Why B2B marketers must scrub cells now for TCPA Law Compliance

Why_B2B_marketers_must_scrub_cells_now_TCPA_DNC_Compliance A lot of tech, software, and Internet companies were taken by surprise on Oct. 16, 2013. That’s the date the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rule against calling cell phones numbers using automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS) became“consumer agnostic.”

B2B Companies must Scrub Cells Now - Click Video

This video is for informational purposes. Be sure to consult your own attorney for questions specific to your business.

Prior to the cell law change, all eyes were on consumer wireless ID - but the law no longer applies to just consumer cells...

It applies to any cell phone number, including those pulled from LinkedIn and other social media sites. These sites are a major source of contacts for fast moving tech companies looking to reach out to businesses and expand their sales opportunities. And, more and more frequently, these numbers are cell phone numbers. Even in the business world, the cell phone is becoming the primary point of contact for a growing number of people.

Here are 6 keys to “scrubbing” cell phone numbers from your lists of business contacts:

Most Important: Know the B2B cell phone calling game has changed with last October’s “consumer agnostic” cell phone contact laws. If you don’t scrub, archive and date wireless numbers, predatory attorneys may do it for you; and that will cost you. (See our blog: "The 5 TCPA Risks of using Social Media for Sales Calls.")
You may not want to rely on your list vendors, data providers, or fulfillment houses for wireless phone identifications. They don't really want to do it anyway, as the stakes are too high now – with the CFPB and class action lawsuits in the picture re-interpreting the DNC/TCPA laws.
Believe what you hear about the harsh financial actions the CFPB has taken on mobile phone calling prohibitions against financial institutions and debt collectors. Your sector could be next, and you’ll want to have the proper Do Not Call cell phone policies, procedures, and enforcements in place.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that B2B or political cell phone calls don’t apply to you now just because you’ve always been exempt in the past.
Don’t make the mistake of waiting until something bad happens. It won’t be so bad for your lawyer, as he or she will make a lot of money.
Be proactive in your DNC, cell phone scrubbing, and call compliance procedures. Anything you do to protect yourself now will go a long way should problems occur.

If you're in denial on this one - you're not alone.

Promenent TCPA Attorney Eric Allen says, "Only about 1 out of 100 B2B marketers I talk with are aware they need to scrub cells now." Wireless phone calling violations used to be a relative slap on the wrist, maybe a slight game changer. Now it’s more like a game ender – with millions of dollars in fines on the line.

So don’t kid yourself about what you do, thinking you only do surveys, or small businesses have always loved your cell calls via auto-assisted dialing, and will never complain. If you’re a for-profit business calling cells, you need to scrub, archive, and protect yourself proactively.

What do you think? Got some comments on B2B cell scrubbing? Love to have you participate in the discussion....