How to track consent progression from outreach to marketing?

Consent tracking requires systematic documentation of how relationships progress.

CRM fields to maintain:

Lead source: How they entered your database (cold list, inbound, referral)

Consent status: Current permission level

Consent date: When permission was given

Consent source: How consent was obtained (form, verbal, email reply)

Suppression status: Any opt-outs or restrictions

Consent progression stages:

Cold contact: No consent, outreach only

Engaged prospect: Responded to outreach, still cold context

Consented prospect: Explicit marketing permission given

Customer: Transactional relationship, consent may differ by type

Documentation practices:

Log consent events with timestamps

Preserve the consent request and response

Track channel where consent was given

Note any specific preferences expressed

Audit capabilities:

Ability to pull consent history for any contact

Reports on consent sources and dates

Evidence for regulatory inquiries

Verification of suppression enforcement

Clean consent tracking protects both the relationship and the organization.