Feature: Go Beyond Your Privacy Statement to Gain Holiday Shoppers' Trust
Consumer advocate Parry Aftab offers some advice. »Learn More

Feature: Booking Holiday Travel Online
Lynn Goodendorf explains why the InterContinental Hotels Group brought privacy practices to its online reservation system. »Learn More

New Benefits
Details on two new benefits from TRUSTe: IAPP membership and an in-house privacy training course. »Learn More

TRUSTe News
Meet TRUSTe's new director of client operations. »Learn More

Stay Current!
Upcoming privacy and security events around the nation. »Learn More

TRUSTe Tech Tip
As your Web site grows, don't forget to integrate your privacy policies into new Web pages and features. »Learn More

Welcome New Licensees
The newest Web sites to display the TRUSTe seal. »Learn More

Go Beyond Your Privacy Statement to Gain Holiday Shoppers' Trust
By Parry Aftab

As more and more shoppers are turning to the Internet for last-minute holiday purchases and bargains, online retailers need to be aware of what it takes to attract and keep an e-consumer.

Many consumers start out trusting a Web site. But if this trust is violated it will quickly turn to anger. So how can you earn and maintain consumer confidence?

A survey announced this month by PC World disclosed some interesting statistics about consumers and privacy. Although 91 percent of those polled reported being "somewhat" or "very/extremely" concerned about being tracked while surfing, more than 67 percent don't read the privacy policy or only read it "sometimes."

If customers aren't reading your entire privacy policy, how can you let them know your site is trustworthy? Earning and displaying the TRUSTe seal is a good place to start. But there's much more you can do. While most sites want to market to their customers online, there is a big difference between a knowledgeable "opt-in" and one that is foisted on the customer.

An example: Recently, while surfing at a favorite online travel discount site, I forgot to fill in my zip code. The next screen sent me back to the form to fill in this information. Now, on the first screen, I had carefully unchecked all the online marketing opt-in boxes -- but the second screen rechecked all the boxes. I didn't notice the change until I started receiving marketing messages. I promptly cancelled the order -- and my account with the site. I resented being tricked. Was the opportunity to send me marketing materials worth more than the thousands I spend on travel every month? I doubt it.

Another good way to lose customers is by wasting their time. One of the best reasons for shopping online is to save time in an otherwise frantic holiday season. That means you shouldn't make consumers search through a block of small print to find out about your privacy policy, your return policy, or your customer-service contact information. If you make consumers look too hard and long for such information, they will shop elsewhere. And sending too many e-mails marketing your products, even when consumers have consented to receive them, is a waste of their time, too. There's no magic here. All you need to do is review your own site, thinking like a harried holiday shopper.

To quote Aretha Franklin, consumer trust is all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The more you respect your customers, the more they will respect -- and buy from -- you.

Parry Aftab is executive director of WiredSafety.org and a member of the TRUSTe Board of Directors.

Privacy Matters When Booking Holiday Travel Online
By Lynn Goodendorf

Many hotels experience a seasonal lull during the Thanksgiving and December holidays, which motivates them to lower their prices during this period. More and more, consumers can find the very best discounts on rooms by making hotel reservations directly through the hotels' Web sites.

Booking a hotel stay online often involves providing credit card information
to guarantee the reservation or take advantage of a nonrefundable discount
offer. In addition, the dollar amount of hotel reservation transactions is typically larger than that of other online purchases.

How can hotels ensure that their customers book online reservations with
confidence? InterContinental Hotels Group recently became the first hotel company to display the TRUSTe seal on its hotel brand Web sites, which include www.holiday-inn.com and www.crowneplaza.com. These sites collect
the minimum amount of information needed for reservations because we are
processing transactions for more than 3,300 hotels -- with more than 500,000
rooms -- worldwide, and efficiency as well as data privacy is critical.

