Database Marketing: Mining for Gold

So what information, exactly, do you as a cataloger have the right to ask for? Virtually anything the consumer is willing to give up, provided you’re up front about why you’re requesting this information — and how you’re planning to use it.

Pat Kachura, senior vice president of ethics and consumer affairs at the Direct Marketing Association, says that for consumers, the most sensitive data is information about their health, family, children and finances. Most catalogers don’t need this type of information. Instead, input on their customers’ tastes and preferences regarding their products, or how often they receive or purchase from catalogs, is more relevant to the average cataloger.