Leading marketing and IT experts know that CAN-SPAM is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to compliance. CASL, CCPA, GDPR are just some of the new regulations requiring marketers and companies in tow to pay attention. It’s not just important to protect your customers’ data; not doing so can be a costly mistake, with one study finding that the cost of non-compliance is 2.71 times higher than the cost of compliance.

Dynamics 365 Marketing offers different consent management features in outbound and real-time marketing, both of which can help manage consent provided by customers. Real-time marketing went in a different direction than outbound, utilizing a modern approach based on contact points (think multiple points of consent for each customer, such as email and SMS). Here’s what else you should know about the differences between the two.

(Not sure if Real-time marketing is for you? Start with these FAQs.)

Key Differences + Benefits of Consent Management in Outbound vs. Real-time Marketing

Look for more than interest-based consent in real-time marketing. Outbound allows contacts to opt into (and out of) any number of topics of interest, the result of which turns into marketing (subscription) lists. Real-time marketing takes it one (giant) step further. Topics work similarly as points of interest, but can now be nested under a given purpose (say, promotional vs transactional). You can also set consent by communication method—email vs. SMS—directly on the preference center.

Utilizing consent in the moment goes a long way. Contact point records can be used for emails + SMS. Since real-time marketing involves engaging with individuals in the moment (such as on websites or your company’s mobile app), the consent management process for real-time marketing also focuses on evaluating the user’s consent status via contact point in real time (no pun intended) before engaging with them.

Pro tip: Because customer consent is stored by email address or phone number in real-time marketing, as opposed to being stored per contact record, the system will honor consent on any contact point record with that email address or phone number, but it will not dedupe for you when sending out communication. Make sure your database is clean and updated regularly.

You’ll find flexible consent types in real-time marketing. While outbound doesn’t include a specific type of consent, Microsoft has introduced two consent types in Real-time marketing: restrictive v. non-restrictive. The restrictive model indicates that a contact, lead or Customer Insights profile must have opted in to receive marketing communication and be tracked from the real-time marketing work area. This is great for clients with a focus on GDPR. The non-restrictive model allows contacts to receive messages and be tracked despite not having an opted in contact point consent center record.

To learn more about how consent is respected in real-time marketing, along with how to take advantage of the new consent model for your customers, contact Coffee + Dunn today.