Overview

Opt-in is generally defined as a situation where customers provide their personal information (like an email address) to an organization, with the expectation that they'll receive marketing communications as a result. The consent given can be implied or express. It's important to understand the differences between these two types of consent, as laws such as CAN-SPAM and GDPR have changed the way customer data and communication is handled.

Note: What consent looks like varies worldwide, so be sure to check the regulations for the regions you're contacting. That said, these definitions of implied and express consent should help you navigate those regulations, help you comply, and help you create successful campaigns.

Implied consent

Implied consent is given when an individual provides their information for a business purpose but has not explicitly stated that they want to receive marketing communications. Zaius will include identifiers with implied consent by default when sending marketing messages.

Express consent

Express consent is given when you ask an individual for permission to send them marketing and they agree. The future recipient must manually opt-in by taking action. The submission of a form that includes an email address field is not sufficient for express consent. However, the inclusion of an unchecked checkbox that the individual must click is acceptable. Customers with express consent will be included in marketing campaigns by default. See the example below.

Import Express Consent

To carry over express consent or opt-out from another system that is not integrated with Zaius, use a consent event. This type of event can be imported via a csv file, via API, or via JavaScript and is specific to an identifier (e.g. a specific email address), not to the entire customer profile.

The example below shows a correctly formatted consent event file, where the action is opt-in for consent or opt-out to exclude the identifier from marketing. If a customer has multiple identifiers on which they could receive messages, this process must be followed for each. File names for these imports begin with zaius_events.

Import Express Consent from Shopify

Shopify syncs a true/false customer field to Zaius called Shopify Accepts Marketing, along with a timestamp for when this value was set. This field is set in Shopify when someone checks the Keep me up to date with news and offers box when checking out. Beginning in mid-March 2020, this field is translated to express consent (when true) or marketing opt-out (when false) in Zaius. If the timestamp on the value is before the last time consent was updated in Zaius, the current consent status will be kept. For example:

February 22: The customer opts-in to marketing when they order. A true value for Accepts Marketing with a current timestamp is sent to Zaius, so now the customer record indicates that they are opted-in.
February 28: The customer revokes consent after receiving an email. The customer record shows that they are opted out and the current timestamp is stored. The Accepts Marketing value on their profile does not change, but the email record shows that they have opted-out since receiving that info.
March 3: The customer logs into their account online and changes their shipping address. A customer update is sent to Zaius where the Accepts Marketing value is true with a timestamp from February 22. Since that timestamp is behind the customer's latest consent record, this value is ignored and the customer remains opted-out.

The field is checked for updates during any Shopify customer update, like an order, account change, etc.

Prior to mid-March 2020, Shopify's Accepts Marketing field had no impact on the consent status for a customer. If desired, filter customers in or out of Zaius email campaigns by adding a simple AND expression to your customer segment. See below:

Effect on Zaius content

When creating web modals and web embeds, the editor will validate the email, opt-in, and submit button fields. This automatic validation helps ensure that the form is submitted with identifiable information and proper consent. Learn more about each field validation below:

Email: This field helps ensure that the submission is properly attributed to a customer profile.
Opt-in: This field helps to ensure that the submission provides express consent for future marketing communications. By default, this field will also include a general disclaimer about the purpose of the approval. This disclaimer can be customized.
Submit button: This field allows the submission to occur.

Zaius favors express consent in these situations as it provides you (the sender) more protection concerning email privacy and compliance regulations. Additionally, it provides transparency for your customers (the recipient) concerning their future relationship with your brand's marketing communications.