PREFERENCE CENTER ENGAGEMENT AND CRM

How do Preference Center Engagement Statistics factor into successful CRM performance?

• Preference centers lead to a successful CRM performance. It helps marketers to better understand their consumer base, improves brand loyalty, gives helpful feedback, and helps a company to expand its database and revenues.
• With the information received from preference centers, organizations can modify communications to better suit their clients. Companies that adapt to preference centers obtain higher retention and engagement rates as customers desire to be in charge.
• Preference center engagement statistics help companies to understand the interests of their clientele. Instead of paying thousands of dollars to an agency, the company can simply set up a preference center and allow customers to regularly update their wants and needs.
• It also helps with segmentation as customers will select their specific likes and dislikes by choosing the list they want to join. The company can then group them accordingly.
• Preference centers assist with developing an intimate relationship with customers as the company, through preference centers, show the customers that they value and respect them. This creates empowered and loyal customers.
• It diminishes unsubscribe rates by supplying relevant communication for customers.
• It also aids with improving conversion, click, and open rates as customers choose what they want to hear from the company.

Does introducing a preference center increases message open rates/click?

• A company that understands the preferred channel and communication needs of its clients experiences better customer engagement and healthier customer relationships. This will impact the open and click rates.
• Preference centers increase these rates because subscribers choose the content they want to receive, select their preferred format (mobile, computer, tablets), and decide how often they want to receive communication. This gives them options and will lead to them becoming less bothered by constant ‘annoying’ emails.
• One way it increases message open rates/clicks is it reduces the volume of inactive email addresses in the company’s database. Approximately 15-25% of people dispose of their email addresses every year as they switch occupations or transfer to a different ISP.
• Allowing customers to choose their preferences helps the company to create personalized, segmented, targeted, and triggered campaigns.
• These communications deliver a conversion rate that is six times higher, advances click through rates by over 14%, and around 74% of digital marketers stated that developing personalized communication improved engagement.
• About 75% of recipients are more inclined to open personalized emails that interest them.
• AWeber, an email marketing platform, updated their blog’s email automation center by introducing a preference center and discovered what content subscribers wanted to observe and how often they wanted to see it. It then segmented the choices and sent communication based on the subscribers’ selections.
• After employing this strategy, the company saw an email click-through rate that was around 630% higher than its usual average.

Does it impact email list un-subscription?

• Preference centers greatly reduce email list un-subscription. The principal reasons people unsubscribe from an email list is because they receive too many emails, the emails look like spam, the content is not relevant to them, they never wanted to subscribe, or content does not match their preference.
• Preference centers solve all of these problems by allowing subscribers to choose the content they want and how often they want it. A case study done by New York Media showed that the organization’s unsubscribe rate decreased by 76% in just a year after they utilized a preference center. It also got fewer customer complaints.
• Another study found that if companies do not provide customers with a personalized experience, unsubscribe rates can increase by 52%.
• This can be substantiated by the fact that 74% of subscribers get annoyed when content is irrelevant to their interest. Unsubscribe rates will always lessen when emails are personalized.

Does it impact channel engagement (email engagement, social media engagement, and/or direct mail engagement)?

• The University of Birmingham recently used a preference center to collect customer data and develop more targeted campaigns. The use of the preference center resulted in a click-through rate that was 68% higher and greater customer engagement on all of their platforms.
• Preference centers are the key to greater client engagement as they enable clients to have control of how they interact with the company. The organization builds trust with its clientele, increasing engagement and retention.
• Approximately 77% of customers also state that they are more likely to engage with a company that allows them to decide how the company interacts with them.
• Emails containing personalized subject lines have a 26% higher chance of being opened, so the use of a preference center will increase customer engagement. Preference centers facilitate segmented campaigns, which so successful that marketers state that after personalizing their campaigns their email profits rose by 760%.
• With preference centers, companies can decrease opt-outs by 60-90% and advance customer retention and engagement by about 50%. This is all possible by listening to what customers want.

