What is Permission Marketing and why is it important?

In a time when data privacy and customer consent are very popular topics, permission marketing is an important concept to bear in mind.

The basis of permission marketing consists of obtaining information about the customer in exchange for a service provided.

This information can be obtained in two different ways, and this leads to two different types of permission marketing:

Express-permission marketing

This type of marketing occurs when the customer explicitly expresses an interest in being targeted by the brand in question. It can happen if the customer willingly signs up for a newsletter or inserts his email in order to download a report, for example.

The consent is expressed by the consumer once the email is supplied at his will.

Implied-permission marketing

As opposed to the above-mentioned type of marketing, implied-permission marketing is not explicitly expressed, but due to the customer’s previous relationship with the brand in question, is considered to be implicitly expressed.

The consent is considered to have been given when the consumer interacts with the brand whether he is a current customer, a website visitor, or has any other connection with the brand.

In both cases, the consumer has full control over the relationship and decides when to start and stop being targeted for marketing efforts.

This is why brands cannot take this voluntary relationship for granted. The email marketing strategy has to be aligned with the customer’s reason for connecting with the brand.

If the customer is bombarded with emails irrelevant to him or his interest in that brand, more than likely that user will end up unsubscribing. 

Conclusion

It is a lot less costly to target users who you know want to hear from you. Not to mention that, by taking the personal information provided to you and in return, offering relevant and interesting content to the user, you can increase customer loyalty.