The line that decides everything
A service message is about something the person has already bought or booked. A marketing message promotes something. The PDPC permits service calls and reminders about services the person has bought. Marketing is the one with the rules attached.
| What you send | Which kind | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| “Your facial is tomorrow at 3pm with Mei” | Service | Nothing special |
| “Please reply YES to confirm your appointment” | Service | Nothing special |
| “You have 2 sessions left on your package” | Service | Nothing special |
| “Happy birthday — 20% off this month” | Marketing | Consent, or an ongoing relationship, or a registry check |
| “New treatment launching, book now” | Marketing | Consent, or an ongoing relationship, or a registry check |
| “We miss you — 30% off to come back” | Marketing | Careful: a lapsed client may no longer be an ongoing relationship |
The three ways to be allowed to send marketing
- Clear and unambiguous consent for that number. If you have it, you do not need to check the registry. Get it in writing, at the counter, when they first sign up — a signature against a line that says what they are agreeing to.
- An ongoing relationship. You may market relevant products, services or memberships to people you have one with. A series of one-off transactions is not an ongoing relationship, so do not assume four visits over three years counts.
- A Do Not Call registry check. The fallback when neither of the above applies.
The practical failure is not the rule, it is the paperwork. Consent collected on a paper form in a drawer cannot be produced two years later when it matters. FingerBooth's Scribble Signatory System captures the do-not-call signature on a tablet at sign-in and keeps it in the cloud, searchable and exportable — so the answer to “can you show us consent for this number” takes seconds.
What every marketing message must carry
- Your organisation, clearly identified — not just a sender name nobody recognises.
- Contact details.
- An opt-out using the same medium. A text message needs a way to opt out by text.
- And once someone opts out, you have 21 days to stop sending to that number. Build the opt-out into the client record so it applies everywhere, not just to that campaign.
A sensible salon policy
- Capture consent once, at sign-up, with a signature, and store it where you can find it.
- Keep reminders and promotions as separate message types in your system, so nobody sends a promotion from the reminder screen by accident.
- Record every opt-out against the client, not against the campaign.
- Review the list of people you have not seen in a year before you send them anything — that is where the ongoing-relationship argument gets thin.
Rules change. Check the primary source before you act on anything here — this is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.
Questions we get asked
Do I need to check the Do Not Call registry before every SMS?
Before sending a marketing message to a Singapore number, yes — unless an exception applies. The two that matter to a salon are clear and unambiguous consent, and an ongoing relationship with that person.
Is an appointment reminder a marketing message?
No. The PDPC states that service calls, and reminders about services the person has bought, are permitted. A reminder about an appointment they booked is a service message.
Is a birthday offer a marketing message?
Yes. It is promoting something, so it is marketing — and it needs either consent, or the ongoing-relationship exemption, or a registry check.
What counts as an ongoing relationship?
You may send marketing messages about relevant products, services or memberships to people you have an ongoing relationship with. The PDPC is explicit that a series of one-off transactions does not count as an ongoing relationship.
What must a marketing SMS contain?
It must clearly identify your organisation and provide contact details, and it must include an opt-out using the same medium. Once someone opts out you have 21 days to stop sending to that number.
Does this apply to business numbers too?
Yes — the registry covers mobile, fixed-line, residential and business numbers.