Digital device engagement

• Digital device engagement is necessary as 89% of individuals say that they will recommend a business if it provided a positive mobile experience. A preference center can increase digital device engagement. When a business uses a preference center, it increases brand loyalty and customers are more interested in making a purchase.
•  Spotify offers a great example. The company targets the customers that are interested in the brand based on their previous communication. The result is a smaller database of clients but a much higher engagement rate across all devices.
• A research study was done with 4,000 participants that attempted to discover the "impact of the digital experience on their shopping journey." The research found that promotions, communication, and rewards that customers are interested in increased customer engagement. Preference centers help to locate this valuable information.
• Nearly all the participants stated that they are more likely to engage in a promotion or campaign when it is relevant to them. Also, 27% of the participants use a tablet and 46% use a phone to engage with a company. By using a preference center, the company can find out what channel customers use the most and deliver messages accordingly, increasing digital engagement.

Research Strategy:

TRIGERRED EMAIL STATISTICS FOR SUCCESSFUL CRM PERFORMANCE

• Trigger-based email marketing is customer interaction, that is targeted, on an action by a client or a noticeable modification in client behavior. Triggered emails are a more personalized and meaningful form of communication with customers than push marketing, and they are based on specific client prompts obtained through a data system.
• Around 50% of marketers believe triggered emails that are based on behavior and data are more practical than alternative programs and strategies.
• Regalix Research highlights the various forms of triggered communications/emails, which includes 1) transactional triggers in welcome emails, 2) recurring trigger emails, 3) threshold trigger mails, 4) variable triggers emails, 5) behavioral emails, and 10) re-engagement mail.
• Triggered emails support in building and nurturing customer relationship (CRM) by making them feel special through welcome emails. About 75% of businesses distribute a welcome email "on the same day" as they are found to be the most prominent type of triggered emails. Also, it increases shoppers chances of buying a product online by at least 66%, and businesses can save about 80% of their direct email budget.

• Triggered emails have an enhanced response rate, with a CRT that is 152% higher when compared to traditional ones.
• Triggered emails progress personalization as they are very personalized and customized expressly to match particular events pertinent to the clients.
• When it comes to lead nurturing, triggered emails promptly direct the clients to the appropriate content.
• For marketers, triggered marketing enables them to smoothly maintain marketing business concerns by distributing appropriate communication instead of dispatching email blasts, which helps save resources and time in the future.

STATISTICS

• According to the Get Response email marketing bench marketing report, triggered emails can greatly influence both the click-through and open rate of an email marketing operation, which is vital to its prosperity.
• The report highlights the results of the average metrics marketers witness employing various email marketing methods such as triggered emails, along with other forms of automated emails such as Autoresponder. It was found that the triggered emails provide superior results.

• On average, the triggered emails have an open rate of 44.05%, while Autoresponder has a rate of 29.77%. Meanwhile, the unsubscribed rate for triggered email is 0.51% and Autoresponder's rate is 0.32%.

• The CTR for triggered emails is 10.39%, the click-to open rate is 23.59%, and the spam rate is 0.05%, leading to fewer chances of clients unsubscribing from the email list. The CTR for Autoresponder is 5.92%, the click-to-open rate is 19.90%, and the spam rate is 0.03%.

REVENUE, ENGAGEMENT METRICS, AND SPEED OF COMMUNICATION

• According to research from Bouncex, the performance of triggered emails as compared to alternative forms of email marketing, such as batch-and-blast, is more effective in terms of various other related KPI's like revenue, engagement, conversion rate, and communication.

• Batch-and-blast emails generate revenues of about $0.04 for every send, while triggered emails produce $0.95, which 24 times higher.

• When compared to batch-and-blast emails, triggered emails have conversion rates, click rates, and open rates that are 4.1 times, 2.1 times, and 2.2 times higher. Overall, the engagement metrics for triggered emails are, in comparison to batch-and-blast emails, more than doubled.

