As recently discussed on our blog, the CAN-SPAM Act provides consumer protections when it comes to business emails. The seven protections it contains include:

1. Protection from false or misleading header information

2. Protection from deceptive subject lines

3. Protection from undisclosed advertisements

4. Protection from unknown locations

5. Protection from undesired email communications

6. Protection from slow implementation, and

7. Protection from delegated responsibilities.

How can developers help their clients fulfill these obligations while still effectively reaching their target audience? Here at PK, we use and recommend a combination of a FileMaker CRM and MailChimp.

One of our clients is a recruitment agency with thousands of leads and contacts. They use FileMaker throughout the majority of their business operations. For managing these leads, they have a CRM within their database. It tracks the details they have for these individuals, as well as communications with each other.

This client also uses MailChimp. One reason we like and recommend MailChimp (as well as use it ourselves!) is because it automatically forces you to follow the CAN-SPAM Act in several areas. For instance, it won't allow you to remove unsubscribe options for your communications or your location details. It also provides tips and suggestions for crafting subject lines, etc.

In the MailChimp account, marketing and legal personnel for this client craft email templates. This ensures the law is being followed, as well as their brand guidelines. We've used an API and some scripting to connect MailChimp then to the FileMaker database. Creating templates within MailChimp ensures access to these important communications are restricted to those individuals with the responsibility to create them while our custom code allows other employees to continue working within FileMaker without needing to switch between different software packages.

Recruiters within the CRM have the option to select contacts to send email messages to. They can send a personalized message to one recipient, or batch select multiple individuals based on criteria they set (location, availability, qualifications, etc). For these batch emails, they have the ability to select from the templates created in MailChimp, see a preview of that message, add personalization such as including the recipient's name, and send.

MailChimp automatically handles unsubscribe requests and removes them from the sendable contact list. Our scripting allows recruiters to see within the FileMaker CRM who has unsubscribed and prevents them from attempting to send messages anyway. We've built out this double redundancy to provide peace-of-mind for the client to ensure they're following all legal guidelines under the CAN-SPAM Act.

By using MailChimp and FileMaker together in this manner, we’re able to help our clients follow the law with confidence, while also integrating the ability to send emails to their established workflow. It’s a best of both worlds process for them.

PK Information is a FileMaker-certified development agency serving the Tampa Bay, Miami Lakes, and Knoxville regions. We believe software should work the way you do, with business priorities first and technology second.

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Would you like to learn more about regulatory compliance with your database?
We’d love to discuss the possibilities with you!