THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY
BY DAVID STEIN, AUTOMATIC ON LINE SYSTEM
A couple of weeks ago, my friend’s wife, I’ll call her Diane, got a call from a credit card company offering a non-introductory, fixed rate of 5.9% on purchases. Diane wanted the card, of course who wouldn’t? and so, in addition to answering the questions on the application, she agreed to take "a short survey" that would, according to the telemarketer, "help the company serve its customers better." Most of these questions had to do with how she used the credit cards she already had: Did she buy online? Did she usually pay her monthly balance in full? Could she estimate, on average, how much of a balance she carried when she didn’t pay in full?
Given the rate she was getting, Diane told me, she was perfectly willing to answer. Besides, they seemed reasonable enough questions for a credit card company to ask. Then the telemarketer asked a question that Diane didn’t want to answer: "How much did you contribute to your 401k last year?"
"I don’t want to answer that," Diane said.
"I can understand that, Ma’am," the telemarketer replied, and Diane said he sounded like he was following to the letter whatever script he’d been given to read, "but would you mind telling me why?"
"Because," she answered, "I don’t want to tell you."
"As I said, Ma’am, that’s perfectly understandable. We’d just like to know why.""Because I don’t want to." Diane told me she said these words sharply enough that the guy should’ve gotten the message he was pushing too hard.
"That’s not an explanation, Ma’am," the telemarketer said, his voice–according to Diane–oozing politeness, "So if I may, I’m going to ask you again: How much did you contribute to your 401k last year?"
Me? I’d have hung up already, even if it meant not getting the card. I really don’t like salespeople who can’t take a hint. But Diane chose to repeat herself yet one more time, "I don’t want to tell you."
"Yes, Ma’am, I understand. You’ve told me that already, but could you at least let me know if it was more than a thousand dollars?"
Taken off guard, Diane answered, "Yes."
"Thank you Ma’am, and thank you for applying for the _______ Card." Click.
Immediately after she hung up, Diane said, she regretted letting the guy get the better of her and, she told me that as soon as she got an offer even close to what this company gave her, even if the APR were a point or two higher, she’d cancel her account and switch to the new company. Such negative feelings seem a high price to pay for the answer to a single question. Indeed, the way I read the story, the credit card company not only sacrificed Diane’s loyalty; they’ve also earned my skepticism, the skepticism of her husband, and that of anyone else who hears the story, which, if I’d chosen to reveal the company’s name, would likely include many of you reading this article.
There is of course no way of knowing if the telemarketer who called Diane was simply overzealous or if he was indeed reading from a script, but either way he did something that violates a fundamental tenet of relationship marketing: He failed to respect the privacy of the person he was dealing with. If you do business online–whether you use your web site for e-commerce or simply to gather customer and prospect Information–respecting and protecting the privacy of the people who visit your site needs to be one of your first priorities. There are at least two compelling reasons why:
*As cited in Home Office Computing, a recent poll by Jupiter Communications found that only about one-third of e-commerce transactions end in a sale. Why? Most shoppers are uncomfortable revealing so much personal information online. The more you do to assure them their information is protected, the more willing they are likely to buy.
*Till now, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken the position that self-regulation is the way to go when it comes to online privacy. However, in its recent report, "Self-Regulation and Privacy Online," the Commission also points out that the majority of companies on the web have yet to implement all four of its "fair information practice principles" and suggests that if things don’t improve legislation will become necessary. If
the federal government becomes involved, you can be sure that doing business online will become a whole lot more complicated, and expensive, than it is today. (You can read the full text of the report at http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/9907/index.htm#13<. You’ll need the Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
To assure the people who visit your site that you will respect and protect their privacy, all you need to do is post a privacy policy and then stick to it. If you need help setting your policy up, visit http://www.truste.org,
and click on their privacy policy wizard. You’ll need to fine tune the policy it writes for you to fit the unique characteristics of your site, but the text that the wizard produces is a very good start. Then post the policy prominently on your home page. It’ll go a long way towards building the kind of trust that keeps customers, old and new, coming back for more.
David Stein is president of Automatic On-Line System, a full service web design, marketing and maintenance company. He can be reached at (718) 361-3091 or by e-mail at internetdoctor@autoonline.net.