• Regarding communication, triggered emails typically have longevity and are much more pertinent to the person reading them, which leads to quicker engagement. Between 18-23% of all engagement occurs after a period of 24 hours from when the email was delivered.

CRM planning and implementation

• The first theme in using a CRM system is to define the objectives. Most research has shown that CRM 2.0 is not just an information system but a "philosophy and a business strategy supported by a system and a technology, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative interaction that provides mutually beneficial value." In other words, there must be an integration between the technology and the organizational goals.
• Customers should not be treated the same. Before the CRM is implemented, the data which will be used to target communication must be defined and built into the system.
• The latest research shows that customer segmentation is based on any of the following factors that are relevant to the organization: demographic features, satisfaction, desired behaviors, profitability, value, involvement level and loyalty level. Most organizations are using cluster analysis and data mining techniques to drive business decisions.
• As an example of determining a customer's brand loyalty, a recent research study listed six customer activities that a CRM system could track to determine engagement: proactively using loyalty cards, redeeming earned points, changing purchasing behavior according to loyalty focused incentives, being receptive to information, sharing the new information and actively searching for information.

Organizational Support

• Having a well-designed system is only the beginning. Corporate support for the concept of customer relationship management is crucial.
• There must be a general organizational culture of customer orientation or the data required will not be collected, or input, and the system will be useless.
• One of the challenges in this model is that revenue managers and CRM managers often have different goals and priorities. Finding a way to integrate them is critical.
• It is also essential to communicate with staff on the goals and value of various CRM strategies in the organization.

Technology and Tools

• Customers and companies now have a growing number of channels they can use to communicate with each other.
• A part of tracking customer behavior now becomes monitoring and recording customer interactions and comments on social media, as well as tracking which communications the organization sent to which segments of their customer base.
• Using a CRM system now also means finding a way of synthesizing a customer's experience into the customer's profile.
• Why go to all this trouble? Because research has shown that using social media to interact with customers increases their commitment to the organization and the brand. Every social media interaction becomes loyalty communication.

Customer perspectives and characteristics

• Understanding the customer perspectives and behaviors should be the value provided by a CRM. The factors that affect these behaviors need to be recognized by the organization to craft loyalty communication that will achieve its goal.
•  Social bonds are created with increased consumption. It's not, however, just about consumption; age and culture also affect customer loyalty behaviors.
• Customer perceptions are grounded in Identity Theory. An organization's commitment to an actual relationship is affected by the service quality and program benefits they experience. The benefits are not always directly attributable to the customer. For example, an organization's corporate social responsibility actions often drive customer loyalty, so communicating that activity directly to the customer becomes even more critical.
• Another social theory affecting customer behavior is the Theory of Justice. Research has shown that the perception of fairness is a critical element in building brand loyalty among customers. The research results showed that "communication-based and value-based fairness significantly influence brand attachment and loyalty intention." Fairness can develop brand attachment and increase customer spending.
• Trust is another factor that drives loyalty. Research has shown that commitment on the part of the organization, trust on the part of the customer and the resulting word-of-mouth are the three key requirements in building social diffusion of the organization's message to its customer base and beyond.
• Both Identity Theory and the Theory of Justice concepts should, therefore, be included in loyalty communications. 

Outcome and impact

• Everything is in place; your CRM system and process is chugging along gathering information and generating targeted communications. What should you be able to do?
• You should be able to track individual customers' transactions, analyze their spending habits, understand their preferences and use that information to communicate with them. For example, if you know they use a product or service you sell on the first of every month, sending a targeted communication about sales of their preferences on the 28th of the month before is a good use of resources.
• Some studies have shown that grouping together customer satisfaction, commitment and trust can form a metric called relationship quality. This metric has been a relatively consistent measurement of customer loyalty.
• All of this information and these actions should, in time increase profitability and perhaps even market share.

