Contact Preferences

Rachael Norris
Rachael Norris
  • Updated

Contact Preferences are used to record information about how a customer would prefer to be contacted. This can also be known as an opt-in, consent or marketing permissions.

In this article, we’ll give an overview of how Contact Preferences work and how to set them up. We’ll also cover how Contact Preferences are collected and how your customers can manage their own Contact Preferences online. 

VIDEO: If you're new to Contact Preferences, take a look at our Contact Preferences, Tags and Customer Attributes concept video.

In this article:

 

What are Contact Preferences?

You can use Contact Preferences to gather preferences from Customers about how you can use their personal data (email address, postal address, phone number, etc.) for marketing purposes.

TIP: In the UK, Ireland and Canada you must have a record of consent to legally contact your Customers with marketing information.

In Spektrix, you and your customers can use Contact Preferences to keep a record of when permission was granted or updated. You can give customers the option to agree to one or more Contact Preferences depending on how and how often they would like to hear from you. You can then use this information to build targeted Customer Lists.

 

Why use Contact Preferences?

You can set up multiple Contact Preferences for different purposes. 

For example, you can use Contact Preferences to:

  • Gather permission from your customers to communicate with them in a certain way. For example, by phone, email or post / mail.  
  • Let customers choose how often they’d like to be contacted. For example, weekly updates, monthly updates or large announcements.
  • Let customers choose what they’d like to be contacted about. For example, Fundraising campaigns, different types of Events (Cinema, Drama, Comedy) or news about certain projects.

You can also use Partner Companies Contact Preferences to collect Contact Preferences on behalf of other organisations that you work with.

You can link Contact Preferences to your Dotdigital account so unsubscribes and resubscribes sync between Spektrix and Dotdigital, keeping your data up to date.

 

What does a Contact Preference look like?

Contact Preferences should be phrased as clear and descriptive questions or statements.

For example: 

I would like to be kept up to date by email with latest news, events and offers

When managing their Contact Preferences online, customers must check or uncheck the box to opt in or out.

Each Contact Preference can have three possible responses:

  • Yes: the customer has seen and accepted the Contact Preference. A checked box is a yes response. 
  • No: the customer has seen and declined the Contact Preference. An unchecked box is a no response.
  • Not Asked: the Customer has not been prompted for the Contact Preference. The Not Asked option is only available to Sales Users when a customer makes a purchase in person or over the phone.

 

How to set up Contact Preferences

Contact Preferences are set up and managed in the Settings Interface. 

You’ll need to click Go to New Interface from the Control Panel if you are not already in the new interface.

 

TIP: To access the Settings Interface, you’ll need the Settings Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Spektrix administrator in your organisation to add this Role to your User Account.

To find Contact Preferences, go to Customers > Contact Preferences:


 

You’ll see a list of the Contact Preferences set up on your system:

 

To create a new Contact Preference you will need to:

  1. Create a new Contact Preference Group or choose an existing one
  2. Create a new Contact Preference

 

Create a new Contact Preference Group

A Contact Preference Group can hold one or more Contact Preferences.

You can rearrange the order of your Groups, and the order of the Contact Preferences within each Group.

  • To create a new Contact Preference Group, click on the New Contact Preference Group button:

  • Enter a Headline for this Contact Preference Group. You can enter optional Headline text which will be displayed above any Contact Preferences in this group online and in the Sales Interface.

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  • Click Create Contact Preference Group.

TIP: You can move each Contact Preference between different Groups, however, the Partner Company group can only contain the Partner Companies Contact Preferences that you’ve set up.

 

Create a new Contact Preference

You can create as many Contact Preferences as you need. Each Contact Preference must have a unique name.

To create a new Contact Preference just click the New Contact Preference button within the Contact Preference Group:

Then, complete the details about your new Contact Preference:

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  • Name: give your Contact Preference a memorable, unique and descriptive name.  For example: Marketing Email or Marketing Phone. This name will only be visible in the Settings Interface and in Reports.
  • Using a clear naming convention structure can help provide clarity when it comes to reporting and segmenting based on Contact Preferences. 

