They are the bane of email marketing. Complaints regarding your compliance with data protection regulations require tact, effort and no little time. You have to approach each complaint, even if it is obvious you’ve done nothing wrong, in exactly the same way.
How you respond matters as your reputation could well be at stake and any damage in that respect will cost you subscribers to your email marketing list as well as making it difficult to gain more. Suitably worried? Good, because where many companies go wrong is to treat such complaints casually. Yet steps to remedy the situation to everyone’s/most people’s satisfaction are clear and easy to follow.
The first step is to acknowledge receipt of the complaint. This is not the time of accept or refute it. It’s an interface where you can reassure the complainant you are treating the matter seriously and to inform them, broadly, what is going to happen next. If you have a webpage explaining your complaints procedure and how the process will evolve, a link to it is the most obvious additional bit of information to include. Also, let them know they will receive the next response when you have some information to convey. Include contact details and any reference numbers.
Remember that the complainant might not be an appropriate person. You should check that they are entitled to receive any personal information you might include in your response.
We now go internal. It’s time to check the details of the complaint against any information you hold. If you require further information, ask the complainant but also explain why you are asking. This is not the time to consider ways of resolving the situation. We are all about information gathering.
I’d suggest ensuring your staff are aware you do not blame anyone at the moment and, if it’s an honest mistake, you will continue so to do. You need their cooperation.
The unassailable mantra in dealing with data protection compliance is to record every action, including the reasons for all choices you make. This goes for any interface with the complainant or staff. Detail any and all actions that result from your investigations, including evidenced reasoning.
Inform the complainant as soon as reasonable of the outcome of your enquiries and what you’ve done to ensure similar errors will not reoccur. Remember, the complainant, especially if they are subscriber to your email marketing list, might well continue to be a customer if you deal with them properly, effectively and fairly. Include contact details for the ICO, and someone in your company who has knowledge of the process and can answer most questions they might have.
