B2B Communication
The CASL program also applies to B2B business practices and so it will have some implications
for travel trade suppliers communicating with both travel agents and corporate accounts that
deal direct with suppliers. Here’s the information from CASL that applies to B2B.
Business-to-business communications.
CASL applies broadly to all CEMs. However,
the new regulations include exemptions for
CEMs sent within a business, and CEMs sent
between businesses that are in an ongoing
business relationship. The messages must be
sent by an employee, representative,
contractor or franchisee, and be relevant to
the business, role, function or duties of the
recipients.
Similarly
exempt
are
communications sent to third-party business
partners, such as marketing agencies,
recruiting firms and insurance carriers.
Third-party referrals. To qualify for the
exemption:
The individual who sends the message
must disclose in the message the
ordinary or full name of the person who
made the referral.
Messages sent to consumers in response to
a request for information.
The new regulations address this
unintended consequence by exempting
messages sent in response to requests,
inquiries or complaints. (This is why the use
of Attraction Marketing works for you.)
Non preferred suppliers might want to review
how they will continue to pitch their products to
travel agencies who are by contract not allowed
to sell any supplier other than preferred. A
continual series of emails might be considered
spam by HQ unless the HQ gives their express
permission to the non-preferred supplier.
Messages sent to enforce a legal right.
Examples include messages sent for debt
collection, licensing & enforcing contractual
obligations.
Messages sent from outside Canada.
These include messages sent by foreign
businesses (provided the sender could not
reasonably know the message would be
received in Canada) and internationallybased Canadian organizations.
The individual who made the referral
must have an existing personal or family
or business relationship with both the
sender and the person who receives the
message.
Corporate travel agencies, travel management
firms dealing with a business versus a consumer
should also review how the B2B component of
CASL affects them, if it does.
Best practices would suggest that when dealing
with corporate accounts it would be better to
establish a conference call or face-to-face
meeting and discuss CASL and arrive at an
immediate solution which might range from no
one cares, keep emailing… or they will select
their own preferences.