Pitfalls

• But wait, it's not all perfect. There are pitfalls that a company must consider.
• As efficient as it is, CRM is not always the best way to achieve objectives. Sometimes "a cigar is just a cigar", and sometimes the reasons a customer is continuing to purchase a product or service has nothing to do with any of the data that is being collected. There is no emotional tie or brand loyalty, just convenience.
• It is also easy to put too much attention on non-value added positive information. The presence of benefits does not inherently generate loyalty, nor does a low level of loyalty mean disloyalty.
• Reading the data is good. Reading too much into the data can send a company down the wrong path.

Conclusion

• Loyalty communications that focus on just program benefits or customer behaviors, while useful, will not provide the full value from a CRM.
• There are data design, process and corporate culture factors that will define the value to the company, as well as social and psychological theories that create value for the customer.
• These must be included for a successful CRM performance.

SEGMENTATION STATISTICS AND CRM PERFORMANCE

• Segmentation improves customer relationship management because it helps the company to personalize its messages based on the needs and wants of its clients. Each client has a unique behavior, preference, and story: segmentation helps the company to speak to the clients using their unique behaviors. This leads to clients feeling appreciated by the company.
• Clients will more likely develop an intimate relationship with the brand and choose it over other brands.
• A survey that was done by Infosys showed that of 1000 consumers interviewed, 86% said that the personalization of messages plays a major role in their purchasing decision.
• A segmented list means that companies have the ability to specify its messages. This leads to a greater conversion rate and also reduces wasted time and effort.
• Segmentation can be broken down into two types: lead segmentation and client segmentation. Client segmentation assists the company with engaging their current customers. It improves CRM because it keeps the clients interested and ensures that they remain loyal to the brand.
• Lead segmentation allows the companies to engage with prospective clients. This improves CRM by assisting the company with building trust, allows the company to tailor its sale messages to suit the clients’ needs, and keeps them engaged. Segmentation is necessary because it helps to create a more personalized experience for clients, and this is what clients want.
• A survey done by Marketo with over 2200 respondents showed that customers were getting tired of the same old marketing campaigns where companies sent the same generic messages constantly.
• Over 63% of respondents complained about this matter and said they were highly annoyed at brands who continue to rely on this marketing strategy. Approximately 78% of these respondents stated that they are likely to engage with brands who personalize their marketing strategies to suit their needs and previous interactions with the brand.
• Segmentation contributes to a successful CRM performance by helping to keep all contacts better organized. If a company has a disorganized list, their marketing campaigns will be disoriented and will be unsuccessful. Breaking down contacts into groups will lead to better organization and better customer service.
• Getting in touch with clients will be much easier. Companies will be able to send specific campaigns to the best target group.
• It boosts sales: the company can maintain and update customer profiles for current and future marketing campaigns.
• Using segmentation, the company can group all past customers in one file, and send them emails based on their previous interactions, increasing retention. This can also be done for prospective customers. This will strengthen the company’s sales pitch and promotional campaigns.
• Promotional campaigns are much easier. One can send out new product information to customers based on their previous preferences. This will increase their chances of making a purchase.

MESSAGE OPEN RATE AND SEGMENTATION

• Segmented campaigns lead to successful CRM performance and have proven to impact open rates and click-through rates drastically. It increases these rates by enabling companies to respond directly to the customers’ needs and behaviors, making each message relevant.
• A survey that was done revealed that email segmentation leads to more open rates and click-through rates as clients were more engaged in the content.
• A different study showed that personalization through segmentation increase open rates by 26%.
• Another study gives credence to this information as it found that 74% of online consumers are frustrated when they receive content that has nothing to do with their interests. This is the reason why over 75% of companies will be moving towards segmented campaigns.
• Statistics from the email marketing platform MailChimp, showed that segmented campaigns performed better than mass campaigns. They had 14.31% more opens and 100.95% more clicks. "Unsubs" (persons who opt to be unsubscribed) were 9.27% lower in segmented campaigns.

