Thinking about "Tell a Friend Marketing"? Think again
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Referral marketing is attractive to marketers but just because others are doing it does not mean that you should. You could be committing a criminal offence under Irish data protection legislation if you send marketing messages by email or SMS to people referred to you by your customers. The reason for this is that under data protection legislation you may not send marketing messages by electronic means to a person unless they have agreed to receive those messages. Unfortunately for those of you in the marketing business, it is not possible for one customer to opt-in to marketing communications on behalf of another. The Irish Data Protection Commissioner views this type of marketing as an unsolicited communication which could be deemed to be an offence under Irish Law.
…under Irish data protection legislation you may not send marketing messages by electronic means to a person unless they have agreed to receive those messages.
So the next time you ask your customers to refer a friend - be careful - because you might yourself end up being referred to the Data Protection Commissioner through a complaint that you have breached the code.
