New DMA Report Finds Online Marketers Responding To Consumer Privacy Issues
NEW YORK, March 21, 2002 – A new report from the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) found that the vast majority of online marketers are acting on consumer privacy concerns by sending targeted e-mail communications and offering consumers the ability to opt-out of e-mail marketing solicitations.
According to The DMA’s State of the E-Commerce Industry Report 2001-2002, nearly all respondents (96 percent) indicated they provide their customers the ability to opt-out of future e-mail offers. When prospecting, most respondents (60 percent) indicate they do not rent third party e-mail lists or send non-targeted e-mail to prospects (74 percent).
"An e-mail campaign with the proper privacy and permission etiquette will drive traffic to a store or Web site, add to a company’s bottom line, and increase goodwill among customers," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. "The continued growth of electronic commerce depends on consumer trust. It is imperative that e-mail marketers take action by placing greater emphasis on privacy and help build consumer confidence and loyalty."
The report also revealed that:
- The majority of Web marketers maintain an in-house e-mail list. The likelihood of having an in-house e-mail list increases with the size of company. However, small companies have more complete e-mail addresses in their housefiles (65.5 percent) than medium (44.9 percent) or large companies (46.9 percent).
- Business-to-business (B-to-B) marketers have a higher percent of e-mail addresses and in house e-mail lists (a mean of 63.8 percent compared to only 37.8 percent for consumer marketers). Across the board, at least nine in 10 companies do not rent their housefiles with e-mail addresses.
- Sixty-four percent of respondents reported they clean their e-mail lists anywhere from several times a month to 1-3 months, and 65 percent clean their postal mailing lists with the same frequency.
- B-to-B marketers are more likely to clean their e-mail files several times a month (38 percent compared to 20 percent of marketers whose Web sites are targeted at consumers).
- Small companies clean their e-mail lists more often (58 percent clean their lists several times a month or on a monthly basis). Fifty-three percent of large companies indicated they clean their in house lists several times a month or on a monthly basis.
To build trust with customers and prospective customers, The DMA’s recently released Online Marketing Guidelines state that marketers who send solicitations online should disclose the marketer’s identity, and that the subject line should be clear, honest, and not misleading. A marketer should also provide specific contact information at which the individual can opt out of in-house lists or restrict transfer of their information to other marketers.
Responsible marketers must also provide information on how consumers can obtain service or information. Importantly, the marketer’s street address should be made available in the e-mail solicitiation or by a link to the marketer’s Web site. In addition, marketers should "scrub" their e-mail lists using The DMA’s e-Mail Preference Service (e-MPS) suppression file.
The DMA’s State of the E-Commerce Industry Report 2001-2002 was conducted by The DMA in cooperation with the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM) during the fourth quarter of 2001. The report provides a realistic outlook on how economic changes have affected the interactive playing field, and previews some of the challenges that may lie ahead. Nearly 700 companies involved in direct and interactive marketing contributed to the report.
The full report, available in April, is priced at $495 for DMA members ($995 for non-members). It can now be ordered through The DMA Book Distribution Center by calling 301.604.0187 or visiting The DMA’s Web site at www.the-dma.org/bookstore/cgi/bookstore.
The DMA’s Online Information Guidelines can be viewed at:
http://www.the-dma.org/library/guidelines/onlineguidelines.shtml
The DMA’s Online Commercial Solicitations Guidelines can be viewed at:
http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/dispannouncements?article=158
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.86 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is
www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.Media Contact: Christina Duffney
212.790.1532
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