Consent & Preference Management for Marketing

With the arrival of several new data privacy regulations, marketers all over the globe are racing to get up to speed with how best to manage consumer consents and preferences. Enabling consumers to manage consents and preferences is both a legal and commercial obligation, however, this can run counter to your own marketing and sales efforts.

How does consent and preference management affect marketing campaigns? Is there a way for marketing teams to identify data privacy concerns and overcome them?

The short answer to all of the questions around consent and preference management is that solutions exist to keep companies compliant, brands visible, and consumers in control of their personal information. A longer answer requires understanding what marketing teams strive to accomplish and how their work relates to data privacy.

Marketing Challenges and Data Privacy

Consumers demand more from their content. Whether they want education, information, or entertainment, traditional media is being left behind. Marketers have to keep up and give consumers what they want. Consumers typically don’t want to be shown ads that don’t speak to them. They want personal experiences they can connect and resonate with; experiences that are more likely to boost a brand’s visibility and convert prospects into paying customers.

How can companies discover consumers’ preferences? By finding out what they want by collecting information about their tastes.

With data privacy laws quickly emerging across the globe, and the growing expectation of individual privacy as civil liberty, consumer data collection has also become a large challenge.

Organizations must inform website visitors about what information including what they want to collect, the reason for collecting, and how long they will store the data. Additionally, consumers must be given the option to deny permission and to dictate the channel and frequency of marketing communications. Marketing teams can no longer simply acquire consumer information without permission. They must comply with regulations and respect consumer privacy rights through transparent consent and disclosure.

Data privacy laws along with the depreciation of cookie technologies may hinder marketing efforts from a data analysis standpoint, and without all of the consumer data to drive market insights, organizations may struggle to develop and sell their products and services. The key is to acquire consumer data while practicing effective consent and preference management by balancing the need for collecting data and respecting individual privacy rights.

Marketing Considerations for Consent & Preference Management

The law is one primary aspect marketing teams should take into consideration when approaching consumer data privacy and consent and preference management. Companies can be fined for non-compliance with privacy regulations designed to protect people’s rights.

Another significant aspect is consumer demand. What do people want? The growing trend among consumers is that they want to maintain their privacy, control their information, and receive relevant content.

Consent and preference management can allow marketing teams to serve the interests of their companies, follow regulations, and give consumers what they want. It is unethical to collect data from unsuspecting consumers without their consent or minimally an easy-to-understand notice about the data being collected. Amazingly, many marketing teams don’t take advantage of the benefits that come with using a preference management system. Whatever preferences that customers submit have the potential to provide marketing teams with an additional layer of data that could help uncover new market segments for revenue growth.

Benefits of Consent and Preference Management for Marketers

Consent and preference management gives marketing teams a prime opportunity to focus on consumers. Giving customers the power to grant consent, as well as provide their own preferences can create a bond between a brand and a potential paying client. Trust can build loyalty, which can result in repeat business.

Personalizing marketing messages zeroes in on what consumers want. When served with content that resonates with their interests, consumers tend to have a more positive experience. Additionally, the organizations that do this are also viewed as more genuine and caring towards customer needs. By respecting their consent and abiding by their preferences, it demonstrates that the consumers have been heard. Personalization can deliver a first-rate customer experience that forges a connection between brands and their target audience.

Succeed with Consent and Preference Management

Marketing teams should be doing everything they can to leverage these requirements as a competitive advantage. Marketers should work with data privacy, legal, and IT professionals to build, employ, and maintain a privacy program that includes consent and preference management. Collaboration can lay the groundwork for a system that delivers compliance and consumer insights.

A consent management platform can help ensure quick compliance while meeting a company’s business needs. Using such a platform can ease the burdens of consent and preference management. Marketing teams can use data that was legally obtained directly from consumers to improve the customer experience. When all of these factors work together, marketing teams can effectively engage with consumers and new prospects to generate even more revenue from sales.

WireWheel's Universal Preference and Consent Platform: The Easiest Way to Manage Preferences and Consents

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