DMA executive director calls on industry to put customer first

In the wake of recent negative press coverage, the DMA is calling on the industry to act in the best interests of their customers, regardless of the sector they operate in

Chris Combemale, executive director of the DMA, comments:

“If any company, charity or otherwise, is to succeed today it has to be trusted. The story of Olive Cooke shows that trust can be easily lost. We know that trust is vital for growing and sustaining business relationships, and the charitable sector has to work to rebuild this trust.

“Despite what some commentators say, the problem is not a lack of regulation or guidance. It’s that the companies and charities sometimes pay lip service to that regulation and guidance. They should not only adhere to industry codes of practice but also always use the Mail Preference Service (MPS) and Telephone Preference Service (TPS).”

The DMA is pointing the industry to its Code and channel-specific guides which show exactly how marketers should manage their one-to-one communications as well as its recently published guide to buying and selling data, and the guide for dealing with vulnerable consumers.

Contact:

Ed Owen, PR and Content manager
T: +44 (0) 207 291 3324 |E: ed.owen@dma.org.uk |M: (0) 7813 664656

About The DMA

The DMA is a UK trade association for the one-to-one marketing industry - those companies that speak directly to their customers and those companies that help them achieve this. The DMA provides best-practice guidelines and legal services for its members, who are typically marketing, advertising and data-driven organisations.

More than 1,000 companies in the UK are DMA members. The DMA also holds industry events, conducts research and publishes reports, lobbies for legislation to support its members’ business practices and has a close working relationship with the Information Commissioner’s Office. All DMA members must comply with the DMA code, which is available to read here: http://dma.org.uk/the-dma-code