Gryphon Insight

How to Meet Consumer Expectations-Part 2

  

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By Melissa Bateman

As my colleague wrote in Part 1, setting and meeting consumer expectation is paramount for any business and it also imperative to avoid marketing privacy investigations and violations.  Once you have set a consumer’s expectation you have created a binding contract and failure to adhere to that promise may result in what the Federal Trade Commission classifies as an unfair and deceptive trade act.  If the promise or preference you have collected is related to outbound marketing and contact governance, you may also be subject to significant state and federal marketing fines, as high as $25,000 per violation in the US and soon to be as high as C$10,000,000 in Canada!

Any business that conducts outbound marketing through any marketing channel should take stock of all their marketing data collection points, such as preference center websites, business reply cards, retail locations, call centers, and social media networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.  Has your data collection point clearly disclosed the purpose for which the data is being collected?  Are your disclosures and privacy policies in clear, plain language that any consumer can easily digest?  What types of promises have you made?  Is it clear who is collecting the data?  Will the consumer’s data be shared among affiliated companies or third parties?

Once you have completed your audit of how you collect marketing data, you must then determine if your marketing and sales policies are properly adhering to the consumer’s expectation set when they provided their data.   Are you deceiving consumers by collecting their data for one purpose and using it for another?  It is important to note that whether you have or have not met a consumer’s expectation is not based on the “reasonable consumer” standard but any consumer meaning the burden is on the marketer to defend himself against any investigation or violation.  Not adhering to consumer expectation is not only bad business it is against federal and state law.  Every business engaging in outbound sales and marketing should consider conducting a thorough audit of all of its privacy policies and data collection points to ensure what guarantees have you made and whether or not your business is making good on those promises.  To learn more about Gryphon’s Privacy Consulting offerings, please visit our webpage by clicking HERE.