Intro
Texting is becoming a more and more popular form of communication. According to a survey by Open Market, 75% of millennials say they would rather lose the ability to talk than to text. And 63% say texts are less disruptive than a phone call.
Thanks to advances in software, much of the texting we do can be automated making it a cost effective and valuable tool for businesses. Appointment reminders, auto responders, and promotional messages can make your sales efforts significantly more effective.
Unfortunately, bad actors started abusing the platform and sending large amounts of unwanted messages. Since cell phone carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) often get blamed for these unwanted texts, they got together in 2020 to create TCR (The Campaign Registry.)
TCR’s function is to regulate text message traffic and put a stop to unwanted messages. Automated texting can be a valuable asset to your business, but compliance is important to ensure that you don’t get in legal trouble and that your texts actually get through to customers.
In this article, we’ll provide some insights on how these regulations work, what’s needed to be compliant, and how to get the most out of your automated texting.
Please note that this article is not a substitute for professional legal advice. Use the information in this article at your own risk.
Why it Matters
Automated texting is a huge opportunity to improve your sales process and customer service. But not understanding the regulations could have serious consequences, ranging from texts not getting through to customers to paying large fines for infractions. And since texting campaigns are registered to specific grands (E.I., your business), it’s possible that carriers will permanently blacklist companies who are repeat offenders.
If you use a system that has texting capabilities, it’s likely that they handle compliance for you. However, since texting campaigns are registered in your company’s name, the responsibility ultimately falls on you as a business owner. Arming yourself with knowledge will help you ensure that your campaigns are being run compliantly.
How Automated Texting is Regulated
The new regulations apply to A2P (application to person) 10DLC (10 digit long codes). Application to person means that a program initiated and sent the text message. And 10 digit long codes are local phone numbers, which provide a more personalized feel versus 800 numbers.
TCR (The Campaign Registry) requires that all A2P 10DLC campaigns, and the brands that run them, are registered in their system. As of August 31, 2023, all unregistered A2P 10DLC messages are completely blocked.
How Registration Works
Businesses typically don’t interact directly with TCR. Instead, communication providers (Twilio and other apps) interface with TCR, and these platforms are used to register brands and campaigns.
Brand Registration
Your brand must be registered with your communications provider. This includes contact information, EIN number, address, website, etc. This means that texting campaigns are associated directly with your business, making it very important to have a good sending reputation.
Campaign Registration
Once your brand is registered, individual campaigns need to be registered for their respective uses. Uses include account notifications, customer care, marketing, mixed use, and more. These campaigns are then attached to the actual 10DLC (local phone numbers) that messages will be sent from.
Compliance
Campaign Purpose
It’s important that your texting campaigns are only used for the purposes you registered them for. Otherwise, your trust score may decrease, resulting in fewer and fewer of your texts getting through to customers.
Written Consent to Receive Texts
Customers must provide written consent to receive text messages. This means that on your website or lead form, you must explicitly state that they will receive text messages from your business and what the nature of the text messages will be (promotional, notifications, etc.) When you register a campaign, your communications provider will likely require a link to the page or a screenshot for proof.
Transparency & Opt Out Information
With few exceptions, the initial text customers receive must include your business name and instructions on how to opt out. Twilio mentions that it’s best practice to include a double opt in - meaning, after they receive the initial text, they would confirm that they want to get text messages from your business.
Time-Stamped Records
If a customer complains that they never opted in, it will be important to have proof that they did. Ask your website company or marketing agency to have a system that logs every opt in and notates that the customer checked the box to receive text messages. This log should be readily available in case it’s ever needed.
Looking Ahead
I believe that the new A2P laws are indicative of the market. When new modes of communication become popular, companies often exploit them to the max, resulting in an unpleasant experience for customers. The market eventually fights back, and laws are passed or new technologies introduced to combat the abuse. This has happened with emails, and will probably happen with voicemail drops and AI calls as well.
Well these technologies can be a wonderful contribution to sales efforts, it’s always important to consider what it’s like to be on the receiving end. I would encourage you to focus on serving your customers at a high level, and building genuine value and relationships over time.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this article gave you a better grasp of A2P 10DLC.
