Re: web cookies and other requirements

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim Franz wrote:

> I would like to get some feedback on how other companies are handling
> web sites where customers access your system.
> One of my customer's marketing dept contracted to have a very professional 
> looking front end web site for current & prospective customers to view/log in
> before accessing our 400 based web order entry.
> The marketing dept wants to collect data on who is seeing the site.
> The existing customers are screaming at the requirement for cookies, and to 
> turn off pop up blocking (because the external site uses them to pop up
> registration screens).
> Any thoughts appreciated.


Well, cookies are clearly a controversial subject, and there's lots of 
bad information out there as well as good. But ultimately, one of the 
main priorities of any business is not to piss off your customers. If 
your customers are complaining about the use of cookies on your web 
site, then clearly you have to listen. (That is, this is not a technical 
issue.)

That said, if cookies are absolutely essential to the operation of your 
web site, you need to be upfront with that and explain clearly, 
accurately, and honestly how the cookies are being used. If they are 
used to collect customer demographics, that needs to be explained.

If the cookies are used /solely/ to collect marketing information, the 
marketdroids need to understand that the information collected samples 
only that part of your customer population who have not disabled 
cookies, and so may not properly represent the population as a whole.

Cheers! Hans