TCPA Requirements and Guidelines
Our SMS partner, Textmunication, has developed a platform with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in mind. In business since 2009, Textmunication understands the TCPA requirements and how gyms should adhere to the guidelines. The platform is designed to comply with TCPA allowing automatic sending of strategic SMS communication to your gym members. Textmunication understands the law and will educate and service your gyms delivering the most exciting and valuable engagement tool on the market today – SMS Mobile Marketing.
TCPA is Federal Law. The FCC interprets and enforces the law. There are three areas of emphasis we will discuss:
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- Obtaining permission from a member to text
- Specifics of how permission is obtained
- What is allowed after permission is granted
Consent:
There are three ways a member can join a campaign. The first is through “digital” consent. For example, on the ABC Membership form, there is a section detailing SMS consent. You must disclose the following: “By participating, you consent to receive text messages”. This disclosure must be made clear and conspicuous BEFORE customers opt-in. Since the ABC membership form includes this language, this is the most widely used method of obtaining consent. For prospect engagement, consent can be added to the waiver form.
The second method is through a “keyword”. A keyword is a specific word branded to your gym. An example would be DATATRAK. The shortcode is the 5-digit number to enter the Textmunication platform. In this example, you would text the keyword DATATRAK to shortcode ‘87365’. The member is requesting SMS campaigns be sent.
The final method is through Point of Sale (POS). The TCPA states you have 48-hours to send a text to a new member after a new POS transaction. The member has the ability to “opt-out” after the initial text if they choose not to receive additional SMS communication.
Campaigns:
Once the member opts-in, the SMS campaigns are ready to go. It’s critical the following three points are followed. Textmunication strictly adheres to each point:
- Allow customer to opt-out with the words: STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE or QUIT
- Once a customer unsubscribes, they cannot be texted again unless they re-sign up again
- Texts may only be sent between 8am and 9pm based up the time zone of the recipient.
Record Keeping:
Textmunication follows TCPA guidelines by maintaining records of all campaigns for at least four years. These records include mobile/web opt-ins, consent and mobile terminated/originated messages to and from all SMS subscribers.