U.S. marketers are far from world leaders when it comes to the privacy issue.
In a new survey by Alterian, 22% of all U.S. responders admitted that they do “not have a full understanding” of data legislation and best practices. That number totaled 15% in the U.K. and the EU and 19% around the globe.
Yet less than a third of all marketers surveyed worldwide claimed they had a full understanding. And over a third listed privacy as a headache.
Based on the numbers, vendors have a better grasp of the issue. But only 4% of all U.S. marketers outsource their privacy management, compared with 8% in the U.K. and EU and 5% worldwide.
“To me, that’s pretty worrying on a number of counts,” says David Eldridge, CEO of Alterian. “The complexity means only the biggest direct marketing marketing organizations can afford this expertise inhouse. And if they don’t outsource it, how are they going to keep up with the changing dynamics?”