Protecting consumers in a digital world.

Many businesses now rely on the internet to generate interest in their product or brand with the ultimate goal of closing a sale. The ability to tell stories, convey ideas and influence consumers makes the internet an ideal marketing tool for companies that are looking to cut cost while driving revenues ever higher.

The unique opportunity to personally target potential customers at home and at work is creating a compliance minefield for companies in regulated industries. The ability to sell direct to a consumer and convert the sale with no human interaction poses several important questions;

• Is the product right for the customer?
• Have the facts been explained to the customer before the transaction is completed?
• Did the customer read the terms and conditions or did they just ‘Tick the Box’?

What a customer was exposed to during the buying process is very important to regulators, and the ability for companies to prove that they followed the distance selling regulations is critical if they are to successfully defend any claims or complains.

We know that technology presents many opportunities but it also increases risks to consumers as well as the companies trying to sell to them.

In the United Kingdom the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been trying to get ahead of the curve when it comes to born digital content. It has been taking guidance from the regulators in the United States who have been at the forefront of regulating the way that financial firms interact with consumers in a digital world.

In March 2015 the UK FCA releases its first born digital guidance FG15/4: Social Media and customer communications is a set of guidelines that help companies manage the growth of social media channels and website content as a means of attracting and converting consumers to paying customers.
There is still much work to be done and these first steps give an indication of the regulators intent to ensure that companies treat consumers fairly when selling products though the digital channel.