In customer acquisition, “B2B” is not shorthand for “anything goes”. Section 7 of the German Unfair Competition Act (UWG) distinguishes clearly between communication channels. That is why solid planning does not start with a contact list but with a simple question: which route should the advertising take, and what shows that exactly this route fits?
Choose the channel first, then check B2B cold acquisition
For advertising calls to consumers, Section 7(2) No. 1 UWG requires prior express consent. For other market participants, the provision mentions at least presumed consent. This is not a general licence to call businesses. What matters is a concrete, factual connection between the current need of the business being called and the offer.
Practical rule: If the team cannot explain the reason for an individual call in one sentence, “possibly interesting” is not a solid working basis.
A publicly visible problem can provide a reason, but it does not replace a check. Anyone who sees, for example, a new tender, a specific changeover or a clearly recognisable need documents why their own offer fits. Serial calls with the same justification for an entire industry are something else: they quickly turn an individual case into a standard risk.
Email marketing needs a decision you can prove
Promotional electronic mail generally requires the recipient’s prior express consent. This does not only apply to newsletters. An individually written promotional email does not automatically become unproblematic either. A published email address is first and foremost contact information, not an invitation to marketing.
For forms, this means: a request for a download, a consultation or a webinar should be clearly separated from consent to advertising. The prospect must be able to understand who wants to contact them about which topic. A double opt-in is a sensible way of providing proof: only the confirmation via the address given shows that its owner really wanted to activate receipt. However, the technical process alone does not make an unclear or overly broad statement suitable.
Request material or an appointment; ask for marketing consent separately, understandably and with documentation.
“The address is in the legal notice, so we can write to it.”
Mailings to existing customers: read the four conditions together
Section 7(3) UWG contains an exception for electronic mail. It only applies if all conditions are met at the same time: the address was obtained in connection with the sale of goods or services; the business advertises its own similar goods or services; the customer has not objected; and the customer was clearly informed of the free right to object when the address was collected and in every message.
- Check the origin.
Does the address really come from a sale and not from a third-party directory or a mere first contact? - Check similarity.
Is it about your own similar offer, or is a new product world being advertised? - Respect objections.
If there is an objection, use for direct marketing ends. - Include the notice.
A free objection must be clearly possible when the address is collected and in every message.
If even one of these conditions is missing, the team should not use the exception as a basis. With older data in particular, a short check before sending is worth more than a large campaign with unclear old addresses.
Inbound and postal advertising: promise less, organise better
Search engine optimisation, ads, expert content, events and recommendations shift the initiative to the prospect. They do not automatically solve the question of subsequent data processing, but they create a different starting point than an unsolicited message. On a landing page, the enquiry, the privacy notice and optional marketing consent should therefore each be clearly separated.
The law does not name postal advertising with the same express consent requirement as email. However, that does not mean blanket permission. Recognisable refusals and objections must be taken seriously under Section 7(1) UWG. For personal data, the right to object to direct marketing also applies: after an objection, the data may no longer be processed for that purpose. Anyone working by post therefore also needs a maintained block list, a traceable data source and a clear way of handling responses.
A short approval process before every campaign
A small process prevents a good marketing approach from ending up in the wrong channel:
- Write down the goal and the target group.
What is being offered and who is the measure aimed at? - Assess each channel individually.
Do not lump phone, email, letter and inbound together. - Record the basis and the proof.
Consent, the conditions for existing customers or a concrete B2B reason must be traceable. - Block objections centrally.
They belong in the data set actually used, not in a single inbox.
This does not make customer acquisition slower but more predictable: the team can develop good content and suitable offers without having to explain later why the contact was made in the first place.
