Now that the industry has the CAN-SPAM Act to deal with, more communication then ever is needed, both technical and verbal. Therefore, let’s talk about building and maintaining relationships. What is the best way to build and maintain a relationship? I am going to go with the classic; communication. You should always concentrate on building relationships and always work hard to maintain them. This will be the best way to generate successful campaigns and businesses now and in the future.

In the Online DM world, tracking and reporting are the life blood of business communications and personal communication is the heart. Both have the ability to breakdown, hopefully not at the same time. This is when we all need to give a little, and not necessarily the time to whip out the contract. Many agreements in this industry have two contracts signed from each party. Commonly verbal agreements are made after a contract is signed. My attorney would recommend neither of these practices, but it does happen. There is a lot that can be resolved before the contract is brought back into the picture. Contracts should be used when there are no communication options left. Don’t be afraid to concede a little to keep the lines of communication running. An ego problem and the blame game can potentially end the whole relationship. Remember a couple things; People and businesses are constantly on the move. You may not want a relationship with someone now, but you may in the future. Why burn the bridge?

If you are currently a “bridge burner”, please change your tune. Being that the advertiser is now responsible for suppressing names for its individual offers, relationships with email senders can potentially hurt the ability to comply because they can send offers to people that have opted out. Communication is totally necessary to make this whole process work. If either the list owner or the advertiser breaks down here it is potentially bad news for everyone. Therefore, I see the current email laws potentially harmful for those who don’t have good relationships with their business partners. Make sure that you speak with your partners, not just your lawyers, about how you are going to work together to comply.

Communication and Relationships is now more important then ever. Everyone is scrambling to comply and developing there own ways in which to do it. We NEED TO COMMUNICATE so that we all can comply together. It will make the industry better as a whole. It is good for your classic business practices and it is necessary in order to work together. The industry must become tighter now.

If we keep strong lines of communication open, relationships will naturally build, companies will comply with regulations, and most importantly more money will be made.

“After a brief pause, he responded, ‘Well, dealing with others is a very complex issue. There is no way that you can come up with one formula that could solve all problems. It’s a bit like cooking. If you are cooking a very delicious meal, a special meal, then there are various stages in cooking. And finally, the end result would be this delicious product. Similarly here, in order to be skillful in dealing with others, you need many factors. You can’t just say, ‘This is the method’ or ‘This is the technique.’”

It wasn’t exactly the answer I was looking for. I thought he was being evasive and felt that surely he must have something more concrete to offer. I pressed on: ‘Well, given that there is no single solution to improving our relationships, are there perhaps some more general guidelines that might be useful?’

The Dalai Lama thought for a moment before replying. ‘Yes. Earlier we spoke of the importance of approaching others with the thought of compassion in one’s mind. That is crucial.”

Last issue I spoke on the need for something called the Responsible Marketer Seal. Basically, it’s a seal that would let others know that the practices you follow in marketing efforts are ones that are upheld by the entire community of online direct marketers. After a good number of responses and conversations, I stumbled upon this section of The Dalai Lama’s writings. Like the narrator who is conversing with The Dalai Lama in this section, this was not the answer I was looking for. However, like the narrator, I found hope in the answer that there are general guidelines that might be useful for dealing with others, especially. These general guidelines can certainly be applied to the Responsible Marketer Seal. When The Dalai Lama speaks of compassion in this context, there is more invoked than simply feeling for someone on an abstract level. What is meant here by compassion is a perspective and willingness to openly communicate about important issues in a way that implies trustworthiness, a necessity for doing business. It is especially necessary for our fluid and flexible industry which relies strongly on weak-worded IO’s and verbal agreements made by instant messages. “It is important to educate the individual about the value and practical benefits of compassion” The Dalai Lama states. What the Responsible Marketer Seal can achieve is the sort of compassion that allows the trustworthiness needed by advertisers and publishers in the post CAN-SPAM market where we now find ourselves.

The RMS (Responsible Marketer Seal) is not a complete fix. However, how many added agreements have you signed over the last three weeks since CAN-SPAM became law and major lawsuits were announced? How many affiliate managers and advertisers have lost sleep wondering if a mailing was being blasted that would implicate them in a “spam ring” that they had no clue they were apart of? How many mailers and website operators have wondered if they have the proper format for their emails or other placements? The ambiguous nature of the CAN-SPAM law is quite dangerous for our industry as others have pointed out. Clearly, in light of such insecurity, there is a need for a platform that allows more trustworthiness and self-regulation. In a public climate so hostile to direct online marketing, a solution is needed to provide that platform for trust. That is the aim of the Responsible Marketer Seal. By forming an industry wide consensus on the basic framework and guidelines for advertisers and publishers to follow when dealing with each other, we can create trust. The value of trust should mean so much to our industry at this moment. Trust engenders profit.

The Dalai Lama ends the section by saying, “I think that generally speaking, when dealing with others on any level, if you’re having some difficulties, it’s extremely helpful to be able to try to put yourself in the other person’s place and see how you would react to the situation.” We’re all wondering what the future will hold for the industry, even the ones of us who do direct marketing on a strictly legitimate basis. Everyone seems to be making steps to move themselves away from any possible legal ramifications that their business practice might endure if they operate in a now illegal way. By having a constant standard everyone in the industry can look to, there will be no murky middle ground with underlying factors that create stabilization and trust. Conflict on such issues will be fewer, and reactions to certain situations outlined in the Responsible Marketer Seal program. Next time we’ll go further and start outlining practices. Email Sam sam@digitalmoses.com with thoughts and comments concerning industry self-regulation and the proposed RMS (Responsible Marketer Seal) debuting this Spring.