Is it OK to email local businesses that I've got from the net?

[SphinxIT]

I'm researching local businesses that would be suitable potential clients - small local offices - and wondering if it was OK or acceptable to take their email address from their website/listing and email them about considering our company? I don't plan to email more than once, just a softly softly email letting them know we exist and we can help?

 

[Vending Siting Services]

Yes it will be fine. The fact that they have their email address published which is in the public domain, it is fine to use it.

Good luck.

Barbara

 

[Eagle]

Yes, but ensure it is in fact a business email address.

 

[arcon5]

Make sure its not a generic email. Use their name & website in the email so they don't just mark it as spam.

I emailed only about 4 photographers local to me to test the waters about a month ago, included 50% off first order code and got an order same day and a phone call from another within 3-4 days. The first one has also told a friend who works in the same industry and have discussed special pricing with him also.

Not bad response huh

You probably won't need to worry about the email not being their business email. Their personal email is unlikely to be listed on their website.

 

[wecandobiz]

I'd tread carefully here. This is spam after all and if just a fraction of those recipients mark it as such then ISPs/MSPs may blacklist you and then you'll find not even your legitimate emails to known business contacts are getting through.

That's quite a high price to pay...

 

[arcon5]

Bearing in mind what wecandobiz says, maybe phone them, introduce yourself and ask if you can send them some info by email..

 

[wecandobiz]

Just found a blog article that I wrote in conjunction with our CRM team which may be relevant here.

These rules apply no matter how big or small you are. Spam is spam and if you cheese off as little as 0.5% or your intended targets, enough to make them file you under Junk or Spam, then you can get blacklisted so ALL your email gets blocked (yes, even the legitimate stuff).

Best Practice in email marketing -- 5 rules for getting it right

Feedback welcomed.

 

[Chris_D]

The Law Surrounding Direct Marketing…

Do You Know The Law On Direct Marketing?

What is direct marketing?

Direct marketing consists of any advertising or marketing communication (whether trying to sell a product or promoting an organisation) that is directed to particular individuals or companies, and includes market research calls and e-mail communications.
If your business uses such direct marketing methods you need to make sure that you comply with the law and regulations on direct marketing to avoid the risk of:

• Bad publicity, loss of reputation and brand damage.
• Referral to regulators, such as the Information Commissioner, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) or the Office of Fair Trading(OFT), and action taken by such bodies, including censure, fines, legal action and criminal prosecution.
• Legal action by consumers or competitors.
• Costly recall and reprinting of direct marketing material.
• Product recalls.
• Disappointed consumers and loss of consumer confidence in your organisation.

The main laws and regulations relating to direct marketing are:

• Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (Privacy Regulations). Using personal data for marketing purposes is subject to regulation. Individuals (data subjects) have rights in relation to their personal data, including the absolute right to object to their personal data being used for marketing purposes under the DPA. Individuals need to be informed that their personal data will be used for marketing and given the option to opt out. In some cases, they must opt in, for example, for most fax and e-mail marketing. Customers who are individuals should be provided with an easy way to opt out. As well as personal opt-outs, there are preference services which traders must consult when planning telephone and fax marketing campaigns and it good practice to consult the preference services for mail and e-mail.
• Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). The CPRs are enforced by trading standards authorities and the OFT. Regulation 3 of the CPRs prohibits unfair commercial practices generally. Direct marketing is a commercial practice. A commercial practice is unfair if it contravenes the requirements of professional diligence (and materially distorts the economic behaviour of the average consumer in relation to a product (or is likely to do so)), for example, giving misleading information about a product to encourage a customer to buy it. Schedule 1 to the CPRs lists 31 practices which will always be considered to be unfair. An example would be promoting a prize draw in a marketing e-mail without awarding the prizes described or a reasonable equivalent.
• British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotions and Direct Marketing (CAP Code). The CAP Code is administered by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). However, it is enforced by the ASA which can refer persistent offenders to the OFT. The CAP Code contains general rules about advertising as well as good database practice.

• Code of Practice of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The DMA is the national trade association for the direct marketing industry in the UK. The Code is enforced by the Direct Marketing Commission.

Practical steps to comply with the Law

Businesses can help to ensure they comply with all of their legal obligations under the DPA by:

• Obtaining, and keeping records of, consents where they are required.
• Keeping databases under review and having separate databases to distinguish between those individuals to whom the business can and cannot send marketing e-mails.
• Including opportunities to opt-in or opt-out (as appropriate) when collecting personal data and when marketing to existing customers.
• Including a clear statement of their identity and valid contact addresses for opt-outs on all marketing communications.
• Checking contracts with internet service providers to ensure that they permit the business to use the service for sending bulk e-mails.

If you would like to know more or discuss the legal consequences of your direct marketing scheme, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Why don't you e-mail them and introduce your business in a non-spam like manor and explain the services you offer that will help that business specifically. Say at the end something along the lines of 'I will give you a call to discuss these services later during the week'.

Then later in the week give the company a call and ask for the person you e-mailed (if you have their name). You can then say 'Hi XXXX, I sent you an e-mail and was hoping that you would be able to spare 5 minutes just to discuss if we can help you out at all. I especially thought the 'x' might be useful to you. What did you think?'

They might say 'we have our it sorted' or they may say 'we don't have an IT system' or whatever but they may turn round and ask you something about the services you e-mailed them about.

I don't think you will get any response out of 'spamming' - sending the same email to tons of people.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Would sending a proper letter be considered too old fashioned?

