TRUSTe and NetCreations have joined forces to create a seal to let consumers know that it's safe to give their personal information to a site, but will the seal reassure consumers?

This past September, I wrote an article about the value of online trust metrics.  My premise was that vehicles for demonstrating and building trust are essential for the sustained growth of online business. I cited several of the seal programs as examples of trust enhancing tools. A site that displays a TRUSTe, BBB Online or VeriSign seal can create a level of confidence in consumers regarding the site’s privacy or security programs, as well as how it handles consumer data.

The purpose of a seal is to separate the good guys from the bad guys, to foster a sense of trust and comfort among site visitors. The idea is that trusted companies are more likely to receive personal information from consumers, and thus they are in a better position to deliver more relevant marketing messages and a better overall customer experience. I can remember seeing a study conducted by email marketing service provider Yesmail a few years ago that demonstrated a correlation between data, email personalization and response rates. Of course, it helps if you use data in a way that actually benefits your customers, but that’s a different story for a different day.

One of the limitations of seal programs is that they don’t necessarily reach consumers at one of the most critical junctures -- the point of data collection. When a consumer visits a Web form, registration page or email signup box, she or he makes a decision regarding how much personal information to share with a site. If someone gets to a form without being told what will happen to the information they provide, they are likely to assume the worst, and will thus be reluctant to share their data.

California has enacted a law that seeks to increase transparency in data-sharing practices. California SB 27, also known as the “Shine the Light” law, goes into effect in January of 2005. While a full description of the law is beyond the scope of this article, SB 27 generally impacts businesses that disclose the personal information of California Residents to third parties for the purposes of direct marketing. Those companies must be prepared to disclose, by request, a list of third parties to which the company has disclosed customer information.

While SB 27 will probably impact data-sharing practices, I’m not sure that it’s going to provide any real insight to consumers -- particularly those who don’t live in California. With that in mind, I’ve often wondered if it might be beneficial to have a seal that is specifically tailored to comfort consumers at the point of data collection. Two organizations have come together recently to test that hypothesis.

Point of Collection Seal

TRUSTe and NetCreations have partnered and are in the process of developing a point of collection seal. The two organizations are still in the process of testing the seal, but are optimistic that it will increase consumer confidence in sites’ data collection policies.

Michael Mayor, president of NetCreations (and, like me, an iMedia columnist), believes that this new seal can be a useful tool in the fight against spam. Mayor suggests that there are three prongs to fighting spam: technology, legislation and consumer education. “For the most part,” says Mayor, “the industry has been mired in issues pertaining to technology and legislation while consumers become increasingly frustrated by spam and ad clutter.”

Fran Maier, president and executive director of TRUSTe, concurs, noting the importance of enhancing consumer education. “The point of collection seal will help address spam and other issues of consumer nuisance by letting consumers know which sites are safe, and which sites will not contribute to the spam problem.” says Maier.

Testing assumptions

Both Maier and Mayor have high hopes for the new seal, but recognize the importance of confirming their assumptions prior to moving forward with the program. As a result, they are conducting a proof-of-concept test in order to understand whether or not this type of seal will impact consumer trust and willingness to share data. As part of that test, the companies are experimenting with a few different creatives in order to determine which version of the seal will resonate most effectively with consumers.

The two organizations are also planning consumer perception studies to better understand three questions: whether consumers find the point of collection seal to be of value, whether the seal increases consumer comfort and confidence and also whether the presence of the seal impacts the willingness of consumers to share personally identifiable information.

It will be interesting to see the results of this study. Personally, I’m looking forward to understanding the impact that the seal has on consumer willingness to share personal information. I’ve seen similar research on the value of privacy seal programs, but much of that research did not take into account the impact that brand value plays in the trust equation. This test will offer an apples-to-apples comparison of the impact of the point of collection seal. So stay tuned.

TRUSTe's plan

The point of collection seal is part of TRUSTe’s plan to expand its program offerings. “We see a number of opportunities to expand beyond our initial privacy seal program,” says Maier. For example, this past spring TRUSTe introduced the Bonded Sender Program, developed in conjunction with anti-spam vendor Ironport Systems.

The premise behind Bonded Sender is to aid businesses with deliverability issues. They accomplish this goal by using a seal to communicate to the ISPs that seal holders are legitimate companies whose email should get through spam filters. Bonded Sender requires participants to adhere to certain standards and to post a financial bond. TRUSTe oversees the certification, and provides dispute resolution services in conjunction with the Bonder Sender program.

Maier sees the newly created seal to be complementary to their other programs. “The Point of Collection Seal will begin to bridge the Privacy Seal and Bonded Sender programs,” says Maier.

The Bottom Line

In order for ecommerce to continue to thrive, there needs to be a high level of consumer trust in privacy practices. Nowhere is that more evident than in the email list business. I fear that there are still too many companies out there that don’t play fair when it comes to consumer data. “If consumers lose confidence in signing up for email lists, then we all lose,” says Mayor. While California’s “Shine the Light” Law will help to increase transparency of data collection practices, the point of collection seal program should help consumers understand who they can trust with their personal information. And that just might represent another step towards a safer, and dare I say, nuisance-free Internet.

A guy can dream, can’t he?

Alan Chapell is a consultant focusing on privacy marketing -- helping companies understand privacy and incorporate consumer perception into product development. He has been in the interactive space for more than seven years with firms such as Jupiter Research, DoubleClick and Cheetahmail. Chapell is the New York chapter chairman of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and he publishes a daily blog on issues of consumer privacy.