- The Direct Marketing Association released new guidelines
that officially endorse a controversial practice that allows businesses
to track down customers' e-mail addresses without explicitly asking for
them.
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- The guidelines cover "e-mail appending," or
"e-pending," whereby companies append e-mail addresses to conventional
customer records. The addresses are often purchased from third-party data-collection
agencies and matched to other information, like purchase records.
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- Companies argue that since the customers established
a relationship with them through purchases, they have a right to build
on that relationship by marketing to them through e-mail. But critics say
the practice is akin to tracking down a customer's phone number and address
after a single purchase -- a justification that would rile most people.
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- Proponents, however, argue that the practice is beneficial
to businesses and consumers, because it makes it easier and cheaper for
companies to keep their customers informed about current purchases and
future deals.
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- Members of the DMA reiterated that argument last week
and defended the guidelines as a sign that its member companies are taking
steps to increase consumer privacy and reduce spam.
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- "We know that consumers feel strongly about online
relationships," said Patricia Kachura, vice president of ethics and
consumer affairs for the DMA. "We are very concerned about marketers
who try to e-mail consumers in a way that causes those consumers to lose
control of how they are contacted."
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- Kachura said the DMA decided to issue guidelines for
e-mail appending after learning that some DMA member companies had been
trying to guess customers' e-mail addresses. This puts many customers at
risk of having sensitive information e-mailed to strangers with similar
names.
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- Although the DMA's new guidelines don't explicitly prohibit
guessing, they do require that DMA member companies make "reasonable
efforts" to ensure the accuracy of the e-mail addresses that they
append to their existing customer records.
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- This assurance is likely to come from third parties that
sell lists of addresses to companies and that maintain records on how they
obtained those addresses, said Kachura.
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- Additionally, members must ensure that when the addresses
are first gathered, the customers are "provided notice and choice"
about receiving e-mail offers and that they did not opt out.
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- The DMA believes rules like these -- along with the threat
of ejection from the organization for any member that doesn't follow them
-- will lay to rest some of the issues surrounding e-mail appending. But
some antispam activists say they are not satisfied.
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- "As a general rule, 'e-mail append' has a reliability
problem," said Richard Welty, founder of spamvertized.org, a site
that tracks how politicians use e-mail marketing. "There could be
cases where banks do an e-pending run and get customer addresses that they
think are right, but aren't. Then they'd be sending out confidential information
to the wrong person."
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- Welty noted that the question of reliability was made
worse by the fact that some third parties that offer e-mail-appending services
simply harvest e-mail addresses off the Web and then claim to have legitimate
lists.
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- The DMA's Kachura acknowledged that this happens, but
noted that companies could still be successful at e-mail appending if they
seek out reputable list sellers.
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- As for why companies don't simply gather e-mail addresses
directly from their customers by sending them postcards in the mail, Kachura
noted the response rates for such campaigns tended to be quite low.
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- "Of course, it's a best practice to send a postcard
when you want more information, but people tend not to be active about
sending them back," said Kachura. "You get a small percentage
responding.
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- "What we're hearing from members is that they're
very successful in establishing relationships (using e-mail appending),"
added Kachura. "It's very exciting for the customers."
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- That may be the case for some customers, but it doesn't
happen every day, cautions Marcel Neinhuis, a senior analyst at the Radicati
Group, a research firm specializing in e-mail communications.
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- "E-mail communication between customers and businesses
can be a great experience for both parties, but these relationships are
rare," said Neinhuis.
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- Neinhuis said the DMA guidelines are "too loose"
and noted that it would be better for companies to let consumers initiate
e-mail correspondence.
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- "In consumers' fight against spam and unwanted e-mail,
this is a step in the wrong direction, because it is based on opt-out marketing,"
he said. "The correct way for businesses to approach consumers with
e-mail correspondence is to ask consumers if they would like to opt in
to a mailing list."
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- That is unlikely to happen, though, because many marketers
think opt-in regulations are too restrictive.
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