With the Customer Preference Center, you can collect all zero-party data types and ask people about anything relevant from the point of view of your business activity. To collect a specific type of information, select the appropriate option at the first stage of the Customer Preference Center wizard.
Contents
1. Product preferences
Product preferences are a set of criteria that a Contact can use to specify which item groups from your assortment are of interest to them. You can use these preferences to create product recommendations. The more data you gather, the better understanding you will have of your Contacts’ interests.
Define a product information set in the form of filters that can be used by Contacts to indicate their preferences. Add product suggestions to help them select the right criteria.
The criteria are directly related to information loaded from the Product Feed (XML). The structure of the product preference filters is similar to that of search filters in an online store. The main filter is the basic criterion based on which Contacts define their preferences, whereas additional filters help narrow down and specify these preferences in detail.
Help your Contacts fill out the product preference section. In the Customer Preference Center, display product suggestions matching the Contacts’ profiles. You can also select products manually from your gallery.
Examples:
Below you can see some filters (criteria set in the wizard based on the fields in the XML file) and preferences (selected by a Contact in the CPC) that can be indicated with their use.
- Fashion
- Filter set: Woman, Color, Clothing item, Brand, Price
- Preferences: Women’s green jeans, from brand ABC, price: less than 100 EUR
- Beauty
- Filter set: Purpose, Age, Activity, Body part, Brand, Fragrance, Health issue
- Preferences: Neutral baby care products from brand XYZ, sensitive skin, fragrance-free
- Travel
- Filter set: Country, Holiday type, Organization, Diet, Budget, Accommodation
- Preferences: Fully-organized all-inclusive holidays at 4-star hotels in Malta, with a vegan option
- Finance
- Filter set: Loan value, Loan term, Loan insurance, Other loans
- Preferences: A 5000 EUR loan for six months, insured, no other obligations
- B2B commerce
- Filter set: Industry, Production stage, Purpose, Production size, Brand, Budget
- Preferences: Solutions from company ABC for large FMCG distributors, warehouse logistics automation, mid-range price
IMPORTANT: The selection of the main filter determines which additional filters will be displayed as active. A Contact can use the additional filters to specify information related to the main filter.
For instance, Jeans can be defined by the following parameters: color, shape, and price, and Blouses can be defined by one additional parameter: material. Depending on the selected main category (Jeans or Blouses), the additional filters visible to a Contact will (in the case of Blouses) or will not (in the case of Jeans) include the “material” parameter.
2. Personal data
Personal data is information provided by Contacts in the form of answers to any questions you ask in this section. Ask about different data types relevant to your business, such as age, shoe size, favorite holiday destination, or dog’s name. The more questions you ask, the more detailed information you will gather and the better you will get to know your Contacts.
Ask specific questions to obtain new data on your customers. Use the data to complete their 360° profiles. Enrich your Automation Rules with personal data and surprise your audience with even better content personalization.
Select the Key Information that is of interest to you and then edit the respective fields to create questions and answers that will encourage Contacts to provide information. Key Information is a parameter referring to a specific feature or preference of a Contact. It consists of two parts: attribute and value. The attribute is what the information concerns, whereas the value allows you to define it specifically.
Example:
The table below contains examples of personal data that can be collected through the Customer Preference Center.
| Attribute | Personal data |
| Name | Storm Jones |
| Pronouns | She/Them |
| Favorite brand | ABC |
| Category | Climbing equipment |
| Size | XL |
| Allergy type | Food allergy |
| Country | Germany |
| Budget | Up to 900 EUR |
| Holiday type | Sightseeing |
| Vaccination status | Fully vaccinated |
3. Marketing consents
A marketing consent refers to any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the types of communications that a given person wishes to receive (by which they signify agreement to the processing of their personal data for this purpose). Any person may check and manage at any moment all marketing consents given to a company.
In light of the GDPR and other data security regulations, marketing consents are essential for sending marketing communications and processing data for marketing purposes.
Select the marketing consents to be displayed in the Customer Preference Center. Consents are divided into two categories. The first is related to the opt-in/opt-out status of a Contact, which indicates whether a given Contact agrees to receive messages via a given channel. The other category are marketing consents through which a Contact can agree to, for example, the processing of their data for marketing purposes.
TIP: To create a new consent, go to Menu → Audiences → Contacts → Custom consent list.
The Customer Preference Center allows your Contacts to view and manage their consents as they see fit.
Examples:
Here are some examples of consents that can be collected through the Customer Preference Center.
- Opt-in consents:
- Email consent
- SMS consent
- Marketing consents:
- Acceptance of the Privacy Policy
- Consent to the receipt of marketing materials
- Consent to third-party marketing activities
4. Channels and Frequency
Channels & Frequency provides information on the manner of communication preferred by your Contacts, and in particular, on their favorite marketing channel and preferred messaging time and frequency.
Thanks to this section, you will get to know your Contacts’ preferences concerning marketing channels and communication frequency. Your Contacts can specify:
- Whether they prefer to be contacted by email, SMS, or Web Push,
- Whether they prefer to be contacted regularly, sometimes, or occasionally,
- On what days and at what times they wish to receive communications.
The collection of such data is very important for strategic communication planning. It allows you to adjust the messaging intensity and time and create appropriate campaigns through various channels so that you can communicate with your Contacts just as they wish. Analyze such preferences to better tailor your messages. Remember, however, that they are just suggestions and not rigid declarations blocking all other communication.
Examples:
Below you can find some examples of Channels&Frequency preferences that can be collected through the Customer Preference Center.
- Occasional SMS and email messages sent on Fridays between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
- Regular emails sent in the morning throughout the week.
- SMS messages and Web Push notifications sent from time to time (sometimes) on Mondays or Wednesdays, no hour preferences
- Regular communication through all channels, sent in the morning hours (between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.)
- Only important communications (occasionally), only by SMS, only on Saturdays
- Every communication channel, but only in the evening (between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.)