Negative Impacts On Mailing Lists

In college I belonged to PIRG, a volunteer group dedicated to improving life for students and the surrounding community.

Every student joining was charged $2 at registration, and the Registrar funneled the money to the organization.

Just 2% of the student body belonged, guaranteeing PIRG’s budget was perpetually meager. With students chronically apathetic, our abilities to grow or do good things were stymied.

Yet most students professed an interest in doing good, making membership in PIRG a natural fit. We therefore explored instituting a negative check-off, making those students members UNLESS they declined the opportunity.

The administration rejected the idea, believing students would feel coerced into contributing to an organization they otherwise wouldn’t have joined. It was frustrating, but ultimately the correct decision. As the Registrar observed; “If we let you do it, we have to let everyone do it.”

I’m reminded of this lately as I view an increasing number of organizations telling me they’ll add me to their mailing list unless I tell them not to. Now seeing this issue from the other side, I can better appreciate the Registrar’s perspective.

For good or ill, there’s no single body providing oversight, and the government’s DO NOT MAIL list is of limited value. I suddenly find myself receiving countless press releases, newsletters, and solicitations…with no way to stanch the floodwaters of junk overflowing my mailbox.

There’s undoubtedly a good technological solution to this problem, though I haven’t yet found it. However, I’d urge you NOT to start adding people to your mailing list willy-nilly, but rather wait for them to ask you to add them to your list.

Why? Those invaders of my IN box annoy me to a point where I’ll never consider doing business with any of them. Their stunning lack of respect for me as a customer makes me shudder to think of the flood of communications materials they’d drown me in if I actually encouraged their efforts. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe customers should have a right to privacy and control who communicates with them. This may mean my business won’t always grow as fast as I might wish, but my clients will want to work with me and will appreciate the consideration I show them.

It’s something I learned in college.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

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b2c marketing, corporate messaging, customer relations, online marketing, sales promotion, strategic planning, technologyRob WeinbergMBT ConsultingPIRG, ask mister marketing, ask mr. marketing, data privacy, Customer relations, poway chamber of commerce, poway marketing consultant, poway chieftain, rancho bernardo, rancho bernardo marketing consultant, rancho bernardo news, rancho bernardo sunrise rotary, pomerado newspapers, san diego north chamber of commerce, san diego union tribune, mr. marketing, marketing, marketing plan, marketing advice, marketing strategy, mister marketing, marketbuilding, marketbuilding team, Marketing strategy, marketing consultant, marketing communications, customer relations, customer relationships, good customer relations, bad customer relations, carlsbad rotary, carlsbad marketing consultant, carlsbad chamber of commerce