Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction to The Privacy Preference Service?
1.1 What is The Privacy Preference Service?
The service as it currently stands is designed to be a Proof of Concept/ Demonstration of how we believe direct marketing must evolve if it is to work for both the customer and the supplier.
1.2 Who is behind it?
The service has been developed by The Customer's Voice, TCV UK Ltd, London, UK. We are active members of the Buyer Centric Commerce Forum and participants in Project VRM.
1.3 How do I use the service in practice, what bits work and which don't.
In order to fully utilise the service, please see the user guide which goes into more detail on the logic behind the Privacy Preference Service and the workings of the proof of concept.
1.4 Why are you doing it?
As we suggest above, we believe that direct marketing/ CRM as it is currently practiced is failing. The problem is that organisations want to sell 'stuff', and so need to get their selling messages out. But who they send them to is based on guess-work; that is to say they will use whatever information they can to identify a potential customer and send them offers. This process is very wasteful as the guess-work is rarely well informed. We believe that the only way around this guess-work and wastage is for the individual to improve the flow of information on what they wish to buy - making that available to the people they want proposals or offers from, in exchange for taking them out of the guess-work pile.
1.5 Isn't what you are doing just the same as all the other 'preference' services'?
In process terms our suppression file works the same as the others, i.e. it is matched versus the proposed 'communications file' and where a match is found that record is not communicated with. But our file differs in a number of key ways:
- it is 'multi-channel' (i.e. it covers e-mail, mail, land line phone, SMS, mobile phone, VOIP and un-addressed post), so you don't have to go to lots of places to register
- it works on the 'opt in' as a default principle rather than opt out, i.e. when fully deployed you only get marketing messages that you want to get.
- it recognises that you may have different communications preferences across different roles in your life
1.6 How do you make money from this?
We don't - the system as it stands is simply a demonstration of the way in which we believe direct marketing should and will evolve, and how this will interact with individuals taking a more active role in managing their communications preferences.
1.7 What are your plans for the service?
We will continue to host the service as a demonstration for the foreseeable future. In parallel we use the same technology to run client specific opt-in communications programmes, for example programmes to help retain some form of marketing access to customers who have 'opted out'.
1.8 How Do I Contact The Privacy Preference Service?
For more information please contact the Privacy Preference Service.