Is your dealership participating in pre-recorded messages that are delivered at certain points of a consumer’s buying/servicing process or mass-delivering a single message? If so, listen up!
Back in August, the FTC made a new ruling on this type of marketing. They basically said, as it applies to the auto biz, by December of 2008 there must be an opt-out message in these calls and by September 2009 the consumer must have opted-in specifically for these calls. Exemptions apply to medications, non-profit organizations, and political calls.
Are you using OneCommand? One of their tools is directly affected by this. Some CRM providers and DMS systems also offer this type of technology, so find out if any of the departments within your store(s) is using something along these lines. The fine is up to $11,000 per instance!
Other resources and references:
CNet Coverage
Digg String of consumer feedback
Do Not Call Information
Personally, I like more spam controls. I’m a marketer, but I’m also a consumer. I may be the minority, but if you annoy me with marketing messages, I’m not going to buy from you. You’d have to win me back with an amazing deal. I view a pre-recorded marketing message as an invasion on my time – something that interrupts my day because the message is typically untargeted. I do agree with the service reminder calls, but when it comes to sales marketing, I view these messages as laziness on the retailers’ part.
Any other opinions out there?