5 Best Practices for Strong B2B Email Marketing Law Compliance

Law compliance in B2B email marketing is essential for maintaining legal integrity, protecting brand reputation, and safeguarding customer data. Adhering to relevant rules and regulations also builds trust with your B2B audience and helps you achieve long-term success in your email campaigns.

This article discusses five best practices to comply with regulations:

• Build a compliant email list.
• Craft compliant email content.
• Follow international laws.
• Train teams about adhering to the rules.
• Monitor compliance.

Read below to learn how to run your B2B email campaigns without breaking laws. Let’s go!

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1. Build a Compliant Email List

B2B email campaigns work well with local search engine optimization, especially in nurturing leads, but they require building a subscriber list to be effective. 

Building the mailing list needs to follow specific regulations for different reasons:

• Subscribers need to provide personal information, such as their name and address. 
• Not all email platforms comply with industry regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). 
• Sending emails to someone without explicit consent is spam.

Laws governing building email lists vary in different states or countries, but the general tips to stay compliant are similar:

• Get explicit consent from individuals before sending them marketing emails. It should be voluntary, specific, and unambiguous. Obtain consent through opt-in forms on your website, during networking events, or through direct communication with potential clients.
• State the purpose of collecting email addresses and inform individuals of potential receipt of marketing emails from your company. Transparency is critical to gaining trust and complying with regulations.
• Include a clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe option in the email. Based on specific laws, recipients should be able to opt out anytime.
• Keep accurate records of consent and opt-out requests. Document when and how you obtained the consent and update your email list as appropriate.
• Segment your email list based on various criteria. This makes it easier to maintain the list.
• Regularly clean your list to remove inactive or outdated email addresses. This helps improve deliverability and promotes compliance with regulations.
• Consider using a double opt-in process where subscribers confirm their email addresses by clicking a confirmation link sent to their inbox. It helps verify the accuracy of their email addresses and strengthens their consent’s validity.

A law-compliant email list fosters trust and respect for your brand. It also leads to stronger relationships with your B2B audience and generates word-of-mouth referrals.

2. Craft Compliant Email Content

A compliant email protects recipient rights while improving the content’s deliverability. It also safeguards against potential legal challenges and makes B2B email marketing efforts sustainable.

Write compliant emails with these tips:

• Familiarize yourself with relevant regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States. These regulations dictate data-driven marketing. 
• Identify yourself as the sender of the email. Include your company name, physical address, and contact information.
• Be concise and accurate with subject lines, headers, or sender names. The content needs to best represent your business and the purpose of the communication.
• Use straightforward language in your content to convey your message and avoid confusion.
• Educate your marketing team about the relevant laws and regulations governing email marketing. Make them understand the importance of compliance and the potential consequences of not following the rules.
• Focus on providing valuable content that educates, informs, or solves problems for your B2B audience. 
• Be cautious when sharing success stories or referring to any person explicitly, especially if you are in healthcare.

Noncompliant emails damage your reputation and erode trust. Apply these tactics to demonstrate integrity and professionalism among your B2B audience.

3. Comply with International Laws

International compliance in your B2B email campaigns means being familiar with the various regulatory bodies worldwide. Know which specific regulations apply to your industry and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Here are some examples of location-specific regulations and their scope:

     a. GDPR

This regulation applies to businesses processing data of subjects residing in the European Union, regardless of where companies operate. This means that US firms targeting German buyers still need to follow GDPR. 

Under the law, businesses need to collect data for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and process them lawfully and fairly. They must also be adequate and relevant for obtaining them (data minimization). 

In addition, GDPR regulates the length of data storage, security, and confidentiality. The law holds data controllers responsible for compliance, demonstrating their adherence through policies, procedures, training, and audits.

     b. CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act sets rules for commercial email messages sent within or to the United States. It requires that marketing emails include accurate header information, clear identification that it is an advertisement, and the sender’s valid physical postal address.

It also requires senders to provide recipients with a straightforward way to opt out, which should be accessible and processed promptly, typically within ten business days.

     c. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)

CASL regulates commercial emails sent from or to Canada. It requires businesses to obtain consent from recipients before sending. Like the CAN-SPAM Act, it mandates that commercial electronic messages contain accurate sender identification.

It also includes a provision for implied consent. However, it comes with many limitations, including eligibility requirements.

If you need clarification on legal requirements or implications, get help from legal experts specializing in data protection and email marketing laws. For marketing in Canada (and helping connecting with regulatory compliance professionals), reach out to our Fractional CMO Vancouver services. 

4. Train Teams for Compliance

Educate your B2B team about compliance. These include the rules that might affect their performance and activities, the benefits of following the rules, the consequences of noncompliance, and the scope of the regulations.

Here are various training strategies to help you:

• Create comprehensive training materials that cover essential legal requirements. It includes providing examples of compliant and noncompliant email content, instructions for managing opt-out requests, guidance on obtaining consent, and more.
• Schedule regular training sessions to review compliance requirements and best practices. These in-person or virtual sessions work best when tailored to your team members’ specific roles and responsibilities.
• Use real-world examples to illustrate the importance of compliance. Show examples of companies that have faced legal penalties or reputational damage because of violations of email marketing laws.
• Stress the importance of obtaining consent before sending marketing emails to B2B contacts. Teach your teams how to obtain explicit opt-in consent from recipients and document consent records.
• Equip your teams with tools and resources to facilitate compliance. This includes using email marketing platforms with built-in compliance features and templates for privacy notices and consent forms.

Compliance with email marketing laws demonstrates your commitment to ethical business practices. Including your team in this effort promotes shared accountability.

5. Monitor Compliance in Real-Time

Real-time monitoring of law compliance in B2B email marketing helps identify and address potential issues before they escalate into legal problems.

Here is how you can set up an effective system:

• Invest in compliant email marketing platforms. These tools automate compliance checks and provide real-time alerts for issues that need attention.
• Develop clear protocols for email marketing campaigns. Specify requirements for obtaining consent and define acceptable content practices to avoid spamming or misleading messaging.
• Configure your email marketing platform to perform automated checks on outgoing emails in real-time. This includes verifying all required elements are present and compliant with legal requirements.
• Integrate compliance workflows into your email marketing processes. Let all emails undergo thorough review and approval before sending.
• Assign someone to track compliance. Designate a person responsible for compliance oversight to avoid missing real-time monitoring.

Noncompliance is costly in many ways. Spot the earliest signs of trouble with vigilant tracking. Use automation to streamline the process. Hint: Working with a virtual compliance officer helps with this (and all aspects of regulatory compliance) wonderfully. 

Summing Up

Prioritizing these five practices mitigates legal risks while fostering trust with your B2B audience. It also demonstrates your brand’s values, commitment to consumer privacy, and desire to build trustworthy customer relationships. 

Do you need help in managing compliant B2B email campaigns? Contact Digital Authority Partners (DAP) to schedule a free consultation with an expert.