The FCC One-to-One Consent Ruling: What You Need to Know

In January of 2025, a new FCC ruling is going into place that impacts both lead generators and lead buyers. Read on to get all the details.

The TLDR summary

• The FCC’s one-to-one consent rule, effective January 27, 2025, requires explicit, individual permission for a specific business to contact a consumer.
• This mainly impacts comparison shopping and lead generator websites (like Angi and Thumbtack), as they must now ensure that consumers give consent to only one identified company (lead buyer) at a time.
• Businesses purchasing leads (lead buyers) must verify their lead aggregators’ compliance and ensure their own website forms explicitly name their company in the opt-in language.
• Expect a decrease in lead availability from aggregators, making it vital to focus on conversion rate optimization to maximize revenue.
  
  

Note that this is not legal advice. Please consult your legal counsel.

FAQs on the one-to-one consent rule

1. What is the FCC one-to-one consent rule?

The FCC one-to-one consent rule says that companies need to get clear, individual permission from consumers for their specific company to send automated messages to that consumer. In other words, comparison shopping websites and lead generator sites cannot use a single consent to apply to multiple lead buyers.

2. When is it happening?

January 27, 2025

3. Who does this apply to?

Technically, new FCC ruling applies to any website that uses lead capture forms, but it affects lead generator and comparison shopping sites the most, as these are the websites that are using one-to-many consent, versus one-to-one consent. If only your company (and not another company) is reaching out to the leads that you generated on your website, then you are practicing one-to-one-consent.

4. I'm a home service business. Are my website forms capturing one-to-one consent?

There are two parts to this. The first is "consent" and the second is "one-to-one."

Consent: This refers to TCPA prior express written consent. Meaning it captured prior to reaching out to that consumer, is clear and conspicuous to the consumer that they are granting consent, and is documented (stored somewhere, electronically is fine).

One-to-one: As long as your website forms list your company name only in the opt-in verbiage, and only your company is reaching out to those leads, then you are obtaining one-to-one-consent.

Here's what we like to recommend:

By clicking submit, you authorize [company name] to reach out to you about your project needs via phone, email, or text. These communications may be sent using automation or generative AI. Frequency varies. Message/data rates apply. Consent is not a condition of purchase. You can opt out at any time. Terms and Conditions  |  Privacy Policy.

Note that opt-in consent verbiage on your website forms is a requirement for 10DLC registration. So if you are registered, then you are fine. (And if you are a Hatch customer, then you are fine because 10DLC registration is a requirement for onboarding.)

Use our TCPA compliance checklist to make sure you've got everything covered.

5. How does this impact lead generators?

This ruling greatly impacts Comparison shopping sites and lead generator sites (Angi, Thumbtack, etc) because the ruling "authorizes no more than one identified seller” (seller=lead buyer) to contact a consumer. 

Prior to this ruling, when a consumer fills out a form on one of those sites (like Angi or Thumbtack), that site's form verbiage says something like "By submitting, you give Angi or any of its affiliates consent to reach out to you." In other words, that one consent applied to multiple unspecified companies.

This new rule closes that loophole by mandating that when a consumer fills out a form on one of those lead generator websites, they give consent to one specific company at a time.

With this new ruling, lead generator websites (like Angi, Thumbtack, etc.) are being forced to change their user flows to be compliant.

But while this is the lead generator's responsibility, lead buyers still have some actions they need to take.

6. I am a lead buyer. What do I need to do?

If your business is purchasing leads, talk to each of your lead aggregators and make sure they're using compliant practices and that the leads you receive from them have provided consent for your business specifically. You may also want to talk to them about price changes that may result due to lower lead availability. 

7. I'm not sure if the people I'm contacting have provided one-to-one consent. What should I do?

If you're unsure about whether you have one-to-one consent for a particular set of contacts, you can always send out a campaign with an incentive prior to January 27 to re-capture their consent. For example, you might have them fill out a form to receive a discount or enter into a sweepstakes. As long as the form contains the required verbiage in #4 above, you are capturing proper 1:1 consent.

8. How can I combat having fewer leads available?

A full funnel strategy

The key to this is increasing conversion rates and LTV from your new and existing leads. A set of campaigns across the customer journey is essential for this. For example:

• New lead outreach: Reach out within the first five minutes.
• Estimate follow-up: For any estimate appointments that didn't close on-site.
• Aged lead outreach: For any leads that never booked an appointment, canceled, or no-showed.
• Old estimates: For leads that never moved forward with their estimate, or the full estimate.
• Customer nurture: Reach out to previous customers to see if they have any upcoming projects or are interested in any of your other services, or to share marketing promotions.
• Memberships: Promote membership program signups, renewals, and recurring services.
• Reviews and referrals: Reach out once projects are complete to help solidify the relationship and increase retention.

Hatch customers, if you're not utilizing all of these campaign types, reach out to your Account Manager here for help getting set up.

Multi-channel outreach

For any of these, it's important to use multiple channels, but lead with text. It's also important to reach out multiple times. It takes an average of eight attempts to get a response. Hatch automates this type of outreach to maximize response and conversion rates.

A diverse marking mix

And of course, make sure you are using several lead generation strategies, not just lead aggregators. These include:

• Local SEO and listings
• Search ads and Google Local Services Ads
• Paid social ads and organic social posts
• Web forms
• Referrals
• Events

Be prepared for the future of lead generation

Hatch customers, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your Account Manager here.

Non-Hatch customers, if you're interested in Hatch, book a demo here.