SEGMENTED CAMPAIGNS VS. CLUSTER CAMPAIGNS

• According to research done, segmented campaigns have proven to have much more impact than non-segmented or cluster campaigns.
• Marketers are now aware that segmenting their campaigns will improve open and click through rates drastically.
• The latest data by mail chimp showed that segmented campaigns performed much better than non-segmented campaigns.
• Segmentation has more impact as it helps to focus the company’s marketing campaigns, increase its competitiveness and market value, expands its markets, helps for better customer retention, helps the company to have a more personal and intimate engagements with its customers. Overall, it increases the company’s profitability.
• Segmentation has such a great impact that it is being used by top companies such as Nike. One of Nike’s unique selling points is that it separates its customers based on their behaviors and interest.
•  Segmentation has a greater impact, because unlike mass-marketing, it does not assume that all customers behave the same way and addresses the unique needs of a company’s clientele.

SEGMENTATION AND REVENUE

•  Segmented campaigns have increased revenues for many businesses worldwide.
• The fact is segmented campaigns leads to higher conversion rates and better client engagement. This has lead to businesses noting that they have had as much as a 760% increase in revenues.
• Segmented campaigns also increase revenues by saving money as unsegmented marketing increase costs by as much as 3.6 times.
• Using more specific examples, Sway Chic an online women’s fashion store stated that after using segmented campaigns, the company increased its revenue by 40%, doubled its customer retention and tripled its campaigns profits.
• Another company, Doggy Loot, a shop for dog owners, increased its daily sales of products by 16% after using segmented marketing.
• Intermix, a fashion store, saw a 15% increase in their revenue after using segmentation.

EMAIL

• Personalizing email messages can increase click-through rates by an average of 14%, and deliver 6 times higher transaction rates. Seventy-four percent of marketers cite personalization increases customer engagement. Seventy-six percent of marketers give that all emails will be completely personalized over the next five years.
•  Demographic information is one way of creating dynamic content and personalization. Sephora is given as one example of how messages were targeted to consumers based off location as they offered trips to Paris, while being able to run the same campaign for Paris subscribers offering a different trip. Dynamic content based on location increased click-through rates by 29%.
•  Customer segmentation and personalization are necessary for effective marketing campaigns. Ragnar uses a custom program to segment individual runners to target them with the most personally engaging information including content about nutrition, training tips, inspirational stories and more. The volume of their emails decreased, however engagement rates continue to rise. The change to dynamic content resulted in a 41% increase in revenue per email campaign, an 82% increase in open rates, and an 84% click to open increase.
• Email campaigns based on customer segmentation provide about 10% to 15% better open rates, and use of CPD can increase this number to 20% to 25%. General emails blankly sent to entire databases decrease open rates by 5% to 10%. 
• CRMs use automation for welcome emails and insert more relevant content based on how the user subscribes, re-engagement emails to pull subscribers back to your emails or store. Re-engagement emails pull subscribers back by customizing the content to be similar to what they last interacted with.

ONLINE

•  Seventy-five percent of consumers prefer retailers to use their personal information to improve their shopping experience, and 64% report it is important that companies present them with relevant offers.
• Successful CRM practices include presenting dynamic and personalized content across all mediums not just email. To increase conversion rates, it is recommended that contextual banners and native promotional placements that are based on the type of content being viewed because then they add value to the user.
• Dynamic content should be consistent across touchpoints will provide an integrated experience and make loyal customers. Seventy-five percent of marketers say dynamic content across all channels is important.
•  Online customers (75%) get frustrated with websites that have content that has nothing to do with their interests.
• Constant testing, analysis, and reporting are important when producing personal dynamic content on a large scale to identify patterns of success and failures and identify ways to resolve issues.
• CRMs use dynamic content to create personal product recommendations which increase conversion rates for eCommerce stores. Personalizing recommendations are 2 times as effective as nonpersonalized ones, and customers who click on them have a 70% higher purchase rate. CRMs such as Barilliance state that they use a combination of machine learning and content based filtering to identify appropriate personalized product recommendations.
• A case study of Netflix's website dynamic content and personalization breaks down that they combine personalization with content variety to create value that shows the total value of subscribers goes up with each new series, create competitive advantage, and enhances customer retention.

STRATEGY