For decades, marketers have relied on consumers’ personal information in order to send targeted offers to the right individuals. For nearly as long, there has been some consumer concern about the use of this information. 

With the advent of the Internet as a marketing tool, non-public personal information was exchanged with affiliates and third parties with remarkable speed. As a result, privacy concerns multiplied at an unprecedented rate. The issue quickly gained the attention of state and federal lawmakers who promulgated an array of complex laws to regulate the use and handling of consumer data. Many marketers were left scratching their heads, concerned about the implications of the new rules. 

Privacy laws continue to evolve. This paper covers the major issues marketers face, but it cannot cover every privacy challenge you may encounter and is not intended as a substitute for legal advice.

The Two Sides of the Privacy Coin

Marketers need to begin to look at both sides of the privacy coin. From a legal perspective, you must, at a minimum, be in compliance with state and federal laws regulating the manner in which you handle consumers’ non-public personal information. But when you take a look at privacy from the corporate perspective, the view is much different.  In this regard, the approach should be to take advantage of the opportunity privacy concerns have created. This a chance to earn consumer trust and gain their confidence in doing business with you.

Consider the value proposition of privacy. If you do it right, you’re likely to gain consumer trust, increased opt-in requests, greater customer loyalty and more knowledge about consumers and customers willing to share personal information. But if you handle privacy poorly, you’ll lose customers to competitors with better practices, subject yourself and your business to the legal consequences of privacy violations, and you’ll expose your business and shareholders to negative publicity and declining profits.

But to get it right, you’ve got to know the rules of the game.