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How to Better Understand Customer Communication Preferences

1. Move Beyond Surveys

Companies need to move beyond surveys and use analytics to drive a deeper understanding of customers’ communication preferences. Tools such as speech and text analytics can reveal insights about the customer experience and their preferences for communicating. You can do analysis after the interaction or even as it is happening, adjusting to their needs and improving the experience in real time. - Celia Fleischaker, Verint Systems Inc

2. Provide Obvious Calls To Action

Because a website is the “information hub” for most companies, I’d recommend being very specific about what you are asking people to subscribe to. Give them obvious calls to action for what they are signing up for. For example, someone may want webinars but not newsletters, or only certain types of articles in a newsletter. The same thing goes for unsubscribing. Give them the option there. - Stacy Gentile, Vengreso

3. Trust Data Over Anecdotal Remarks

The data will say (and show) what people won’t directly tell you. Often, clients will say they don’t receive a company’s emails when the reality is they unsubscribed months earlier. Trust the data over anecdotal remarks that are harder for customers to come out and say, such as, “I don’t like your emails.” - Brittany White, Apple Growth Partners

4. Ask Them Directly

Ask them! Wherever you are gaining your customers’ contact information, ask for their preferences and respect them. - Erica Mau-Schank, Vibe Creative Marketing

5. Listen More

Sounds overly simple, but communicators are spending more time than ever crafting stories and pushing them out. Pausing to ask smart questions and then really listening to the answers can lead to better engagement in the future. - Liz Sheets, TUNHEIM

6. Pair First-Party And Contextual Data With Omnichannel Personalization Tech

Brands should know where to listen to and communicate with customers through digital channels where they may be present at any given time. This means communication must be relevant and consistent across channels. Pairing consented first-party and contextual data with omnichannel personalization technology allows brands to achieve hyper-personalization at a large scale. - Anna Luo, Jivox

7. Include Data Collection, Management And Privacy Requirements In Campaigns

Companies should use data to understand how to best communicate with customers. Include data collection, capture and management, and privacy requirements in your campaigns. Then you’ll be able to pinpoint which communications channel receives the best engagement. Focus resources there. However, it’s important to customize to stated preferences. If a customer prefers calls, pick up the phone. - Mandy Dhaliwal, Boomi

8. Offer A Wide Variety Of Options For Contacting You

Having a wide variety of social media accounts and ways to contact a company is a great way to better suit your customers’ communications preferences. Some customers will want to email, and some will want to talk to a real person on the phone. Having different options allows your customer to feel comfortable contacting you by whatever method they choose. - Christian Anderson, Lost Boy Entertainment Company

9. Ask The Right Questions

What information does a customer want? Are they more receptive to visual, text or data-driven communication? Also, how do they want that information delivered? At the project management level, one incredibly simple but important question we ask is: “Do you prefer phone, email or text for ongoing day-to-day communications?” - Michelle Stark, Red Sage Communications, Inc.

10. Provide An Easy Way To Unsubscribe

First, there should always be an easy way for customers to “unsubscribe,” whether from SMS, email, social or any other form of communication. Then, make sure the data you collect about user preferences is getting analyzed and stored in a way that aligns with the customers’ wishes. - Haseeb Tariq, Disney Streaming

11. Create Online Communities And Reward All Feedback

Create online communities to give your customers a place where they can vent and express any feeling, whether it be good or bad. And reward them no matter what the feedback is. This will open the gates of communication. - Philip Kushmaro, PKDMA

12. Ensure Compliance With Data Management And Cleaning Specifications

While most companies do put out correspondence regarding preferred methods of communications, the issue is often in their data management and cleaning. Data is a huge part of marketing, and compliance with data specifications is imperative to maintaining good relationships with digital customers. - Mollie Barnett, S.M.A.R.T. Company

13. Pay Attention To The Methods Customers Use To Respond To You

Most of the time, you can tell what someone’s preferences are by the way they respond. If you call someone and leave a voicemail, and they write you an email back, that shows they are more comfortable with email. I know some people think calling someone is the only way to get answers, but if someone does not want to talk on the phone, you could just be annoying them and hurting the relationship. - Sarah Lero, Peerless Products Inc

Link to the original article here.

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