March 8, 2006

The results of the recent “Privacy Trust Study of the United States Government” conducted by the Ponemon Institute LLC, showed that the United States Postal Service® is the most trusted government agency when it comes to privacy protection (http://dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=35816). Eighty-two percent of the 6,000 Americans surveyed voted in favor of the USPS®, which is actually up 4 percent from the previous year’s report. The Federal Trade Commission came in second at 78 percent with the IRS landing third at 74 percent.

Certainly this is very positive news for the USPS, but I also believe the industry had a hand in this as well. After all, we are leveraging that data, too, and based on these numbers, responsibly it appears.

If you have ever done a move update using either NCOALink™ data directly or through a service provider, then you know what I mean about keeping address information safe and secure. Despite which side of the Process Acknowledgement Form (PAF) you are on, you certainly are aware that the USPS is required per the Privacy Act of 1974 to ensure that the data used for keeping up with customers on the move is kept secure.

Trust is evident on the postage statements as well. You’ve read that liability portion of the certification section very carefully every time you sign it, right? Seriously, there are some sizeable penalties for mailers who claim automation discounts when in fact the mailpieces are not eligible.

Actually, if you think about it, the whole value chain of mail is based on trust. The USPS trusts that the information on the postage statement is accurate. The mailer trusts that the software produces the correct information. The software vendor trusts that the software is used in the manner in which it was certified. And ultimately, we all trust that the mail is still the most cost effective way for companies to interface with their customers.