Now that the industry has the CAN-SPAM Act to deal with, more communication then ever is needed, both technical and verbal. Therefore, let’s talk about building and maintaining relationships. What is the best way to build and maintain a relationship? I am going to go with the classic; communication. You should always concentrate on building relationships and always work hard to maintain them. This will be the best way to generate successful campaigns and businesses now and in the future.
In the Online DM world, tracking and reporting are the life blood of business communications and personal communication is the heart. Both have the ability to breakdown, hopefully not at the same time. This is when we all need to give a little, and not necessarily the time to whip out the contract. Many agreements in this industry have two contracts signed from each party. Commonly verbal agreements are made after a contract is signed. My attorney would recommend neither of these practices, but it does happen. There is a lot that can be resolved before the contract is brought back into the picture. Contracts should be used when there are no communication options left. Don’t be afraid to concede a little to keep the lines of communication running. An ego problem and the blame game can potentially end the whole relationship. Remember a couple things; People and businesses are constantly on the move. You may not want a relationship with someone now, but you may in the future. Why burn the bridge?
If you are currently a “bridge burner”, please change your tune. Being that the advertiser is now responsible for suppressing names for its individual offers, relationships with email senders can potentially hurt the ability to comply because they can send offers to people that have opted out. Communication is totally necessary to make this whole process work. If either the list owner or the advertiser breaks down here it is potentially bad news for everyone. Therefore, I see the current email laws potentially harmful for those who don’t have good relationships with their business partners. Make sure that you speak with your partners, not just your lawyers, about how you are going to work together to comply.
Communication and Relationships is now more important then ever. Everyone is scrambling to comply and developing there own ways in which to do it. We NEED TO COMMUNICATE so that we all can comply together. It will make the industry better as a whole. It is good for your classic business practices and it is necessary in order to work together. The industry must become tighter now.
If we keep strong lines of communication open, relationships will naturally build, companies will comply with regulations, and most importantly more money will be made.
About the Author: Michael Fishman is the Senior Partner of Modern Consumer LLC. he can be contacted at [email protected]
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