What is the difference between an informational call and a marketing call?

An informational call services a relationship you already have: it reminds, confirms, or follows up on business the customer already agreed to. A marketing call tries to start new business: it pitches, upsells, or prospects. The law treats the two very differently, and so does Coastline.

Informational (what Current does today):

• Appointment reminders and confirmations for jobs already on the calendar
• Post-job follow-ups to check that the work went well
• Invoice reminders for work you already performed
• Answering your inbound business line and taking messages, booking appointments, or transferring to a teammate

Marketing (not supported in this release):

• Cold calls to purchased lists or people with no relationship to your business
• Promotions, seasonal offers, or upsell pitches, even to existing customers
• Win-back campaigns to lapsed customers

Why the line matters: marketing calls made with an automated or artificial voice require prior express written consent under the TCPA, plus Do Not Call registry scrubbing and other machinery. Informational calls to your own customers rest on the consent that comes with the business relationship. The penalties for getting marketing calls wrong are steep (statutory damages per call), so Coastline deliberately ships informational calling first and will add marketing outbound only once the compliance tooling to do it safely exists.

Practical rule of thumb: if the customer would say "yes, I was expecting to hear from them about that," it is informational. If the honest purpose of the call is to sell something, it is marketing, and Current will not place it.

For more depth, see marketing call vs servicing call, our overview of the TCPA, and do you need customer consent to call or text.

This article is general information, not legal advice.