In this session we brought together a knowledgeable panel from Hatch, Angi, and Active Prospect to discuss the implications of the new FCC ruling on TCPA compliance, effective January 27. We covered key updates, compliance strategies, and how these changes affect lead generation, contact practices, and consumer relationships.
Get the full recording here.
Understanding the new FCC ruling
- TCPA basics: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulates calls and texts, requiring express written consent to contact consumers.
- New ruling highlights:
- One-to-one consent: Consumers must explicitly consent to be contacted by specific businesses, moving away from the previous “one-to-many” consent model.
- Record-keeping requirements: Businesses must maintain proof of consumer consent.
- Closing the lead generation loophole: Ensures transparency and better consumer experience.
- Anticipated industry shifts
- Fewer, higher-quality leads: One-to-one consent may reduce lead volume but improve lead quality and engagement rates.
- Better consumer experience: This ruling aims to prioritize consumer privacy and reduce spammy practices, fostering better trust.
How we’re helping
- Angi:Implemented one-to-one consent via updated landing pages where users check boxes to consent to specific companies. They also now mask consumer phone numbers.
- Active Prospect: Provides tools like TrustedForm to capture and verify consent, ensuring compliance and better protection against TCPA lawsuits.
- Hatch: Requires 10DLC registration for onboarding, has compliance built into campaign templates, provides AI bots that request true contact information from masked leads, and renew consent after expiration.
What can you do?
- Ensure website compliance
- Have an SMS Privacy Policy
- Have an SMS Terms and Conditions
- Include the proper disclosures on your website forms
- Our TCPA checklist has the details
- Capture and store consent: Use tools to verify consent and maintain proof, such as landing pages with TrustedForm certificates.
- Review lead aggregators: Ensure they’ve adopted compliant practices.
- Recapture consent: Proactively reach out to consumers to verify ongoing interest, using incentives or personalized messaging.
- Nurture campaigns: Engage leads across the customer lifecycle to maximize lifetime value. Strategies include:
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- Speed to lead
- Estimate follow-up
- Aged lead and estimate outreach
- Appointment confirmations and reminders
- Memberships and recurring services
- Marketing promotions and cross selling
Final takeaways
- No brand is ever going to be 100% compliant. Things are always evolving and compliance is often open to different interpretations. The goal is to be as compliant as you possibly can.
- Rather than getting hung up on the rules, stay focused on their purpose: creating a good consumer experience. Create tailored, intentional experiences for your customers and you’ll greatly reduce the risk of getting a TCPA complaint.
- While these changes may seem challenging, they represent an opportunity to enhance consumer engagement and drive higher-quality outcomes.
Resources
Q&A
- Can pre-checked boxes suffice for consent? Compliance depends on interpretations, the answer to this is not clear at the moment, so as a rule of thumb, unchecked boxes are safer.
- Does TCPA apply to emails or mailers? No, the TCPA governs calls and texts.
- How long does consent last? Interpretations vary; typically, consent lasts 90 days to 18 months, necessitating periodic reconsent.
- Is 1 to 1 consent implied for canvassing leads? Yes and no. This is related to digital web leads created on your own sites or bought online. If you outbound or call a canvassing lead, you would be subject to TCPA requirements.
- Is this for auto dialers and auto text? Or, does this apply the human dialing as well? All of the above.
- How do I know if my website submission forms are compliant? This TCPA checklist has you covered.
- In the new Angi service path, I’m assuming that if your company isn't selected you won't receive the lead? Correct. That’s the intention of this ruling - a consumer will have to specifically select and consent to your brand directly.
- What will be the factors for the lead aggregators to rank companies? Im sure there will be a lot of variables. Ask each of your lead providers how they distribute if they have a large buyer base that you compete with.
- How do we continue to rank on Angi? Keeping leads on, having a high spend target set, a robust profile as well as ample ratings and reviews are ways to ensure proper ranking. But no guarantees to be in the first or top position. You may be 2nd, 3rd, or 4th depending on market saturation.
- What about leads from social media? If your social media forms include proper consent language, you're clear to text those leads. If not, you should either update the form language or reach out to those leads via another channel (e.g., email) to obtain explicit consent before texting.
- Are most companies tracking consent through their CRM? Yes, and you can store proof of consent with TrustedForm.
- How will this affect auto launch campaigns in Hatch for Angi generated leads? Your Angi leads are compliant, as Angi has adjusted their flow to obtain one-to-one consent.
- Do you have a T&C and Privacy Policy template to share? We have some examples here but you can also go to your largest competitor (preferably a nationwide brand) and copy and paste what they are showing and wordsmith it to your brand’s name. Large brands have legal council or teams of lawyers when putting together disclosure language. Follow their lead.
Get the full recording here.
Questions?
Hatch customers, reach out to your Account Manager here.
Non-Hatch customers, book a demo with us here.