe Alves: CEO of Scal-e.
Conversely, brands that adopt virtuous practices reap immediate benefits: stronger engagement, deliverability close to 99%, and more. Conversion rate much higher and unwavering loyalty from its ambassadors.
