Brand owners are struggling to cope with the number of people opting out of receiving marketing, according to a new study, which claims 60% of brands have seen an increase in consumers refusing to share personal data.
In the “Permission Please” survey, carried out by Opt-4 and Royal Mail, nearly three quarters of respondents agreed that marketing opt-out rates represented a major business threat.
It also showed for the first time that consumer behaviour varies according to the method of data collection; there is much less willingness to give permission online and on the telephone, where the opt-out rates are usually highest.
Opt-4 director Rosemary Smith commented: “Permission is a key driver of customer value, and electronic platforms seem to be encouraging opt-out. The more we can understand about permissioning best practice, the better.”
Consumer awareness, poor targeting and over-communication are seen as major drivers of opt-out, but only 22% of marketers recognised the impact of data protection wording on the level of permission received. Fewer than a third of respondents had tested different permission statements, but those who had reported massive variance between the best and worst permission rates achieved.
Late last year the Equifax-sponsored fast.MAP/DMA Data Tracking Study claimed that opt-out rates could be slashed by up to 17 per cent just by making small tweaks in way the question is worded.
Opt-4 co-owner Jenny Moseley commented: “Statements which are vague about data use may trick consumers into giving initial consent, but subsequent unsubscribe rates are very high.”
Mail typically has the lowest opt-out rate of the three main channels and is also the channel of choice for re-permissioning approaches. Some 30% of brands had tried opt-back in campaigns, with the vast majority (73%) using the mail channel for their conversion efforts.
Judith Mclelland, Royal Mail media consultant, added: “Our Permission Users Group was keen to establish some benchmarks around gaining and winning back consent. These trends show categorically that marketing permission is becoming a much more challenging arena.”
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