Holiday privacy: You'd better watch out

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The myth of B2C customer relationships

I have heard many of my colleagues on the marketing side of business talk about these magic relationships. Relationships that mean basically, let's get all the demographic and personal data we can on our customer, including CC numbers, so that we can sell the data and charge for goods or services easier. Customer service improvements were never part of the conversation. When I asked what if the customer does not want you to auto-magically bill his or her credit without their consent the answer I got was appalling. The answer was, well, they can always reject the sale. This helped me understand the whole opt-in vs. opt-out issue. Marketeers know that most of us will not opt-in so they view opt-out as a positive business tactic. The funny part is that none of these folks would allow you or I to charge their credit card without their explicit permission. I do not want a personal relationship with my "consumer" purchases vendors, on-line or off-line. Most recommendations I have seen on various sites like Amazon, Target etc have absolutely no relationship to what I read or listen to or want. The answer is not more data, the answer is allowing consumer choice. I no longer shop at Amazon because I hate their marketing to me. They turn me off totally, ever see the "Gold Box" just for you on their site. A box of garbage is the reality of that situation. Marketers are showing a tremendous amount of disrespect to consumers. SPAM is just the tip of the iceberg. How many times have you recieved SPAM allegedly because you did business with a business partner of the SPAMMER? And of course, no one can tell you where they got your address or what partner was the one who violated your trust. That is the real problem. The CANSPAM legislation is a joke unless they make it opt-in rather than opt-out. Even then, it is unlikely to reduce SPAM. This year, for the first time since 1996, I am shopping brick and mortar more than on-line. Why? Because I am sick of having SPAM and useless marketing coming at me for products I do NOT want, need nor asked for information on. A pox on all their houses!

Posted by: Sunny Jalolly   Posted on: 12/11/03 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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