While closing a sale sometimes requires an amount of communication that could be deemed to be excessive by some, it is important that no actual lines are crossed. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is arguably one of the most important things to be familiar with if you sell or market your business via text or calls.
What You Need To Know
In most cases, the FCC’s TCPA requires all companies to obtain prior express written consent from consumers before calling or texting with an automatic dialing system. An estimated 55% of households are opting to be exclusively cellphone, this statistic just goes to show the significance of prioritizing TCPA compliance for home security companies seeking to contact consumers.
Further statistics that put things into perspective:
- A TCPA class action lawsuit, on average, pays out $6.6 million.
- There has been an exponential increase by ten times in the number of TCPA complaints in the last 10 years.
- In 2020 alone, over 2,000 TCPA lawsuits have been filed.
Home security companies are not immune to this kind of treatment. The vast majority of investigations stem from automatic dialing systems calling for or on behalf of the company.
Rethinking Your Disclosures
The ultimate way to stay in the clear is through a consent form. For this disclosure to be valid, it should include some very important elements.
- The official company name and the purpose for the communication
- Informing that an automatic dialing system may be used
- Clarifying which phone number will be contacted
- The fact that consent is not required to purchase
- An affirmative act to signal their consent
- Everything clear, present, and concise, with nothing conspicuous (i.e. font too small or too close to background color)
An example of this would look similar to the following:
By checking this box, you agree that ABC Home Security can contact you at the phone number listed above with an automated dialing system regarding information about our company or products. Your consent is not required to purchase.
In Addition
For starters, honor do not call and any other opt-out requests. Ensure you are training those in charge of the systems how to properly handle said requests. Further, allow consumers the option to easily opt-out by giving them a cancel/stop/unsubscribe option that follows or initiates the contact.
Keep records of all messages, opt-ins, and opt-outs. Maintain all records that show you are in compliance with the TCPA.
Only call consumers during normal, waking hours according to their time zones. Use the consumers address instead of their area code for a far greater accuracy when it comes to determining their timezone.
For further actions you can take to protect you and your business, there is a much more comprehensive checklist here. At AvantGuard, your success is our success. See what other helpful resources we offer here.
