I receive newsletters periodically from KPMG but far as I know, I never subscribed to them or gave them permission to send these to me. I’ve never been a customer, I don’t recall downloading a whitepaper, attending a seminar, or talking to anyone from that company. Yet somehow they have assumed that I want to hear from them.
This is the type of practice I truly hope the upcoming CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law) is able to curb. The new law aims for opt-in as the key mechanism for demonstrating consent, although it leaves some room for interpretation with the use of implied consent.
Even if I did once give KPMG permission, I make it a habit of unsubscribing from newsletters of reputable companies whose updates I don’t care to receive. I do this in order to test if they are actually following proper email marketing best practices. I mention reputable companies because I expect them to follow best practices and respect people. It’s been well-documented that non-reputable companies will just use the unsubscribe link as confirmation that there is a real person at the other end of an email address.
To ensure that I would no longer receive emails from them, I clicked on the unsubscribe link in the KPMG newsletter. Instead of just unsubscribing me in one step, it opened my email client with a pre-configured message. That’s OK, I suppose. I’ll just click send and these newsletters will stop. So I do, and guess what happens- the email bounces!
I think KPMG and other such companies could stand to learn a thing or two, to say the least, about better email marketing practices.
Now it’s your turn. In the comments below let me know know:
- Which company sent you emails even though you never joined their email list?
- Which company made it difficult for you to unsubscribe from their email list?
Hi Mike — really sorry this happened to you. You should not have received the bounceback after you unsubscribed from KPMG’s email newsletters — the unsubscription procss should have been automatic and seamless.
I’m investigating why this occurred and will ensure the system is fixed. Meanwhile I will also ensure your name is removed from our distribution lists.
Thank you so much for highlighting the issue!
Gordon Braun-Woodbury
Executive Director, KPMG
Hi Gordon,
That is outstanding. Glad to see KPMG monitoring the online activity of their brand, as well as being proactive on using proper email marketing process, in advance of the official enforcement of CASL.
Your action is good for everyone.
Thank you.
who can I contact to have my boss removed from these emails. I’ve done the “unsubscribe” as well, many times, but we still receive them.