The spam problem is growing. Because the insurance industry and its customers are so dependent on the Internet and e-mail, it behooves users to stay abreast of developments that could affect their ability to use this now-basic means of business communication.
But just how big is the problem? Some data is conflicting, but just about everybody agrees that the problem is getting bigger. One recent study by the Radicati Group reports that 32 percent of the 7.3 billion e-mail messages sent each day are spam. That number is pegged slightly higher (40 percent) by Brightmail, a maker of anti-spam software, who also claims that there were over 6 million spam attacks in March 2003.
How does spam translate into practical matters that might be relevant to agencies and industry professionals? Consider this: a recent study of AOL user habits (reported in a Cyberatlas article), found that 46 percent say they delete e-mail messages from unknown sources. With AOL the single-largest ISP at 35 percent market share (MSN is number two at 12.1 percent), it’s probably a safe bet that other users do the same thing too. Thus, if you use mass e-mail as a marketing tool, you need to be sure it doesn’t look like spam and that your recipients recognize you; otherwise, your message might only have a 50-50 chance of being read.
But the problem is more than just the nuisance factor among individual e-mail users. Ferris Research claims that spam cost corporate America $9 billion in 2002 and projects an additional $1 billion in 2003. Ferris arrived at that figure by studying the loss of worker productivity caused by spam, consumption of bandwidth and tech resources, and technical support time.
The spam problem has risen to such frustrating proportions that a Harris Poll (reported in internetnews) claims that 74% of Internet users favor making spam illegal.
What is spam?
The broadest definition of spam is “unsolicited commercial e-mail” (UCE) that is sent in bulk. This definition is often equated with “junk e-mail,” which is akin to junk paper mail. Like junk mail, spam is not requested by the recipient. Despite the broad and generally accepted definition, there are varying shades of interpretation and application.
Some view spam as simply a nuisance and delete the e-mail without ever opening it. Others clarify their definition of spam in terms of content; that is, if it’s offensive or potentially fraudulent (to the e-mail recipient), it’s spam. Technological issues figure into how others categorize spam, such as the practice of concealing the identity of the sender and routing data. Many hard line anti-spam activists simply regard any unsolicited e-mail as spam. At the other end of the spectrum, some believe that spam is in the eye of the recipient, i.e., one person’s spam is another person’s answer to a need.
What about legitimate mass e-mail?
The spam issue is a potential problem for businesses that engage in legitimate mass e-mail. If your company, agency, or industry group wants to send a mass e-mail to a group of people, is that spamming? Maybe. Maybe not.
Let’s say that you have a customer list of 3,000 names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. Some of the names are customers, others are prospects, and others are contacts that you’ve somehow acquired. Now, you want to tell them about your new product or service or an event. You could send a printed direct mail piece, hire a telemarketing company, or send bulk e-mail.
If this is the first time you’ve tried mass e-mail (putting aside the technical and practical issues), and you never received prior permission from the recipient to send such e-mail to him or her, some people might regard your e-mail as spam. If, however, you do have their permission (regardless of how you acquired it), it probably will not be regarded as spam. Because spam is defined as “unsolicited commercial e-mail,” the element of permission is an important factor in determining whether or not something is spam.
But isn’t the element of permission sometimes implied? That probably depends on the recipient’s point of view more than yours. Many business people assume that information on a business card is fair game for future marketing purposes — a telephone call, a mailing, and even an e-mail. But considering the spam issue, it might be a good idea to ask the individual whose card you received if they’d mind receiving future e-mail announcements from you.
But let’s now say you want to bulk e-mail to a purchased list that contains 500,000 potential insurance prospects within a certain ZIP code. You don’t know these people and they probably have never heard of you either. You hire somebody to do the job for you, and you don’t particularly care how it’s done. Is that spam? Quite possibly, yes.
Toward a conclusion
Does this mean you should avoid mass or bulk e-mailing? No. Legitimate mass e-mail can be an effective means of communication with large numbers of people who like receiving information via e-mail. If you use mass e-mail discreetly, provide proper notifications and opt-out mechanisms, don’t fraudulently advertise, comply with state regulations, and handle the technical aspects properly, you shouldn’t have any problems.
Nevertheless, you should become informed about the growing problem of spam. It’s a multi-faceted issue. The Federal Trade Commission held a public forum on spam April 30 – May 2, and some kind of federal legislation could be on the horizon. Spam protection software is a hot item and available from several sources. Furthermore, porn spam in the workplace could become a legal battle ground (zdnet).
Some believe that left unchecked, the spam problem could severely degrade the ability to use e-mail, to say nothing about diminished user confidence in organizations that use mass e-mail legitimately. Better to be part of the solution than part of the problem.
Feedback please
The spam problem will be the subject of a Sounding Line Special Report that will be available this summer. In preparing that report, we would like your feedback. Specifically, how do you define spam? Does your organization use mass e-mail? How, for what, and to whom? Is one person’s spam another person’s answer to a need? Please
Some believe that left unchecked, the spam problem could
severely degrade the ability to use
e-mail….
© Copyright 2003 by Sound Internet Strategy. All rights reserved
…the problem is more than just the nuisance factor among individual e-mail users.