Data collection has a reputation for being cumbersome and complex, which can deter many marketers from leveraging personalization in their campaigns. We often hear marketers saying it’s too challenging to collect data to be able to create personalized emails. But this comes at a cost – just sending batch and blast campaigns results in low levels of engagement, with higher unsubscribe and spam rates that can have a negative impact on email deliverability. On the contrary, personalized messages perform better, driving more engagement and revenue while giving marketers the chance to develop a connection with their customers.  

The good news? Advancements in data collection strategies have simplified the process, making personalization more straightforward than you may think. 

Preference center opportunities

 

Collect invaluable zero-party data: The preference center boasts a wealth of zero-party data for marketers to work with. In addition to valuable data like a customer’s first name, location, or date of birth, you can gain specifics around what interests each customer, when they want to be contacted, how frequently, and on what channel, taking a level of guesswork out of the equation. Collecting zero-party data through interactive content like surveys and polls within your emails can also be an engaging way to learn more about your subscribers.

 

Build trust in your brand: Successful preference centers offer a user-friendly interface and clearly explain the benefits of providing information. It helps build and maintain trust and encourages clients to share their personal information and preferences. Marketers can efficiently collect and use this data to enhance email personalization without facing significant challenges around privacy.

 

Let customers tailor their experience: An effective preference center living within each of your emails can be a valuable aspect of adapting content at any point along the customer journey – e.g., with new customers or to lapsed customers as part of a re-engagement campaign – prompting subscribers to change their preferences.

 

Turning that data into personalization 

 

Data collected via preference centers is valuable for tailoring content. Here are some ideas for how to turn the collected data into personalization across your emails, SMS, WhatsApp, and mobile push notifications:   

• Include a first name in your subject lines to make your email stand out 
• Leverage dynamic email content to showcase products and services your subscribers told you they’re interested in 
• Build multichannel journeys to provide personalized experiences via the subscribers’ preferred channel 
• Use the collected data to refine your segmentation and send more targeted campaigns 
• Define your comms strategy, including comms frequency, content type, and channel based on your contacts’ preferences 
• Make the most of the readers’ residential location to include banners within their emails with a promotional code to use at their local store or the address of their closest branch 
• Wish your subscribers a happy birthday 

The takeaway? Brands should...

 

1. Encourage subscribers to fill in preference centers during sign-up or through periodic prompts in their emails 
2. Leverage this data to provide personalized experiences to their subscribers to show them the value of data collection 
3. Occasionally remind their subscribers to review their preferences. Tastes, interests, and lifestyle are not set in stone and personalized content must evolve accordingly 
4. Go beyond zero-party data personalization by tracking user behaviors to continually optimize their personalization strategies 

Beyond preference centers

 

In addition to the valuable zero-party data collected by your preference center, marketers gain in control and flexibility with first-party data, which enables them to act in real time, deepen personalization efforts based on direct interactions, and easily comply with privacy regulations. 

If you are already using a preference center and are looking at exploring other opportunities, read our book written in partnership with Marketing Dive, First-party data: Strategies for personalized campaigns and methods for effectively integrating new techniques. Or, watch the instant replay of our webinar, First-party data strategy: From fundamentals to campaign ideas.

If you’re a current customer who needs help putting together your data acquisition strategy or building your preference center, contact the Acoustic Professional Services team to learn more.