It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when there was only one telephone in the house and an answering machine was a luxury. Caller ID and call waiting were additional fees and every time the phone rang, you felt compelled to answer it. Marketers quickly realized that they had a captured audience and telemarketing was born.
The industry had and continues to have growing pains. What was a boon for sales and marketing was a constant source of interruptions and irritations for consumers. Ultimately, complaints to the FCC led to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) being enacted in 1991.
The TCPA regulates and restricts telephone solicitations and the use of automated telephone equipment for telemarketing, autodialed and prerecorded calls, as well as text messages and unsolicited faxes. The Do Not Call Registry was created so consumers could register their telephone numbers and opt-out of telemarketing calls.
But this was not a death knell for telemarketers, far from it. TCPA and DNC provide rules and guidelines for how to operate. For any marketing communication outside the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, the business must receive “prior express written consent” from the consumer.
Many companies, however, realize the best times to speak with a customer is when they are home and maybe even later into the evening. Even texts are prohibited from being sent during these times. Compounding the challenge is 15 states are affected by multiple time zones and daylight savings time observances.
The penalties for violating the TCPA can reach from $500 to $1,500 for each communication and if a company calls a number on the Do Not Call Registry more than once, they can be fined up to $46, 517. It’s vital that companies understand and respect the TCPA or they can quickly find themselves in trouble.
The TCPA was established to protect consumer privacy allowing businesses the opportunity to market themselves to prospects and clients. Companies need to understand the TCPA and ensure their vendor partners also comply. Botsplash has tools and features that help its partners stay compliant. From scheduled send to the integration of Florida and Oklahoma’s “Mini TCPA” restriction prohibiting automatic texts after 8:00 PM the platform helps keep users on the right side of the TCPA.
Botsplash allows you to be where your customers are while conversing compliantly.
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