The conclusion of five-part series that
discusses preference collection best practices
Preference collection is an evolving process
and is never really considered “complete.” To use a corollary to the personalized
marketing mantra, the key is to elicit the
right preference, from the right customers, at the right time.
The underlying framework and functionality
for collecting customers’ permissions and responding to their preferences
should be relatively stable; however the content and context of preference collection
mechanisms must be structured to quickly change.
Sustaining agility to meet rapidly changing
business and customer needs requires that solutions be constructed with
“dynamic content” and the content owners (typically the business) in mind. When
the content (in this case customers’ permissions and/or preferences) is in turn
used to drive changes to other processes, the challenge of keeping both systems
and processes in sync is compounded.
Critical junctures following preference
management implementation include:
Analysis and
reporting: With a
useful data set in hand, companies can review customer behavior and responses
and measure them against pre-determined goals. Are opt-outs being converted to
targeted opt-ins? Is the business unit in question experiencing a reduction in
prospect churn? Are customers selecting paperless communication in meaningful
numbers?
Creative
review: Based on the findings described
above, it may be advisable to review screen and interaction layouts to improve
customer comprehension and speed the conversion process. An example of this
would be persistent bounces (site departures) from a given screen – a classic
symptom of unmet expectations. Review the screen to ensure that fields and
interaction points are clear and unmistakable.
Content
review: Much like the design review, the
preference management content must also be assessed in light of early data. The
relative length and complexity of information a company solicits from a
customer at a given interaction point is a typical target for adjustment. If
the preference management ask is too short, a valuable opportunity is missed
and favorable results are slowed. If the ask is too complicated or too long,
customers will exit the interaction altogether.
Robert Galop is the Senior Director of Product Architecture for PossibleNOW.
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