The arrival of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) woke consumers up to the fact they have a say in how their data is used. Consumers are still comfortable receiving marketing. But it needs to be the right marketing. Marketing that’s relevant.
Post GDPR, consumers are more likely to push back when the marketing they receive doesn’t serve them. Giving them a sense of control is crucial. A smart way to do this is through an email preference centre — a form that allows subscribers to control when, how, and what they hear from you.
This blog post explores how your brand (and your customers) can benefit from an email preference centre. We also consider what a good email preference centre looks like, to give you inspiration for your own.
What is an email preference centre?
An email preference centre is a form which allows your subscribers to control the email marketing they receive from you.
An email preference centre can give subscribers control over:
- when and how often you contact them
- which channels you contact them through
- the types of content you send them
Subscribers can also give you additional information about themselves via an email preference centre. When they signed up, you may have only collected their name and email address.
The sorts of additional information an email preference centre may ask may include:
- their age
- their gender
- their product preferences
Benefits of an email preference centre
No matter how awesome your email content is, there will always be people who decide to unsubscribe. Perhaps your message is just missing the mark. Or maybe your frequent contact is wearing them out.
Losing subscribers because you aren’t quite getting it right is frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Email preference centres empower customers to give you a second chance.
An email preference centre allows a subscriber to change the nature of emails you send them, rather than simply unsubscribing. In this way, email preference centres help you to maintain a healthy, engaged subscriber list.
As well as preventing unsubscribes, an email preference centre helps you to collect additional data about your customers. You can use this to improve the way you segment your marketing. This will increase engagement, drive conversions, and support revenue growth.
Examples of email preference centres
So, what does an effective email preference centre look like? Here are some examples from brands leading the way:
1. Jordans
Cereal brand Jordans has created an email preference centre which strengthens its brand.
The form displays tasty-looking products to engage the subscriber. It uses simple, on-brand copy to invite them to fill out the form.
The subscriber is asked “What floats your boat?” — a question which helps Jordans learn which types of content they prefer.
2. Karcher
Karcher uses a clean, simple design in its email preference centre. The branded colours are eye-catching, drawing the subscriber to engage with the form.
The form makes strong use of product images to find out more about the customer’s purchase history.
Karcher also asks about lifestyle — crucial information that will help the brand better segment and personalise the marketing they send.
3. Park Holidays
Park Holidays appeals directly to the subscriber’s need for “me time” in its email preference centre copy.
The way the copy is framed makes the subscriber feel in control and mirrors the mindset that might drive them to book a holiday. After all, holidays are all about them!
4. The Protein Works
The Protein Works puts the subscriber in the driving seat with its no-nonsense approach in this email preference centre.
Minimal design, on-brand colours, and straightforward questions mirror the focus of someone with their eyes set on their next workout goal.
5. Rick Stein
Rick Stein’s email preference centre helps the brand make its marketing more relevant to subscribers by asking questions about their location. Dining out is inherently local.
6. Ryvita
Ryvita’s email preference centre uses tantalising product images to engage the subscriber. It goes on to ask them some key questions about their interests to improve personalisation.
The complimentary use of orange in the product image and for the copy keeps the subscriber focused on the form.
Takeaway
An email preference centre is a smart way to empower consumers to take control of the way you communicate with them.
Giving subscribers the opportunity to change when, how, and what you send them reduces the likelihood that they’ll simply hit unsubscribe.
The questions you can ask through an email preference centre enable you to get smarter about how you segment your audience and personalise your message.
We hope the examples of email preference centres explored in this post have given you some inspiration for your own.
Implementing an email preference centre is easy with the right email marketing technology in place. To see ours in action, book a demo.
