SMS Transition Policy
The transition SMS is a single, strictly neutral service message sent in parallel with Day 1 of the email ramp. Its only job is to prime members to expect — and trust — the first email from the new mail.<clubdomain>.co.uk sender. This page is the canonical source for what that message may and may not contain. Read it before building the send.
Applies to: the one-off transition SMS only. It does not govern per-campaign marketing SMS, which sits under the club's separate PECR marketing basis.
The transition SMS is a service message, not a marketing message. The line between the two is a legal one, not a stylistic one — cross it and the message pulls into PECR's higher-consent regime. Get the wording exactly right.
Where This Fits in the Runbook
| Step | What happens | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Step 0 — prime members | The SMS reinforces the IG broadcast and portal notice ahead of cutover | Step 0: Prime From the Old Platform |
| Step 10.3 — Day 1 send | The SMS fires in parallel with the Trust Bridge email, same 2-hour window | Setup Runbook |
| Approved copy | Production-ready SMS template with merge fields | Templates |
The Rule in One Line
Send one neutral service SMS. No offer. No "Reply STOP". No blame. Then never send it again.
What the Message Must Contain
A genuine service message that simply tells members where their email now comes from and asks them to check their junk folder:
- The club name, so the member recognises the sender
- The new sending identity — the named human and
mail.<clubdomain>.co.uk - A plain instruction to check the junk folder and mark the message as safe
- Optionally, a way to ask a question (the club's phone number)
That is the entire permissible scope. The message exists to aid recognition and reduce spam complaints on the first email — nothing more.
Approved Wording
[Club Name]: We now email you from [Manager Name] at mail.[clubdomain].co.uk.
Please check your junk folder and mark it as safe.The GHL-ready version with merge fields lives in Templates:
{{location.name}}: We now send member emails from
{{custom_values.from_email_display}}. Please check your junk folder
and mark it as safe if it arrives there. Questions? Call us on
{{location.phone}}.Keep it under 160 characters where possible so it sends as a single SMS segment. Abbreviate only where it does not reduce clarity. Do not add a URL shortener — shortened links degrade trust and can trip carrier spam filters.
What the Message Must Never Contain
| Forbidden element | Why it is forbidden |
|---|---|
| A "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" line | A STOP opt-out reframes the message as direct marketing under PECR, pulling it into the higher-consent regime. A genuine service message needs no opt-out line. |
| Any offer, promotion, discount, or incentive | The moment the message contains a promotion, it is marketing and requires its own PECR lawful basis — with a STOP opt-out in every message thereafter. |
| Language implying the member did something wrong | "You haven't opened our recent email" reframes a neutral notice as a re-engagement (marketing) prompt and erodes trust. |
| A second or repeat send | This is a one-off. Repeating it as a cadence makes it look like a marketing programme and undermines the service-message classification. |
Do not add a STOP line "to be safe". It does the opposite. A STOP opt-out is the single clearest signal that a message is marketing — adding one to a service message is the mistake that reclassifies it and exposes the club.
Lawful Basis and Liability
The club is the data controller; Albatross / Capture acts as the processor under the club's documented instructions. The transition SMS rides the club's existing SMS consent — the basis on which members already receive operational texts (booking confirmations, course closures, and similar).
- A purely informational service message about a change to the club's own systems sits outside the PECR direct-marketing rules provided it contains no marketing content. The forbidden elements above are exactly the things that would change that classification.
- If the club wants to include a STOP opt-out or any promotional element, the message must be rebuilt as a marketing SMS and evaluated against the club's lawful basis for marketing on that channel before sending.
- The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (in force from 1 January 2026) raised the maximum PECR fine ceiling to £17.5m. A misclassified bulk SMS is a real, material exposure — this is why the wording rules are mandatory, not advisory.
Controller/processor precision matters here. Capture builds and fires the SMS on the club's instruction; the club remains responsible for the lawful basis. Document the decision in the club's migration log.
Build and Send Checklist
Work through this before the SMS leaves GHL:
- Confirmed the message contains no STOP line, offer, promotion, or blame language
- Confirmed the SMS rides the club's existing operational SMS consent, not a marketing basis
- Merge fields resolve correctly in a test send (
{{location.name}},{{custom_values.from_email_display}},{{location.phone}}) - Message length checked — single segment where possible, no URL shortener
- Scheduled to fire in parallel with the Day 1 Trust Bridge email (same ~2-hour window)
- Set as a one-off, not a recurring or per-campaign automation
- Decision and lawful basis recorded in the club's migration log
Related Pages
- Step 0: Prime From the Old Platform — the pre-cutover priming sequence the SMS reinforces
- Setup Runbook — Step 10.3 covers the Day 1 timing
- Templates — the production SMS copy with merge fields
- Compliance — the full PECR and UK GDPR position for the migration
Templates
Production-ready email and SMS templates for the Intelligent Golf → GHL LC Email migration, with format guidance and copy rules for the warm-up period.
Seed Panel (Diagnostic)
How to use James's real aged inboxes as a pre-launch placement diagnostic and a light one-time reputation nudge — and exactly where the hard line sits between legitimate use and manufactured engagement.