Catering for vulnerable consumers is not a nice to have but a necessity

Putting your customer first means catering for your many different customers, some of whom may find it difficult to make informed decisions. Use our vulnerable consumer guidelines and training materials to help make your telemarketing better

Your customers and potential customers are all different, all individual.

Some may be classed as vulnerable because they have problems making informed decisions.

If businesses put the customer at the heart of what they do, then it’s important to consider those who may be vulnerable.

It’s not just the right thing to do, but the responsible thing.

In addition, as we have seen this summer, those companies that are frivolous or take insufficient care when dealing with vulnerable consumers are at the mercy of public opinion.

Don’t put your business at risk.

We can help. We have produced the second edition of our guide for dealing with vulnerable consumers.

The DMA's Contact Centres & Telemarketing Council published its first guidelines for dealing with vulnerable consumers in 2012.

This guide has now been comprehensively updated, expanded and reissued. It is also now supplemented with free training materials you can use within your organisation

Both the guidelines were developed with the support of Age UK, Alzheimers Society, Dementia Action Alliance and Rethink Mental Illness, produced in conjunction with BT, nPower, Blue Donkey, KMB Ltd, ReynoldsBusbyLee, Orbital Response and Steve Smith.

The training was produced by ReynoldsBusbyLee and Blue Donkey.

In addition, we have a special webinar to be broadcast at 3pm on October 28. The webinar will include a walk-through of the guidance and the training materials.

Here you will learn how:

• To better understand your vulnerable audience – including their needs and how to shape your communications accordingly
• Creating policy and guideline structure helps vulnerable consumers and your own staff
• Responsible marketing comes hand-in-hand with maximising opportunities
• To drive behavioural and cultural change in your business – and grasp the benefits

Our webinar will be hosted by Elaine Lee, a DMA adviser and director at ReynoldsBusbyLee and Richard Powley, head of safeguarding and HR compliance at Age UK.

These guidelines and training manuals are designed to help our members and others meet their obligations set out in the DMA Code. It's also just good business.