With Email Preference Centers, Be Careful What You Ask for
3. Treat others like you’d want to be treated. Customers want to be treated as individuals. We all do. Use preferences for that by personalizing and engaging in a relevant way based on what your customers tell you. I had a clothing retailer once ask me to fill out my preferences on size, color, and style. I received targeted emails based on my preferences, and the next time I visited the site, there were filters in place that matched my preferences. It made the interactions feel like they were personalized just for me. They made browsing and buying easy.
Customers also want clarity and transparency. Be clear in your ask; let customers know why you are asking and how the information will be used—and not used. Make your privacy policy accessible and easy to understand, and abide by it.
Consider testing usage and adoption on a subset of the population before deciding on a full launch.
4. You’re more likely to get a “yes” if you ask nicely. Retailers subject their customers to a dizzying array of asks, so be considerate and request only what you need. And unless you have a strong “give to get” program, don’t make anything mandatory. Nothing turns off customers more than being forced to volunteer precious information without having anything of value delivered in return.
Consider a targeted campaign to drive responses, but only if it’s tactful and relevant. Think about tying preference center form completion with a thank-you email. Give points for a rewards program, offer a one-time free shipping code, or provide early access to an insider-only item or sale.
Also think about how you can collect preference data over a period of time while building rapport and engagement via simple surveys, web widgets, even gamification and quizzicles if it’s on-brand.
5. And, finally, be careful what you ask for. And be careful what and how you ask. Here are a couple of examples:
A home décor company asked me my favorite color. It’s blue. But my décor is far from blue (creams, earth tones, if you must know.) Ask me about my design color palette, not my favorite color. Be careful what and how you ask.
I know of a company from which 30-somethings are still getting the college discount. Instead of asking if they’re in college, ask graduation year, or be sure to time out the college discount after an appropriate period of time. Be careful how you ask.
Keep in mind that preferences do get stale, so continue to evolve the CRM customer profile with every interaction. Use preference data as the start of a customer profile or as a proxy for behavioral insights, but combine preference center data with browsing and purchase behavior over time to get a truly full view of what your customer really wants.
And while we’re at it, here are a few more life learnings that apply: A little planning goes a long way. Proceed with caution. Try your best to do what’s right. Think independently—in this case, take advantage of every opportunity to keep that customer relationship alive and well.
Millie Park is vice president, strategy and product innovation at Boston-based Customer Portfolios, a marketing technology leader that uses insight and analytics to increase customer value. You can follow Customer Portfolios on Twitter at @CustPortfolios.