Preference Management: Ketchup vs. Mustard

My sister put mustard on french fries. Not because she likes the way it tastes. The line for the ketchup was too long.

What are your customers telling you about how and when they want to receive information from you? If your methods, frequency or information isn’t what they’re looking for, you risk turning a lead into a frustrated one or worse, into an “unsubscribe.”

In today’s world there are a myriad of methods for you to keep in touch with your users. Weekly newsletters may work for some. Others may wish to consume your RSS feed (more information on RSS). It’s to your benefit to spread your message through multiple channels.

Change your frequency. Change your tone. Change your color scheme. People will surprise you sometimes.

In my look at Personalization Through Passive Profiling I talked about different ways to identify what information is of interest to your audience. These two theories working together provide your users a sense of control, which will help to increase the chances they will pay attention to your message.

The important thing is to execute on the preferences once you collect them. Asking for and then ignoring the answer will alienate a lot of your user base. However, properly executed, your users will get the information they need in the most effective manner.

Your users are busy. Show you care by giving them the information they want and need so they can go back to wasting their time waiting in line for ketchup.