The Contradiction in Most Privacy Policies

If you shop online you will find the arena is littered with sites that proclaim proudly they follow a specific policy with regards to customer privacy.  Most of the major brick and mortar retailers know and understand what privacy really means and do not publish any information about their customers unless it is user initiated such as product reviews.  However thousands of middle market companies particularly in the B2B segment fail to understand the true meaning of customer privacy.

While looking for a product online Tuesday I came across a reputable and well known promotional products distributor.  This distributor has won various awards within the industry for being an innovative and top distributor and by all accounts they are an excellent business.  Digging into their privacy policy which was proudly splashed across the site they clearly state they will not release your name or information to anyone at any time.  This is great as it is a pillar of the trust between a customer and a vendor.   The contradiction comes into place when that same website has a rotating image showing the logos of major international firms.  Anyone that has done business with these firms knows unless there is an exclusive relationship – an arrangement that always results in the customer paying more than they normally would, the only people “single source” benefits is the distributor selling at an astronomical markup – these firms are usually specifically prohibited from endorsing any vendor for legal reasons.  Forgetting the legal issues that surround the display of another entities logo as some type of endorsement it flat out violates the privacy policy most have proudly published.  How can a firm on one hand tell you they protect and cherish your privacy but oh by the way we will put your logo on our home page as a public endorsement of our relationship.  Sure there are instances when customers will insist on giving a good endorsement but one has to also look at the negative aspect of displaying your customer information publicly.  Someone could very easily attempt to contact that customer and already have a great idea where you are on price by looking at the site itself.  It is a double edged sword and one that few consider when they put up the fancy flash rotator of clients they have “done business with.”  

I have always wondered whether anyone even checks these supposed references, but maybe that is the understanding all along.  It looks good to have a major multi-national as a client even if the business was a .0001% of what they spent that year elsewhere.   Keep in mind though you may be opening yourself to legal liability if you display the logo of your client without their express written consent and you are almost definitely violating the privacy policy you created.

In the end investing in a service like Truste will deliver higher return on investment and actually increase conversions.  Most customer could care less about your previous customer experiences and can easily check your references with the various business reporting agencies.  What they do want to know is that their information is really secure and that trust is assured.