Q&A: Transactional emails as marketing tools

Email expert Jeanne Jennings believes in the power of transactional emails. She also believes this permission-based communication channel with customers has been underutilised as a marketing and relationship building opportunity. I agree 100% - and am fascinated by the opportunities this type of email can provide. It is indeed a powerful tool, but companies must tread carefully! I was delighted when Jeanne agreed to sit down to a Q&A with me (conducted by email, naturally) so we could discuss this area of email marketing.

First, let's establish what a "transactional email" is ...

Transactional messages are defined under the United States CAN-SPAM law as any email “facilitating, completing or confirming a previously agreed upon transaction.” Basically they are things like order confirmations, shipment updates, regular account statements, etc.

Legislation regarding transactional emails

Jeanne, you mention US legislation. There aren’t any specific references to transactional emails in the EU legislation. They fall under a 'soft opt-in' category - meaning an address obtained during the course of a sale or the negotiations for a sale of a product or service'. In this context they must be treated as an email marketing message (i.e. correct permission, transparency of sender, ongoing ability to opt-out from further communications, etc).

There are however specific references to transactional emails in the US CAN-SPAM legislation. Can you elaborate?

Yes, in the US CAN-SPAM act of 2003 there were guidelines set for commercial and transactional emails. The biggest differences are:

• Transactional emails are not required to have a U.S. Postal Address – commercial emails must include this.
• Transactional emails are not required to carry the “Advertisement” label prominently – commercial emails to lists which were not developed with “affirmative consent” (aka opt-in) must include this.
• Transactional emails do not have to include a way for the recipient to unsubscribe – all commercial emails must include this.

When the legislation was being turned into regulations a hybrid type of email emerged – one whose primary purpose is transactional but which includes some promotional content. These messages must comply with the transactional – not commercial – email guidelines. One of the best examples of this are the email receipts sent by Apple when you buy music from iTunes. It tells you what you purchased and what you paid – and include recommendations of other albums you may enjoy. It’s a transactional message, but it may just spur you to go back to the site and make another purchase.

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