Permission Marketing

Description of Permission Marketing. Explanation.

Definition Permission Marketing. Description.

Permission Marketing (PM) is the practice of marketing to consumers only after gaining their express permission. It is a Direct Marketing Method that requires that people first "opt-in", rather than allowing people to "opt-out" only after the advertisements have been sent. In this way valuable, continuous relationships can be built (Relationship Marketing).

The PM approach can be used by organizations to break through clutter and build Customer Loyalty. In his book “Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends into Customers”, Seth Godin identifies five steps to effective permission marketing:

Offer the prospect an incentive to volunteer (e.g. freebies, contest or sales promotion).
Offer the interested prospect a curriculum over time that teaches the consumer about the product or service.
Reinforce the incentive to guarantee that the prospect maintains the permission.
Offer additional incentives to get more permission from the consumer.
Over time, leverage the permission to change consumer behavior towards profits.

A key element of permission-based marketing is that you are in essence buying someone's time and obtain approval to get their attention, which has become increasingly valuable in the "Attention Economy".

A recent application of PM is Customer Loyalty Programs, which encourage customers to buy or continue to buy certain products or services.