Marketing Messages in Türkiye: IYS, Consent and Opt-Outs

سفير تركيا · Sunday at 11:55 PM

Marketing Messages for Stores in Türkiye: IYS, Permission and Unsubscribing
Separate service notices from campaigns and keep permissions and opt-outs synchronized

Sending a useful order message differs from sending an advertisement inviting a new purchase. Problems often begin when a store uses a telephone number collected for delivery in a discount campaign, or combines account activation and marketing consent in one verification code. Organizing messages means separating purpose, channel, permission and opt-out records, then ensuring that sending software actually implements those distinctions.

IYS is Türkiye's system for managing permissions and opt-outs for commercial electronic messages, operating within e-commerce rules. Having an account does not make every message permissible, and a previous purchase does not automatically establish advertising permission. This guide explains a suitable procedure for a small store, from classifying templates to recording permissions, updating opt-outs, choosing a provider and testing campaigns.

Required outcome: clear service messages, advertising that starts only with an appropriate basis and permission, updated IYS records, and an easy, free opt-out route that works across every sending tool.

Organize order and marketing messages before launching campaigns.

Classify messages by their content

Write down each template's purpose before connecting it to automation. Purchase confirmation, a tracking number, a necessary address-correction request and an invoice are examples of transaction-related communications or information duties. Discount advertising, a collection launch, a new-product recommendation and an occasion message promoting store awareness serve marketing purposes. A service-message subject line does not turn advertising into a necessary notification.

Do not classify a message by the sending software's name or the department that wrote it. Read the text, image, button and link destination. If you want to add a coupon to an invoice email, discuss classification before sending; separating notifications and campaigns is clearer for both staff and customers. Create a template list with a designated approver and prevent advertising from being added to service templates without renewed review.

Create a message and exemption matrix

A purchase or delivery notification confined to the transaction does not require advance marketing permission in the same way as advertising, subject to the exemption's conditions. Its content must remain within that purpose. Certain cases, such as messages addressed to merchants or tradespeople, have specific provisions; these do not mean every company address may enter advertising software without registration, verification or respect for opt-outs.

Record why an exemption applies to the particular template and customer, retaining the order reference that prompted the notification. Do not test the exemption with a general message to everyone who bought during the year. An abandoned-cart reminder may invite a new purchase; examine its purpose, how the address was collected, the basis and permission before enabling it. Calling an automation 'order recovery' does not automatically exempt it.

Template	Practical classification	Operating control
Your order has been received	Purchase notification	Order information without promotion
Here is your invoice	Transaction-related communication	Correct document and suitable channel
Your order has shipped	Delivery notification	Tracking number for a specific order
Discount on the new collection	Marketing	Appropriate permission, scope and records
You have items in your cart	Requires assessment	Do not assume an exemption without checking

Collect permission clearly and voluntarily

Offer the marketing choice separately from order completion, explaining the business that will send messages, communication types and relevant channels. Do not use a preselected checkbox or stop a purchase that can be completed without this optional processing because no choice was made. You must be able to show what the person agreed to and when, rather than merely a 'yes' value in an imported list.

Do not buy an address list and treat the purchase receipt as evidence of permission from its members. Likewise, do not use unauthorized promotional messages merely to ask for consent; obtaining permission has its own rules. Collect it through a suitable interface where customers choose voluntarily, or through the approved IYS process, then record the result. If the store serves Arabs and Turks, review both versions so that they convey the same meaning, sender and scope.

Separate OTP from campaign permission

A customer may receive a code to verify a telephone number, recover an account or complete a procedure, and should not discover an advertising subscription after entering it. The KVKK decision on this practice requires explaining the code's purpose and consequences and separating the different consent actions. Account membership, the contract, privacy notice, data processing and message permission are not one action to be passed through a confirmation button.

Review what store and support employees say when requesting the code. If an employee says it is needed to send an invoice, the system behind that process must not create campaign permission. Explain that optional marketing can be declined and the choice changed later. During testing, enter the code while declining marketing, then verify that the intended procedure succeeds and no permission is recorded for the campaign; interface success alone is insufficient.

Action	What does it establish?	What it does not automatically imply
Telephone verification code	Verification for its stated purpose	Permission for promotional SMS
Account creation	Membership under its conditions	Permission for all brands and channels
Reading the privacy notice	Availability of processing information	Blanket consent for every use
Marketing choice	The specified scope of permission	Exemption from KVKK or IYS registration

Order-preparation notifications should serve the transaction without concealed advertising.

Configure the business account, brands and channels

Register the service provider and brands communicating with the public through the required official process, matching the authorized representative's details to the business. Separate the brand identifier from the trading name that may change on the website, and ensure marketing staff know which account to use. Permission for a specific business and scope should not be transferred arbitrarily to another store simply because ownership is shared.

Maintain channel-specific records rather than one shared 'contactable' field. Email permission does not imply SMS or call permission, and a channel opt-out must not be interpreted against the scope of the person's request. If customers request that all messages stop, implement that request across the relevant tools. Before adding a new audience to a campaign, discuss with a specialist any agency, distributor or brand relationship and whether its provisions affect the scope.

Keep permission evidence and record it in IYS

Store records should retain the contact address, channel type, sender, wording, version, choice time and collection method. Approvals and opt-outs collected outside IYS must then be recorded in the system within three business days under the current rule. A confirmation message or local CSV file does not replace required registration, and an import should not be considered successful without traceable confirmation.

