Customer Sensitivity Is Critical

When the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act became effective, the immediate response was to get a program up and running. Soon, another more measured response emerged. Companies could use this as an opportunity to explain their concern for privacy and to offer appealing choices to their customers. Many businesses have been restrained and gracious, as opposed to greedy, in their exercise of the tantalizing data-crunching power of computers. This seems to me to be the correct approach.

As more and more companies fall under some form of privacy regulation, this customer-sensitive approach is most promising. Companies first must develop substantial computer power so they can honor each customer's interest in participating in or being left out of the menu of offerings. Then they may describe their capabilities to the public and offer the benefits. Most important, businesses must then ask each customer to make choices. If we use the power to satisfy consumer demand, rather than to squeeze another nickel onto the bottom line, there may be two results. First, we may forestall an angry public reaction that will lead to more laws. Second, companies that do this job well should increase their pool of happy customers.