In order to deliver higher levels of service for our customers, we have developed an "opt-in" online customer loyalty program called Priority Club Rewards. With each hotel stay, members earn points that can be redeemed for free hotel room nights or can be transferred to airline frequency programs and other programs participating in Priority Club. The Priority Club Rewards program involves collecting additional personal information on members, and again the TRUSTe seal provides an additional measure of confidence and trust for our customers.

Lynn Goodendorf is vice president of information privacy protection at the InterContinental Hotels Group.

Discounted and Free IAPP Memberships

TRUSTe is pleased to announce its partnership with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) to bring expanded education opportunities to our members. Beginning December 1, 2003, upon renewal of their TRUSTe licensees, all current licensees are entitled to discounted or free memberships in the IAPP, depending on their license fee. Small-enterprise TRUSTe licensees will receive a discounted yearly membership for $100 -- a 60 percent discount. Larger-enterprise licensees will receive between one and thirty free memberships, depending on their license fee. New licensees will be offered the same benefits upon signing their licensee agreement. This offer is entirely opt-in. Licensees will soon receive an administrative notice from TRUSTe in their email box about the details of the program, with instructions on how to take advantage of this benefit.

Privacy Awareness Training Program

You may be committed to ensuring proper data privacy practices throughout your organization, but are your colleagues even aware of what data privacy entails? TRUSTe has now developed an hourlong privacy training program that is available to licensees for a reasonable fee. Suitable for first-time and novice privacy stakeholders on your staff, the presentation covers basic need-to-know information on discovery of data practices, as well as how to develop and update your organization's privacy statement. Participants also receive information on helpful tools and resources. The training presentation is conducted by an experienced TRUSTe staff member and can be tailored to your organizational needs. If you would like to learn more, please contact Michelle Hines at (415) 618-3402 or mhines@truste.org.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of John McNamara, who joined TRUSTe as director of client operations and compliance in September. In his new role, John oversees the Client Operations and Compliance departments. John joins TRUSTe with more than 12 years of management experience. Most recently, he was the director of consulting services for Vintara, consulting with companies on ISO 9000 certification issues. Prior to Vintara, John worked with Merrill Corporation, both in the USA as operations director and in London as director of European operations.

John is a believer in continuous improvement. If you have constructive feedback for TRUSTe on our account management, certification, and compliance processes John wants to hear from you. Email him at johnm@truste.org.

Tip: Ensure continued compliance with the TRUSTe program by upholding privacy principles when expanding your Web site.

Web sites are constantly evolving, and frequent updates to both form and substance are necessary to remain relevant in a relentlessly changing business world. However, many licensees forget about the privacy component when adding functionality to their site.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when expanding or updating your Web site:

• When adding data collection points (such as a registration form or newsletter subscription page) to your Web site, make sure these new pages contain either a hypertext link or the TRUSTe Final Mark, either of which should link to the site's privacy statement.
  
  
• When collecting sensitive data such as credit card or social security numbers, be sure to implement encryption, such as the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, on the page where you gather the data.
  
  
• When implementing passive data collection practices such as cookies or Web beacons, check to see if the practice conflicts with your current privacy statement. If a conflict exists, contact your TRUSTe account manager to update your privacy statement.
  
  
• When adding TRUSTe seals to Web pages, be sure to implement the seals correctly. The Final Mark must link to the site's privacy statement, while the "Click to Verify" seal must link to the secure TRUSTe validation page.
  

TRUSTe recognizes and appreciates your need for continuous growth and development. The more you plan ahead, the more we can assist you. Be sure to contact your TRUSTe account manager early when planning new Web site features because they may be material changes requiring an even closer look.

-- Alexander Yap, compliance analyst

TRUSTe would like to congratulate the following new licensees on successfully completing our certification process:

Acutions4acause, AdviceMavens, Auction Profits, Blue Razor Domains, CivicNet, CRM ASP, EdFinancial Services, Genikon, Reflecting Concepts, Tribe Networks, Vazu, Xdrive, The Well Project.

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TRUSTe is an independent, nonprofit organization that administers the Internet's first and largest privacy seal program.

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San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 618-3400
Email: privacyseals@truste.org
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