Assign daily follow-up for events awaiting registration or failing it. Monitor mismatched numbers, duplicate email addresses and customer address changes, connecting each update to the correct person and channel. Retain evidence needed for checks and official requests for the applicable periods, controlling access and retention by record type. Evidence should explain why a message was sent when asked, rather than collect more personal documents than necessary.

Implement opt-outs across every sending program

Commercial messages must provide an easy, free, channel-appropriate opt-out, identifying the sender and an accessible contact method. Do not require a new account, a paid call or a reason for leaving. Test the link or SMS mechanism in an actual message sent to a test account, and ensure the opt-out reaches a central record.

Commercial messages to the recipient must stop within three business days of the opt-out, and IYS opt-out information must be updated within the required deadlines. Make internal implementation faster where possible, especially with campaigns queued. Deleting a name from one list does not stop welcome automation, reminders or a second provider. Retain what is necessary to prevent accidental re-entry without continuing to use data for a campaign its owner has rejected.

Opt-out event	Action	Completion evidence
Email unsubscribe link	Update the channel and suppression list	Request time and status
SMS opt-out	Stop the relevant campaigns	Sending-provider log
Opt-out through IYS	Synchronize status across tools	Last verification date
Request to stop all channels	Update the requested scope	Clear confirmation to the customer
Integration error	Prevent risky sending and investigate	Ticket and documented correction

Do not handle an opt-out by immediately deleting the entire customer record. Use a procedure that stops marketing while retaining records supported by a separate lawful basis and legal need.

Choose integration and sending suppliers by their roles

One supplier may send messages while another manages permission and opt-out registration in IYS, or one company may provide both services. Specify each service's role in the quotation and contract. Providers of integration services within the regulated scope need the required Ministry of Trade authorization; verify their legal name, current status and scope rather than relying on an 'IYS compliant' claim in software advertising.

Request explanations of synchronization speed, opt-out handling, import failures, evidence exports and leaving the service. Ask about data security, processing locations, subprocessors and permissions, and assess international transfers under KVKK where applicable. Hiring a supplier does not automatically transfer every store responsibility to it. Specify who sees alerts, stops campaigns and reviews corrections so that incidents do not disappear between two teams.

A delivery notification relates to the progress of a particular customer order.

Review the campaign template before selecting the audience

Make the advertising nature clear, identify the sender and provide contact information. When offering a discount or gift, explain its conditions and easy access to details, matching the website's price, duration and stock to the message. 'Free' is inappropriate where checkout reveals a basic charge concealed from the reader. An obscure shortened link can undermine trust even when valid.

Use accurate language suited to the customer and avoid excessive repetition merely because permission exists. Set timing and frequency that reflect the person's expectations and what you explained. Check links on phones and ensure unsubscribe messages or automated replies do not add new advertisements. Retain the version actually sent, rather than a later version modified by the designer after the campaign.

⁦⁩ Test a synthetic audience before general sending

Create test records representing email-only permission, SMS-only permission, a recent opt-out, unregistered permission and an unknown channel. Use team-owned test data rather than importing a real audience for this purpose. Test audience selection, synchronization, opt-outs and templates, withholding general sending until every difference from the expected result is understood.

Also test reimporting an old file: it must not reinstate permission withdrawn after the file was created. The following operational example contains five different records that should not all enter one campaign. Success means respecting each channel's status, rather than maximizing the number of sendable contacts. Retain the test result and configuration, and repeat the test when an extension, provider or permission-collection interface changes.

Hypothetical record	Email campaign	SMS campaign
Valid email permission only	Check, then allow within scope	Do not assume permission
Valid SMS permission only	Do not assume permission	Check, then allow within scope
Updated opt-out	Respect the opt-out	Respect the recorded scope
Permission registration incomplete	Complete the record before campaigning	Complete the record before campaigning
Unknown status	Do not send based on guesswork	Do not send based on guesswork

⁦⁩ Monitor complaints without penalizing people who leave

Include successful messages, failures, opt-outs, complaints and unsynchronized registrations in campaign reports. Compare results by audience type, template and permission source. Higher opt-outs may indicate excessive frequency, unexplained expectations or an improperly collected audience. Do not try to solve the problem by changing sender names to bypass the person's decision.

When a customer reports a message received after opting out, investigate the time, channel, provider, update and queued campaign. Stop the cause, provide a specific answer and document the correction. Do not request a complete identity-document image merely to remove an email address from a campaign if proportionate verification is sufficient. The operator must be able to stop campaigns quickly and have a substitute when absent; opt-outs are a daily operational issue rather than a month-end task.

⁦⁩ FAQs and review checklist

Review service messages and campaigns together because they may use the same tools. Test a customer who declines marketing and later buys again: necessary order information should arrive without the purchase reactivating rejected advertising. This simple test reveals errors that a review of consent records alone may miss.

Does a telephone number supplied for shipping permit advertising SMS?
It does not automatically establish advertising permission. Separate delivery and marketing purposes and verify permission, registration and scope.

Does opting out of marketing prevent invoice or tracking messages?
Necessary transaction notifications are assessed under their exemptions and must remain service communications without promotional content changing their purpose.

Can I rely solely on a permission list in email software?
The list does not replace applicable IYS registration and updating duties. Synchronization and respect for opt-outs are essential.

I classified service and advertising templates by content.

I separated OTP, membership, privacy notices and marketing permission.

I matched the business, brand, channels and permission records.

I verified registration, updates and three-business-day deadlines.

I tested opt-outs across tools, lists and automation.

I reviewed the supplier, template and audience before each campaign.