Multichannel communication is quickly emerging as a necessity in brand messaging. The next step for companies is determining which customers prefer which channels, and when they prefer to receive messages. This was the theme of “The Power of Preference,” a session presented at the 2015 Engagement & Experience Expo.
Presenters Brian Hood, Director of Digital Marketing at Intuit, and Eric Holtzclaw, Chief Strategist at PossibleNOW, shared with attendees the benefits of determining customer preferences in forming a communication strategy.
Determining customer preference is a big step toward providing a personalized customer experience. In providing a 1:1 marketing interaction, companies will often ask customers about their level of expertise with the subject. Because many users will give an inaccurate assessment of their own knowledge, Holtzclaw said, it’s often more beneficial to gather information based on their actions.
“The more time you spend reading the content, or reacting to ads, or following into prompts, the more I know about you without overtly asking,” Holtzclaw said. “You can then use this information to personalize and fine-tune the conversation you’re having with your customer.”
Beyond personalization, understanding preference goes a long way in improving optimization and cost savings. The session offered an example of an insurance company that asks customers whether they’d like to receive their welcome packets through direct mail or digitally via email. Not only does the digital option provide convenience for customers, it also saves the company on printing and postage expenses.
Hood often encounters the misconception that gathering customer preference data is a one-time event instead of an ongoing process.
“People think that you can just put in a preference center and then you’re done,” Hood explained. “It’s not a one-and-done thing, it’s a practice. If you decide to collect preferences internally, you need to have a group that understands it and governs it, just like any other marketing technology.”
Hood added that a governing team can act as a gatekeeper for outgoing communications. Without this key component, it becomes nearly impossible to form a marketing plan based around customer preference data. With omnichannel communication becoming the norm, customer preference data has become an invaluable tool in providing consumers with relevant and effective marketing material.