As enterprises amass huge volumes of customer data in their CRM systems, there's a growing temptation to disregard customers' privacy. Think about all the information you divulge when you buy from an e-commerce site: your name, mailing address,. . .
As enterprises amass huge volumes of customer data in their CRM systems, there's a growing temptation to disregard customers' privacy. Think about all the information you divulge when you buy from an e-commerce site: your name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone numbers, product selections, product preferences, shopping frequency, purchase volume, shipping preferences, and more. Most legitimate enterprises agree to protect customer information and present the details of their commitment in privacy policies. However, with so much information being collected, it's fertile ground for abuse.

Current economic conditions are creating enormous pressure on companies to generate more revenue from existing customers. As a result, businesses are becoming more sophisticated about analyzing customer data. As they do so, however, some are beginning to fudge on their privacy practices as they give in to the temptation of using everything they know about customers to sell more to them. It's a slippery slope, and the extra revenue that companies can generate with such questionable manipulation of customer data is hardly worth the risks of alienated customers, potential lawsuits, and a damaged brand.

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