Disclaimer: Nothing herein should be construed or interpreted as legal advice. Bluecore strongly recommends you seek legal counsel to confirm your SMS program complies with your company's internal policies, all applicable laws (including without limitation those relating to data protection), and general industry-standard practices, as all may be revised from time to time.
We recognize that navigating the SMS messaging programs & compliance can be complex. As such, we built our messaging platform with these complexities in mind and have safeguards embedded in our partners’ user flows.
Bluecore Site Flows & Importance of Customer Consent
Launching campaigns that request email and/or phone numbers via Bluecore Site™ can help you capture leads and grow your customer list. However, customer list growth in the SMS world should be balanced with ensuring that your customers are explicitly consenting to receive messages. In these Site campaigns, you are in full control of the campaign timing & suppression rules, targeted audience, the language that gets displayed, and mechanisms for customers to subscribe (i.e. you can elect to enable a checkbox that empowers your end customers to explicitly sign up).
Double Opt In & Audit Trail
To further ensure that the numbers in your opted-in list are legitimate subscriptions and as a safeguard measure against robo sign ups or incorrect customer inputs, our system is also designed to request double opt-in. This means that after a customer subscribes via Bluecore Site™ or other sign up mechanisms, we require a follow up message to confirm that they are in fact signing up to receive continuous marketing messages from our partners and include explanation on how to opt out. Bluecore strongly recommends this double opt-in workflow as an industry best practice. Only upon your written request, Bluecore can modify this workflow to support single opt-in, which is against Bluecore’s best practices recommendation.
Upon request, Bluecore will also have an audit trail for all subscribers for your brand, including when they confirm their opt-in status.
Opt-out Best Practices
As per TCPA regulations and CTIA best practices, include language within your campaigns that gives clear instructions to your shoppers on how they can opt out, or stop receiving text messages from your brand.
This can be configured under Communicate Settings.
Navigate to the Campaigns tab (flag icon).
Under Communicate, select Settings.
Then, select SMS Settings > Message Add-Ons > Opt-Out Language.
Send Times
Outside of explicit consent, one other key element for complying with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is that text messages be sent only between 8 AM and 9 PM in the recipients’ time zone (derived based on the area code in their phone number). This is a default setting we have included and any messages scheduled outside of this window will be delivered the following morning.
To protect your customer list and reduce unsubscribes, we offer various frequency management settings at both the account and campaign level.
Compliance on the Short Code Application
When completing the short code application or migration form, Bluecore requests the following information to ensure compliance approval from carriers. In addition to the information outlined below, please check out this resource to better understand compliance needs and industry best practices.
Terms of Service: A list of the terms of service that apply when sending your mobile marketing campaign. For example, language that states by signing up for text messages, subscribers may receive triggered, promotional, and/or informational messages with varying messaging frequencies. This language is approved during the short code process and is used in campaigns.
Privacy Policy: An updated privacy policy that is accessible by your customers that provides a description on how their information is being collected, stored, processed, shared, and used for sending messages.
Welcome Language: Language that is used within your campaigns that should include, at a minimum: brand name, message frequency, and opt-out language. For example, “Welcome to Bluestore! Msg&Data rates may apply. Msg freq varies. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel”.
Honoring opt-outs: Language that is used within your campaigns that gives clear instructions to your customers on what they can do to stop receiving text messages from your brand.
Site™ opt-in flows: This language, as displayed in the first headline gives clear direction to your customers that they’re explicitly signing up to receive personalized text messages from your brand. For example: “By submitting this form, you agree to receive recurring automated promotional and personalized marketing text messages (e.g. cart reminders) from Bluestore at the mobile number used when signing up. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Reply HELP for help and STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. View Terms and Privacy”.
SHAFT Compliance and Prohibited Content
SMS programs are subject to sending and content rules and regulations stipulated by carriers. Therefore, certain content is prohibited to be sent within SMS.
Content containing or constituting sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco (SHAFT)
Content regarding illegal substances
Content advocating, condoning, encouraging, or otherwise threatening violence
Failure to comply with these rules and regulations may subject your SMS program to suspension by these carriers and/or Bluecore, or imposition of civil fines and/or penalties, or criminal liability, depending on the context of the violations and the applicable jurisdictions in which such violations occur.