 

[Blue Phoenix]

In actuality if they are in your local area I would certainly send a physical letter as opposed to an e-mail. Do the same content as I suggested above but just drop them through the letter boxes if you have no budget (address them still) / post them in a post box if you can spare the stamp fee.

It comes across as more important and more 'physical', if you say you are going to call via letter it really does open the door. I have done it myself and I got a huge response compared to the response I got via spamming inboxes - which I get annoyed about myself

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Vannnnnman beat me to it, lol

 

[ecenica]

As wecandobiz correctly states, it does not take much for an ISP to flag your email address as a source of spam.

We have a number of measures to detect incoming spam and also prevent our customers from innocently opening themselves to being flagged as a spammer.

I can't go into detail on how we detect spam however you'll certainly increase your chances of being blocked if you send a large number of duplicate emails.

^R.

 

[Chris_D]

Here are some pointers:

What is direct marketing?

Direct marketing consists of any advertising or marketing communication (whether trying to sell a product or promoting an organisation) that is directed to particular individuals or companies, and includes market research calls and e-mail communications.
If your business uses such direct marketing methods you need to make sure that you comply with the law and regulations on direct marketing to avoid the risk of:

• Bad publicity, loss of reputation and brand damage.
• Referral to regulators, such as the Information Commissioner, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) or the Office of Fair Trading(OFT), and action taken by such bodies, including censure, fines, legal action and criminal prosecution.
• Legal action by consumers or competitors.
• Costly recall and reprinting of direct marketing material.
• Product recalls.
• Disappointed consumers and loss of consumer confidence in your organisation.

The main laws and regulations relating to direct marketing are:

• Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (Privacy Regulations). Using personal data for marketing purposes is subject to regulation. Individuals (data subjects) have rights in relation to their personal data, including the absolute right to object to their personal data being used for marketing purposes under the DPA. Individuals need to be informed that their personal data will be used for marketing and given the option to opt out. In some cases, they must opt in, for example, for most fax and e-mail marketing. Customers who are individuals should be provided with an easy way to opt out. As well as personal opt-outs, there are preference services which traders must consult when planning telephone and fax marketing campaigns and it good practice to consult the preference services for mail and e-mail.
• Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). The CPRs are enforced by trading standards authorities and the OFT. Regulation 3 of the CPRs prohibits unfair commercial practices generally. Direct marketing is a commercial practice. A commercial practice is unfair if it contravenes the requirements of professional diligence (and materially distorts the economic behaviour of the average consumer in relation to a product (or is likely to do so)), for example, giving misleading information about a product to encourage a customer to buy it. Schedule 1 to the CPRs lists 31 practices which will always be considered to be unfair. An example would be promoting a prize draw in a marketing e-mail without awarding the prizes described or a reasonable equivalent.
• British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotions and Direct Marketing (CAP Code). The CAP Code is administered by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). However, it is enforced by the ASA which can refer persistent offenders to the OFT. The CAP Code contains general rules about advertising as well as good database practice.

• Code of Practice of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The DMA is the national trade association for the direct marketing industry in the UK. The Code is enforced by the Direct Marketing Commission.

Practical steps to comply with the Law

Businesses can help to ensure they comply with all of their legal obligations under the DPA by:

• Obtaining, and keeping records of, consents where they are required.
• Keeping databases under review and having separate databases to distinguish between those individuals to whom the business can and cannot send marketing e-mails.
• Including opportunities to opt-in or opt-out (as appropriate) when collecting personal data and when marketing to existing customers.
• Including a clear statement of their identity and valid contact addresses for opt-outs on all marketing communications.
• Checking contracts with internet service providers to ensure that they permit the business to use the service for sending bulk e-mails.

If you would like to know more or discuss the legal consequences of your direct marketing scheme, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

We have a number of measures to detect incoming spam and also prevent our customers from innocently opening themselves to being flagged as a spammer.

I can't go into detail on how we detect spam however you'll certainly increase your chances of being blocked if you send a large number of duplicate emails.

I personally don't think it will be seen as spam if you send a friendly e-mail and don't go over the top sales like on people. If you make sure that you tailor each e-mail and make sure you apply it to their business. However as the above posters state, if you go sending the same e-mail to numerous amounts of people - they can generally tell.

If it is a call centre for example state that you can increase their efficiency by (explain relevant services), you are local (say how far) and could therefore be there in no time at all for any problems (give them a time). No one buys a product or service any more via sales, they buy a solution / result and you cannot convince people to part with their money if you spam them However intrigue them enough with a tailored analysis and offer of services and you may peak their interest enough to talk further with you or question you when you call (reference to my previous post).

 

[wecandobiz]

I don't think you will get any response out of 'spamming' - sending the same email to tons of people.

The thing is, ANY unsolicited email can be classed as spam. If I get an email from someone I don't know making an approach "cold" I have no idea whether it has come to just me or a thousand people. And I don't care. It's an unsolicited approach and if I file it as spam, it's spam. Each one of those buttons clicked gets you closer to being blacklisted.

And if you don't have clear details of who you are and how to stop further unsolicited emails easily then you get closer still.

I repeat that grabbing random email addresses from websites and mailing them is exactly what ISPs/MSPs and the regulators DON'T want you to do, so put things in place to detect in and stop it. It doesn't matter whether you are big or small or think you've got a good reason to do it or not.

 

[Naughty Vend]

No and pointless.

Effective marketing / selling is communication with your target audience relevantly, you probably wouldn't leaflet drop a care home with an advert for the new BMW X5 so just because email marketing is inexpensive doesn't mean you should blanket your community with emails.

It is indeed spam but that's a phrase used too frequently, if you have never punched a leaflet dropper in the face at your doorstep then rationalize your attitude.