There is a category of direct marketing vendors I’d love to see put out of business.
These are the folks that sell pre-packaged CDs of e-mail addresses. Leave aside whether the promise of the CDs – 15 million addresses for $69.96! – is legitimate. Even if only one third of the names are valid, that may be enough to make a purchase worth a marketer’s while.
Every off-the-shelf package of e-mail names is an invitation to spam. Unlike marketers that go through legitimate e-mail list brokers, those that use out-of-the-box names are under no obligation to offer valid opt-out mechanisms, or limit the number of solicitations they make.
Advocating a ban on this easy entry to spamming would be a very visible step for the direct marketing community to take. If the Direct Marketing Association and the rest of the industry won’t propose the laws that ban these disks, another sponsor’s more-stringent legislation is very likely.
There are also ground-level tactics individuals can use. If a local computer or office supply store sells these CD-ROMs, stop patronizing them – and let both the store’s management and corporate headquarters know why.
There will be those reluctant to end a relationship with a store that sells these disks if that store also offers low prices on desired goods. But marketers should consider how much more they’ll spend for prospecting when e-mail gets completely shut off as an outlet.
Will these actions limit spam that originates offshore? Likely not. But this is not a question of law enforcement: It’s a question of perception. It would be a very dramatic – and very public – way of demonstrating to consumers that the industry acknowledges the problem of spam. And that acknowledgement has been lacking. Consumers don’t see the quiet efforts the industry makes. It’s time to get loud.
It will even help legitimate e-mail marketers. I know they’re being hurt – I spend a chunk of time every morning deleting marketing e-mail and, quite likely, press releases.
When I’m on a deleting roll, even the messages from vendors I’ve done business with get knocked out. If you’re reading this, some of your messages were probably among them.
To comment on the opinions in this editorial, please contact mailto:rlevey@primediabusiness.com
