Adaptive Marketing Partner Gateway

Working with Direct Marketers

Adaptive Marketing believes it's vital to the future of online commerce that all online merchants and e-tailers conduct customer marketing and transactions with the highest standards of ethics, so we're proud to work only with those partners who adhere to the direct marketing industry's best practices. Below we will soon spotlight some of our valued partners.

Basics of Online Marketing

We believe that successful online marketing starts with consumer trust as the basis for delivering a mutually beneficial commercial relationship. That's why Adaptive Marketing LLC® was among the first in the industry to earn consumer trust by implementing Best Marketing Practices in our national marketing and by forming, in 2001, our own Consumer Advisory Board. Our Best Marketing Practices show our sustained commitment to the highest marketing and service standards nationwide, and our Consumer Advisory Board is comprised of consumer advocates and seasoned former public servants who advise our senior management on consumer issues.

Adaptive Marketing's Best Marketing Practices

We've invested a lot of time and money in developing our Best Marketing Practices. And we hope other direct marketers will feel free to adopt them in their own marketing. Full details are at http://www.adaptivemarketing.com/consumer.htm#Best, but we think it's worth summarizing them here:

1. Full Disclosure of Membership Benefit Terms. Adaptive Marketing, in each of its marketing channels, will clearly explain the benefit terms of the membership program to consumers.

2. Full Disclosure of Payment and Cancellation/Refund Terms. Adaptive Marketing, in each of its marketing channels, will clearly explain the membership fee cancellation and refund terms of the membership program to consumers.

3. Verification of Membership Acceptance. Adaptive Marketing, in each of its marketing channels, will obtain and verify consumers’ unambiguous and express consent to a membership charge.

4. “No Questions Asked” Full Refund Policy for Unauthorized Charge Complaints. Adaptive Marketing will provide a full and prompt credit or refund to any consumer who is charged a membership fee but claims that he or she did not authorize that charge.

Adaptive Marketing's Consumer Advisory Board

Our Consumer Advisory Board plays a key role in assisting Adaptive Marketing in keeping abreast of and addressing consumer issues with respect to our marketing. It consists of six members with collectively more than a century of experience in both the public and private sectors, including a former Vice President of Consumer Affairs at a leading company, a former state Attorney General, and a former state Commissioner of Consumer Protection. They work directly with our senior management to analyze and make recommendations regarding our marketing and customer service practices to ensure they are consistent with the highest customer service standards.

Adaptive Marketing's Consumer Affairs Department

The Consumer Affairs Department was created to ensure that we effectively serve and protect our customers. It serves as a centralized customer service center, addressing member inquiries and dealing with consumer affairs offices nationwide on issues relating to the membership services industry. The Consumer Affairs Department also works with senior management to ensure that our consumer policies are consistent with industry standards.

We believe that this kind of foundation -- ethical marketing, full disclosure, verification, and consumer representation inside our company -- provides us with a strong position both to present attractive savings propositions to consumers and valuable sales channels to our business partners and affiliates.

TIP

Members sometimes get confused about a charge. So make it easy for them to contact you to ask questions. If you offer multiple programs, make sure each website home page has clear instructions for contacting you. If you have a corporate site, do the same thing there. For example, the text below is copied from a form on Adaptive Marketing LLC®'s website and program pages and shows how easy we make it for members to get answers to basis questions:

Membership Question?

How can I access my benefits?
How did I enroll?
What is my membership number?
How do I get another membership kit?

Customers don't always contact you with negative issues. Sometimes they genuinely forget a charge, or a family member or colleague may have used their card without letting them know. Sometimes they change their minds and want to cancel or return something. It's much more cost-effective to help your members or customers easily find answers to basic questions rather than letting unanswered issues escalate into problems.