    When defining report or segment criteria, only the name of the Contact Preference is visible (not the name of the Contact Preference Group). Therefore, we recommend repeating the name of the Group within the name of the Contact Preference. 

    Group: Marketing

    • Marketing Email
    • Marketing Post
    • Marketing Phone

    Group: Fundraising

    • Fundraising Email
    • Fundraising Post
    • Fundraising Phone
  • Text: enter the text to display alongside your Contact Preference online to your customers. This sentence needs to be phrased as a clear statement.
    For example: I am happy to receive monthly marketing emails.

  • Description: enter an internal description which will display alongside your Contact Preference. This description will only be visible to other users in the Sales Interface.

  • This preference is only shown if a Donation or Membership is in the customer's Cart/Basket: check this box to only ask for the customer to complete this Contact Preference if a customer has a Donation or Membership in the Cart/Basket. If checked, this Contact Preference will not display during account creation or during any sales which do not include a Donation or Membership.

  • This preference is selected by default: check this box to automatically select this Contact Preference when a Customer creates an account.

WARNING: Checking the preference is selected by default box means that a Customer will need to actively opt-out of this Contact Preference if they do not want to agree.

  • This preference is linked to Dotdigital: check this box to link this Contact Preference to Dotdigital. This should only be used for Email Contact Preferences. Linked Contact Preferences will automatically be unchecked if a customer clicks Unsubscribe on a Dotdigital Email Campaign. Read How to link Contact Preferences to Dotdigital for more information

REMINDER: Email Contact Preferences should be linked to Dotdigital. If a Customer clicks an Unsubscribe link in any of your Dotdigital Email Campaigns, all of their linked Contact Preferences are automatically changed to No in Spektrix. Read Contact Preferences and Dotdigital for more information.

  • This preference is active: leave this box checked to make this Contact Preference active. Uncheck this box to make this Contact Preference inactive.
    Contact Preferences must be active to display to Customers online or in the Sales Interface. You can still report and Segment on inactive Contact Preferences. 

TIP: Consider making Contact Preferences that you no longer use inactive so that they aren’t displayed during account creation.

  • When you have completed the details, click Create Contact Preference.

 

How to edit Contact Preferences

Contact Preference Groups and Contact Preferences will display in the Sales Interface in the same order they are in the Settings Interface.

Click and drag the six dots icon to re-order individual Contact Preferences and Groups:


You can edit Contact Preferences and Groups to make them active or inactive.

You should set any unused Contact Preferences to Inactive.

Making a Contact Preference inactive means that it will no longer display to customers online or in the Sales Interface. You can still report and create Segments based on inactive Contact Preferences.

TIP: We recommend making Contact Preferences inactive rather than deleting them. Deleting Contact Preferences which are in use can cause errors in your system and prevent any Customer Lists or Schedules which use it from running. Making Contact Preferences inactive rather than deleting them also means you can still use them in reports and Segments.

To make a Contact Preference inactive, toggle the Show Inactive Contact Preferences switch so that it is green. You will then see an Active switch beside each of your Contact Preferences:


From here you can set each Contact Preference to be active or inactive.

You can only see inactive Contact Preferences when the Show Inactive Contact Preferences toggle is switched on (green).

How to edit Contact Preference Groups

To edit a Preference Group, click on the pencil icon in the top right-hand corner.


  • You can then change the Header text which appears online:

  • Click Update Contact Preference Group to save your changes

 

How to edit a Contact Preference

To edit a Contact Preference, click on the name of the preference:


You can then change the details. Click Update Contact Preference to save your changes:

 

Where are Contact Preferences collected?

Contact Preferences can be assigned:

TIP: When purchasing tickets for an Event linked to a specific Partner Company Partner Company Contact Preferences will appear alongside standard Contact Preferences.

When a customer creates an account online

There are three ways a Customer can create an account online:

 

My Account page

Customers can create an account from the My Account page on your website. 

After completing the Details and Address information, the customer will be asked to indicate their Contact Preferences.

