Brands losing battle for marketing consent - ‘Permissions Please’ Royal Mail/Opt-4 study

Nearly three quarters of marketing practitioners believe marketing opt-out rates represent a major business threat, according to findings in a new Royal Mail research study published today (June 15).

The ‘Permission Please’ survey, as carried out by Opt-4, also shows that close to 60% of brands have reported an increase in refusals to share personal data.

Direct marketing generates over £100 billion worth of business a year. The survey was carried out to help understand the impact of data protection legislation on these revenues and on the value of data as a business asset.

In particular, Royal Mail’s Permission Users Group was keen to establish some benchmarks around gaining and winning back consent.

Findings show for the first time that consumer behaviour varies according to the method of data collection. Compared to direct mail, there is much less willingness to give permission online and on the telephone where the opt-out rates are usually highest.

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.

Other key findings include
• 75% said opt-out rates present a significant threat to businesses.
• Too many organisations (one third) are still not measuring opt-out rates.
• Opt-out rates are rising, with growing consumer awareness seen as the main reason.
• Other important areas such as permission wording and training are being overlooked.

To download this research in full click the ‘download’ link below.