We are just over 3 months into a new marketing world because of the Popi Act regulations.
I’ve been getting a lot of calls from clients looking to buy cold calling leads because they are battling to find leads in the market.
So, to help, I thought I would share my thoughts with you on why I stopped selling data, what you should be looking out for now, and marketing solutions you can still consider.
Why I stopped selling data
Up until July I was still going to sell data because I had done checks with my suppliers who had informed me, they were Popi compliant. But after receiving information in July from the direct marketing association, I realized I was asking the incorrect questions. Instead of asking “are you Popi compliant “I needed to ask, “How are you Popi compliant”. You see I had looked at the act and my reason for continuing to sell was I was getting the data from a compliant supplier so it would not infringe the legitimate interest of the data subject. I thought we were covered but after taking more information into account I realised there was one part of the act that changed all of this.
When I started asking my suppliers how they are compliant they sent me their information that I had to assess. I used my ethical judgement and guidance I received from a Popia legal expert and concluded that I didn’t feel they were able to fully comply with all the principals of the POPI act. I made this decision to hold off and rather protect my client’s business reputation until we received more clarity from the information regulator.
According to the legal expert, in order to be Popi compliant to sell data the data owner must comply with section 18 of the act.
In this section it’s in black and white how the data needed to be collected to be compliant and these clauses made it clear as to why I could not continue:
1.c) the purpose for which the information is being collected;
1.h) any further information such as the— i) recipient or category of recipients of the information;
In order to be able to buy data from a data subject and use it legally the data subject would have had to give consent to sell the information because it is the purpose for which it is being collected. They would also need to know all the recipients that would receive that information.
So If the data owner did not notify the data subject of the intention to sell the data and who the data would be shared with, the data doesn’t comply with this principal of the act. And to be popi compliant we must comply with ALL principals of the act.
Unfortunately, most data suppliers bought their database or have built it from collecting from different sources and they don’t have this information. After seeking legal advice and was guided with section 18 I spent a week calling all the sources I knew were selling data. I called all the compliant companies that I know and all of them closed their doors to data sales. I checked with the credit bureaus and even the channels that provided estate agents with contact details for people on the deeds database had also stopped.
The information regulator on buying data from data brokers
There are still data suppliers operating and selling data. The marketing industry is operating under the premise that the information regulator was going to provide more clarity on the data sales because cold calling is allowed to continue. It is very confusing and up until we have been left in the dark, with people needing to be able to still generate an income.
Last week Friday I was browsing Businesstech and I see the information has finally made a statement related to the data sales.
With elections around the corner, they have had to remind the political parties of how to conduct cold calling with the Popi act.
Please take note of the following:
“Key to the regulator’s statement is a warning that political parties may not get personal data – like phone numbers – through data brokers or applications, and then process or use that data to contact voters.”
“Political parties need permission from voters to contact them – with a few exceptions. Voters may at any stage object to their data being processed by political parties.”
“Process limitation: This means that a political party may only process information that it reasonably needs and upon obtaining consent directly from a voter. Therefore, political parties may not get personal data from data brokers or through applications that automatically generate personal information – such as telephone numbers. A voter may at any stage object to the processing of their personal data. If a voter objects, then a political party may no longer process that voter’s personal information.”
Here is the press briefing on the information regulator’s website: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/docs/ms/ms-20211014-ElectionCampaigning-POPIA.pdf
In my opinion this shows a clear stance on where the information regulator is with regards to selling data. It’s clear that the Popi act was put in place to stop the selling of data without the data subject’s consent. So, if you are buying data from suppliers now, you are processing information without consent no matter how you handle it. I’ve had people ask me to print data on paper so they can come and drive to me to buy it so there is no electronic paper trail. I just don’t understand the logic because if you are making the call you are implicated with the data no matter how you receive it or where you got it from.
Like GDPR the Popi act will have consequences if we don’t comply. I’ve read up about how many companies were fined because they failed to comply. The change in regulations have drastically affected my income that I now have to rebuild. Instead of choosing money I’ve chosen ethics because at the end of the day, the reputational damage that you will do to your business now is far higher than the sales you can make from cold calling.
Have a look at the above article where they recommend that data subjects must take it as far as complaining to the ombudsman, pension fund adjudicator and even Hellopeter. This could cause serious long term reputational damage that could be hard to change. You need to ask yourself is it still worth it? I did this and I said no. I would rather spend my time working on other channels to find clients than worrying everyday as to when we will get a complaint.
To give you some insight on what South African’s think of cold calling, I thought I would share Kevin Frazer’s video with you.
Cold calling used to work for us and it worked well but it’s a different world now and we need to move with the market to find our clients in a way that makes a positive connection.
What channels am I using now for marketing?
I’m making sure that I am complying as best as I can with the POPI act. Here are the channels I am using for our marketing:
- Email communication to my opt in databases
- Email sends to my suppliers database (they hold the consent to market to their database but not sell the information so this compliant)
- Online adverts on listing websites
- Cold calling from online data. We build highly targeted lists using our skills for finding people on social media and google
- Facebook groups, marketplace, and paid adverts
- LinkedIn prospecting
- Peer to peer marketing channels
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Google AdWords
It’s all about content marketing
The key to seeing success with your online sales is to invest in content marketing. If you are marketing on social platforms like Facebook, you will not be able to compete without content marketing.
Facebook is a content platform and therefore they want you to share content and engage with your audience. It’s how you get the best leads and how you build your online reputation to help you close your sales.
I have spoken to a few people that asked me to help them with their Facebook marketing because they can’t generate leads and all they do is push sales posts. There is no engagement, there is no interaction from the people, but they keep pushing sales and ignoring the content element. So today I want to leave you with this. Don’t take my word for it- go onto google and research on the importance of content marketing and you will see there are many marketing experts mentioning the same.
The way we market has changed and if you want to excel now online you need content. Your company must share information to be able to show clients your expertise and personality, so you can win your prospects trust.
JK Marketing content creation
I’ve started up a content division where we can supply blog articles, SEO website content and infographics to delight your audience and boost engagement. I’m working with an international marketing agency that is an authority in marketing and can achieve top results.
I haven’t had a chance to create a website page with information, but I wanted to let you know that it’s up and running and I have pricing if you are interested. Send me an email to judy@jkms.co.za or call me on 081 270 1487 to find out more and how we can provide a consistent flow of content.
I hope my article provides some insight to help you with making decisions on buying data and what options you still have available.
Please get in touch if you are ready to explore any of the marketing channels or my content solution.