What’s the difference between B2B and B2C cold outreach rules?

You're planning cold email campaigns to both businesses and consumers, and you just realized the legal rules aren't the same. That's the right instinct. The differences are real and ignoring them can get you fined.

B2C is locked down tight. GDPR requires consent before you can market to individual consumers in the EU. Most of the world follows a similar "opt-in" rule for consumers. CAN-SPAM in the US allows unsolicited commercial email but forces you to include opt-out mechanisms. Canada's CASL is stricter still. The bottom line: you need permission, and consumers hold the power.

B2B has more breathing room. In the UK, sending unsolicited email to corporate email addresses (info@company.com) is generally allowed under PECR. The EU's ePrivacy Directive lets member states permit B2B marketing without prior consent, though it varies by country. Germany's stricter. Other countries are more permissive. The trick is that corporate addresses are treated differently from named individual work emails.

The address distinction matters. A generic corporate inbox (info@company.com, sales@company.com) is fair game under some B2B rules. A named person at a company (jane@company.com) sits in a gray area that depends on your jurisdiction and whether the message relates to their professional duties. If you're unsure, treat named individual addresses like consumer emails.

This isn't legal advice. Compliance law is genuinely jurisdiction-specific, and misunderstanding can cost you. Your best move is to consult qualified legal counsel for your specific regions and use cases before launching any campaign. They'll tell you exactly what's permitted where you operate.

Next step. Map out which regions you're targeting and what your actual audience is (corporate departments, named individuals, consumers). Then work with a lawyer on your specific outreach strategy.