I’ve just finished reading a shocking report issued by Strong Mail regarding email marketing practices and privacy. It would seem that our personal information is being shared freely and being stolen frequently.

“Eighty-one percent of privacy professionals and 56% of marketers report that their organizations ave had a data breach involving the loss or theft of consumer or customer information, with an additional 32% of marketers and 9% of privacy professionals uncertain. Only a small minority of teh privacy professionals and marketers report that their organization has not had a data breach.”

Reading (not so much) between the lines, it would seem that privacy professionals and marketers alike are uncertain about the practices they exercise and the security of their data being more focused on distribution than trust. Of course, this is a crucial subject for brands who are looking to build brand loyalty and trust and goes so far beyond the quality and reliability of their products and services. This affects their customers’ privacy and quality of life. Perhaps there should be an independent method of reporting the brands that rank most highly in best practices and security? Much of the problem seems to occur when companies outsource their email marketing; there’s still so much smoke and mirrors in this industry and shoddy agencies are taking advantage of their clients’ lack of knowledge and insight. It’s something we very much avoid by educating and empowering our clients as much as possible whilst employing best practices.

The report makes some recommendations based around properly auditing 3rd party agencies to ensure security and compliance with internal policy.

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