Fasthosts Warns Small Firms Not to Spam Their Customers
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on September 13, 2011 at 7:28:01 AM
Fasthosts Warns Small Firms Not to Spam Their Customers
GLOUCESTER, England, September 13, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider, has warned UK
businesses not to spam their customers with unsolicited newsletters and
marketing emails.
Over the past year, the company has seen an 88 per cent rise in the
number of spam reports it has received, most commonly where consumers have
reported business customers for allegedly sending spam to them. The data
lends weight to the theory that the challenging economy and increasingly
competitive online marketplace have perhaps led more small firms to cut
corners with their email communication. The company recommends that small
companies take necessary steps to ensure that emails are only sent to the
right recipients who have opted-in to receive them.
As more UK firms are adopting email marketing as a valuable sales and
communication channel, it would appear that the problem of business-related
spam is escalating. According to Fasthosts, from June 2010 to June 2011 the
company has received 88 per cent more reports from the public regarding
genuine businesses who they believe have sent them unsolicited and unwanted
emails. A proportion of cases required investigation and/or action by the
provider such as a warning or locking of the relevant email account. In most
cases, Fasthosts needed only to provide best practice email advice to the
relevant business.
Stephen Holford, Marketing Director, Fasthosts Internet, said: "In a
tough economy, small businesses may be tempted to be more aggressive with
the frequency of mailings, or begin to take for granted their right to email
a contact base. Every firm must respect the value that consumers place on
their Inbox, and take the proper measures to ensure they use email
professionally and ethically."
Internet Psychologist Graham Jones said: "Unwanted email is a major
issue which causes frustration, annoyance and stress. If a business emails
people without paying proper attention to opt-in systems they can expect
increased negativity from their customers and their prospects. And with the
ease with which people can complain about companies on social networks,
there is the obvious potential for reputational damage too."
Jones added: "When people are asked to define spam they simply talk
about emails they did not request - no matter who those messages come from.
Many businesses think they are merely doing 'email marketing' but their
customers actually think they are spamming. There is a clear difference in
thinking between many businesses and their customers - and that is bad for
reputation and revenue."
Whilst still rare, it is possible for businesses to become involved in
the distribution of spam without even realising. Problems can arise as a
result of their email becoming compromised locally, commonly through a virus
or Trojan on their hardware such as a PC. It is vital that all businesses
keep mailboxes secure and regularly update passwords to minimise the risk of
exploitation of their domain or mail servers.
Holford added: "Whilst spam is not new, the damage that it can do to
business reputation and customer loyalty should definitely be cause for
thought. The more responsibility a company shows towards their use of email,
the more credible and rewarding email marketing will become as a channel."
About Fasthosts:
Fasthosts is a leading web hosting provider. Based in the UK and
operating 24x7 from their dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1
million domains running smoothly and ensures over 42 million emails are
delivered safely each day. Services include registration of domain names
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/domain-names ], shared web hosting
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/web-hosting ], business-class email, virtual
servers [http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/virtual-servers ], dedicated servers,
software-as-a-service, online back-up, secure online storage, email hosting
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/email-hosting ] and unlimited broadband.
Fasthosts maintains an industry-leading, highly successful reseller hosting
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/reseller-hosting ] channel. The company has won
the Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Partner Award 2011 and Microsoft's Hosting
Partner of the Year Award.
PR Contact:
Richard Stevenson
Fasthosts
Discovery House
154 Southgate Street
Gloucester
GL1 2EX
+44(0)1452-561-857
http://www.fasthosts.co.uk
Source: Fasthosts
.
GLOUCESTER, England, September 13, 2011/PRNewswire/ --
Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider, has warned UK
businesses not to spam their customers with unsolicited newsletters and
marketing emails.
Over the past year, the company has seen an 88 per cent rise in the
number of spam reports it has received, most commonly where consumers have
reported business customers for allegedly sending spam to them. The data
lends weight to the theory that the challenging economy and increasingly
competitive online marketplace have perhaps led more small firms to cut
corners with their email communication. The company recommends that small
companies take necessary steps to ensure that emails are only sent to the
right recipients who have opted-in to receive them.
As more UK firms are adopting email marketing as a valuable sales and
communication channel, it would appear that the problem of business-related
spam is escalating. According to Fasthosts, from June 2010 to June 2011 the
company has received 88 per cent more reports from the public regarding
genuine businesses who they believe have sent them unsolicited and unwanted
emails. A proportion of cases required investigation and/or action by the
provider such as a warning or locking of the relevant email account. In most
cases, Fasthosts needed only to provide best practice email advice to the
relevant business.
Stephen Holford, Marketing Director, Fasthosts Internet, said: "In a
tough economy, small businesses may be tempted to be more aggressive with
the frequency of mailings, or begin to take for granted their right to email
a contact base. Every firm must respect the value that consumers place on
their Inbox, and take the proper measures to ensure they use email
professionally and ethically."
Internet Psychologist Graham Jones said: "Unwanted email is a major
issue which causes frustration, annoyance and stress. If a business emails
people without paying proper attention to opt-in systems they can expect
increased negativity from their customers and their prospects. And with the
ease with which people can complain about companies on social networks,
there is the obvious potential for reputational damage too."
Jones added: "When people are asked to define spam they simply talk
about emails they did not request - no matter who those messages come from.
Many businesses think they are merely doing 'email marketing' but their
customers actually think they are spamming. There is a clear difference in
thinking between many businesses and their customers - and that is bad for
reputation and revenue."
Whilst still rare, it is possible for businesses to become involved in
the distribution of spam without even realising. Problems can arise as a
result of their email becoming compromised locally, commonly through a virus
or Trojan on their hardware such as a PC. It is vital that all businesses
keep mailboxes secure and regularly update passwords to minimise the risk of
exploitation of their domain or mail servers.
Holford added: "Whilst spam is not new, the damage that it can do to
business reputation and customer loyalty should definitely be cause for
thought. The more responsibility a company shows towards their use of email,
the more credible and rewarding email marketing will become as a channel."
About Fasthosts:
Fasthosts is a leading web hosting provider. Based in the UK and
operating 24x7 from their dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1
million domains running smoothly and ensures over 42 million emails are
delivered safely each day. Services include registration of domain names
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/domain-names ], shared web hosting
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/web-hosting ], business-class email, virtual
servers [http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/virtual-servers ], dedicated servers,
software-as-a-service, online back-up, secure online storage, email hosting
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/email-hosting ] and unlimited broadband.
Fasthosts maintains an industry-leading, highly successful reseller hosting
[http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/reseller-hosting ] channel. The company has won
the Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Partner Award 2011 and Microsoft's Hosting
Partner of the Year Award.
PR Contact:
Richard Stevenson
Fasthosts
Discovery House
154 Southgate Street
Gloucester
GL1 2EX
+44(0)1452-561-857
http://www.fasthosts.co.uk
Source: Fasthosts
.