Most of us have a terms of service document on our website, even if it’s mostly contained within our privacy policy. We reference this document in much of our correspondence, including our business and marketing emails. Our privacy policy or terms of service sets the expectations for what our customers will receive from us as a company.
Recently Google upgraded its terms of service to explicitly inform its customers they have automated systems analyzing content in order to deliver relevant ads and provide customization and security. General Mills in a separate, yet oddly related move, has changed its terms of service to inform customers who like their products on Facebook they have given up their right to take the company to court if there’s a problem with the product.
As mentioned in previous articles, Google is already camped out in courtrooms for these business practices and I am confident that General Mills will find similar legal challenges over their new draconian policies, which potentially create an adversarial relationship with their customers.
In both of these scenarios and for our company, when the need arises to make changes to our policies, the new language is probably more enlightening to current customers, followers, and subscribers than giving future customers sufficient warning — after all, when was the last time you read the terms of service of a new company with whom you’ve chosen to follow or create an account? Most of us are good about sending notices when we have a change in policy and our subscribers are much more likely to read that than the original ToS.
The trust factor
As marketers and builders of brands, we know honesty is paramount. Building credibility and trust sells, whether it’s product or service. It’s why many of do choose to include a link to our privacy policy in our emails. We want our subscribers and customers to know we value their information and will do our best to protect it. When our privacy policy changes in a way not congruent with the original version the client may — or may not — have read, we run the risk of damaging the credibility we’ve worked so hard to build.
Companies such as Google and General Mills have the means to defend their companies against their customers who object to the ToS changes to which an individual user might object, but for those of us who represent the small- to medium-size business, lawsuits challenging a policy change disfavoring our constituency could easily bankrupt even the most successful. What’s more, negative policy changes put us at odds with the very persons with whom we are trying to build a trusting relationship; and like, Google and General Mills, is likely to land us on the social-media hot seat.
While truthfulness in our policies is necessary, it’s also important to give consideration to the delivery. Of course, there is a need to have a ToS that protects us when a beautiful relationship becomes discourse, but a candy coating can make it that much easier for our customers to swallow. For a great take on how to deliver your ToS or changes or updates to your ToS, Daily Conversions did a great piece on this topic a couple of years ago, http://www.dailyconversions.com/internet-marketing/who-said-terms-of-service-agreements-cant-be-funny/
Our marketing emails are difficult to deliver and getting more so. We need to consider each component of the email to ensure deliverability improves over time and a friendly, yet firm, privacy policy most certainly will have a positive effect.
Treat your recipients with respect — and humor when you can — and you will continue to create a nurturing, healthy, trustful relationship.
UPDATE: After I completed this article, General Mills announced (due to the severe roasting they took in social-media platforms), they will reverse their new policy. You can now safely like General Mills and reserve your right to sue them — not as though there was a whisper of a chance they could have defended their position in court, IMO.
