Articles

Marketing Matters or Safety Concerns

Jana M. Kemp

Do you know what happens to that marketing survey information you filled out? And, do your kids know what happens to the information they provide in online chat-room accounts? Companies would have us think that we’re simply providing information for their internal use and for future product development.

While that may have been true 50 years ago, the times have changed. What typically happens now is that gathered information – even from our credit card purchases – gets collected into information databases that then becomes part of a list of “potential buyers” or list of “homeowners” or list of “kids with buying power.” And these lists get sold over and over. There is big money in lists.

There is also potential danger in being on these lists. Why? For starters, every piece of information you provide about yourself gives someone an opportunity to approach you, to pitch something to you, or to keep coming back to you for more information and ultimately for your money or your home. Don’t give away personal information to complete strangers.

Next, when your children are giving information away, particularly on websites and in chat-rooms, your children are at risk, your family as a whole is at risk, and you as adults are at risk. For instance, several sites aimed at teens and pre-teens have been brought to my attention. These sites ask for and collect the following information: name, address, date of birth, and sometimes even phone numbers. These sites allow for text messages, posting of photos, and of music and video clips. When your child provides any or all of this information, the whole world now has access to who you are and where you live. And with a brief zip-code look-up someone can determine about how much money you make. Letting your child have a computer to use is like plunking that child down alone in a city that neither of you have ever been in. So beware.

And please, let your kids know that filling out questionnaires or surveys, and participating in chat-room conversations is like putting up posters in every school, grocery, movie theater, library, and restaurant in town. Do they really want to do that? And – do you really want them doing that?

Action Items: Review your organization’s marketing practices. Are you protecting information and respecting people’s privacy? If not, create a multi-discipline team to establish clear policies for your ongoing work. And, create and discuss your home-rules about filling out surveys, answering phone questionnaires, and providing information online.

Reprint Permission: The author is willing to grant reprint permissions. Please contact Jana Kemp: jana@janakemp.com or call 208-367-1701.