Marketing Magazine, February 10, 2003 Privacy Legislation Will Deliver for E-marketers Carolyn Gardner With spammers zapped, e-marketers will reap the benefits For anyone who has been following the saga around Ontario's Draft Privacy of Personal Information Act, it's been a fast ride with many twists and turns. Originally the focus on privacy laws emerged to meet the urgent need to protect personal health information; something most of us support. But then the conversation started to include a separate section within these same new laws, a new section that would address regulations related to marketing, specifically the use of personal information for commercial e-mails. I'm not really into analysing legislation and I suspect you're not either. So let's simplify the whole debate about privacy laws in e-mail marketing and agree it all relates back to "permission." Should marketers only be able to market to consumers who have expressed consent (opted-in) to do so, or is the inclusion of an unsubscribe (opt-out) option sufficient? Some marketers are concerned that proposed privacy laws could limit their ability to reach customers. But one area bound to benefit from new legislation is the emerging field of permission-based e-marketing, which is quickly being adopted by companies in the mounting worldwide battle against spam. As a result, I firmly believe that privacy legislation will bring more credibility to e-mail and e-marketing, and greater impact in terms of overall return on investment on these sorts of campaigns and programs. Imagine a world where all marketers were ethical, all marketing strategies were legitimate and every piece of communication was targeted, personalized, timely and relevant. Wouldn't that be amazing? Consumers would log in to their e-mail and know, without a doubt, that every message in their inbox was something they couldn't wait to open, read and act upon. There would be a level of respect, so it wouldn't matter whether they had given the sender permission to market to them or not. This scenario is not yet a reality. Any new legislation that regulates the usage of permission-based lists in marketing will help to clearly differentiate legitimate marketers from abusive spammers. There's a dark side of marketing where unsolicited e-mails are constantly being blasted by the billions to innocent consumers. In fact, according to Marketing Sherpa, spam now accounts for about 34% of all e-mail, and the number continues to grow each month. Spammers follow the motto of "spray and pray," a simple and fast strategy that takes a one-size-fits-all approach. And once it hits the consumers' inboxes, hey-it might just be a fit! But more likely than not, the message is quickly deleted or, even worse, consumers try to opt-out of this junk and just can't get off the list. While most marketers are trying to make the inbox a safe and happy place, what most concerns me is that unless spam is stopped, the power and potential of this medium will be diluted and at risk. The fact that many legitimate e-mails are falsely identified as spam and getting turfed into cyberspace further reinforces the need for legislation to control this menace. The argument for permission-based lists extends into customer relationships. Permission-based e-mails are an easy way to build and keep customer relationships alive. When someone opts-in to receiving your messages, the message is pretty simple: They have a sincere interest in your business. Plus, when consumers give permission and you follow up by delivering content relevant to their needs and interests, the results can be staggering. Instead of hitting one million people, you might get the same results or better from 1,000 people. So if your target group is C-level executives, target only C-level executives. Sure, there might be a select few compared to other occupational selects, but stay true to your objectives. Even though you know that many executive assistants can influence C-Level executives, don't make them part of this exact message. Instead, consider a second campaign targeted specifically to executive assistants. This message would be a variation of the above, but with a slightly different text. There's ample proof that this targeted approach works. New York-based Jupiter Communications estimates that while paper-based campaigns can receive only a 1% to 2% response rate, e-mail campaigns can receive a response rate of between 5% and 15%. While traditional direct mail typically costs between $1 and $2 per piece, e-mail campaigns can cost as little as pennies per piece, even for the smallest campaigns. The bottom line is that by segmenting like this, you take a quality-versus-quantity approach that will help you, as a marketing professional, set realistic goals based on realistic numbers. By effectively differentiating your message, you will meet the needs of your targets and get encouraging results starting with your first campaign. Many businesses already only target marketing outreach programs to those who have specifically requested information. When treated properly, with permission-based tactics, e-marketing is an attractive medium during these lean economic times, as it's personal, targeted, measurable, cost-effective and capable of getting fast results with very little lead time. Privacy legislation that supports permission-based e-mail will help differentiate legitimate marketers from spammers, ultimately building credibility and improving the public's perception of legitimate marketers. As well, by targeting appropriate audiences and providing them with the information they need, permission-based strategies will help to strengthen customer relationships. And that leads to a positive impact on sales, and most importantly, the bottom line. CAROLYN GARDNER is president of cardcommunications, an e-marketing outsource solutions company based in Ottawa.