Customer-Managed Relationships

In a white paper published this month as part of its new Best Practices Series, Reservoir Partners addresses the impact of do-not-call registries and possible do-not-email legislation on automated outbound customer communication.

Reservoir distinguishes between the legalities of communicating with existing customers and prospects -- and the departments responsible for working with either (sales and customer service vs. marketing) -- and highlights several best practices exhibited by two specific organizations.

Among their recommendations:

• Understand the power of opt-in
  
• Monitor legislation
  
• Know your metrics
  
• Segment your data
  

The highlights of the 10-page paper fall in two categories. One, Reservoir's positioning of customer-managed relationships as an alternative to customer relationship management is important. "Put your customer in control of the relationship -- rather than the other way around," the firm recommends. Also, by distinguishing how an organization communicates with existing customers differently than it does with prospects, a company can better personalize its outreach -- and avoid many do-not-call concerns.

For a quick introduction to the Federal Trade Commission's recent amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, you might peruse Concerto Software's industry solutions paper The Amended Telemarketing Sales Rule: An Introduction to the Key Regularions, Their Impact, and Potential Benefits.