The customer can check or uncheck the box next to each Contact Preference. A checked box is a yes response. An unchecked box is a no response.

REMINDER: If you've set your Contact Preference to only show when a Donation or Membership is in the Cart/Basket then it won't be visible during account creation.

Express Checkout

Customers can create an account during the Checkout process on your website. 

After completing the Personal Details and Ticket Delivery information, the customer will be asked to indicate their Contact Preferences.

The customer can check or uncheck the box next to each Contact Preference. A checked box is a yes response. An unchecked box is a no response.



REMINDER: If you've set your Contact Preference to only show when a Donation or Membership is in the Cart/Basket then it won't be visible during checkout unless a Donation or Membership is in the Cart/Basket.

 

Integrated sign up forms

Sign up forms let your customers sign up for your mailing list and create a new customer record on your system without going through the full process of creating an account. 

Sign up forms are implemented on your website by your web developers. If you use Spektrix Subsite you can add a simple sign up form to your website without the support of a web developer.

There are two options for sign-up forms:

  • Simple sign-up form: The simple sign-up form can capture first name, last name and email address. In order to implement the simple sign up form, you will need to have at least one Contact Preference which is linked to Dotdigital. Customers who use this sign up form will automatically have the associated Contact Preference(s) added to their account. If an existing customer completes an online sign up form, the Contact Preferences on their existing Customer Record will be updated.

  • API sign-up form: The API sign-up form can be used to collect additional data. For example, using an API sign up form, you can also apply a Tag to a Customer Record record indicating where the sign up originated from or adding additional Contact Preferences. Depending on the implementation of the API sign up form, you can determine whether an existing customer can update their Customer Record.

TIP: The simple sign-up form is available to users of Spektrix Subsite.

Read more about capturing customer data on your website in our article on Sign up forms.

When creating an account in the Sales Interface

A Sales User can create an account (Customer Record) on behalf of a customer in person at the Box Office, or over the phone. 

When a customer purchases tickets for the first time the Sales User will need to create a new Customer Record to complete the transaction (unless they’re using the Counter Quick sales channel).

After completing the Details and Address information, the Sales User will be prompted to ask the customer about their Contact Preferences.

Sales Users will see a dropdown and can choose from three options:

  • Yes: the customer agrees to the Contact Preference question
  • No: the customer declines the Contact Preference question
  • Not asked: the Sales User did not ask the customer’s preference

Contact_Preferences_Sales_New_Account.jpg

If a Sales User chooses not to collect a Contact Preference by leaving the answer as Not Asked, the customer will be prompted with the question again next time they make a purchase online or in person.


When a customer makes a purchase online

When a customer with an existing account makes a purchase online they will be presented with any Contact Preferences for which their current response is Not Asked. 

The customer can check or uncheck the box next to each Contact Preference. A checked box is a yes response. An unchecked box is a no response.

 

When performing a sale in the Sales Interface

When a customer makes a purchase in person, or over the phone, with an existing account they’ll be presented with any Contact Preferences where their current response is Not Asked.

Sales Users will see a dropdown and can choose from three options:

  • Yes: the customer agrees to the Contact Preference question
  • No: the customer declines the Contact Preference question
  • Not asked: the Sales User did not ask the customer’s preference

If a Sales User chooses not to collect a Contact Preference by leaving the answer as Not Asked, the customer will be prompted with the question again next time they make a purchase.

When a customer views their account online

Customers with existing accounts can log in to their account online through the My Account page on your website. When viewing their account, customers can update their details, including their Contact Preferences.

Customers can edit their responses to the Contact Preferences by clicking Edit Contact Preferences.

Then, the customer can check or uncheck the box against each Contact Preference and click Save to complete the changes. 

When managing Contact Preferences in their account, customers can also respond to Contact Preferences that they haven’t been asked before. Partner Companies Contact Preferences will only display on the My Account page if they’ve already been asked for these preferences.

REMINDER: If you've set a preference to only be shown when a Donation or Membership is in the Cart/Basket it will only be visible on the My Account page if a customer has explicitly responded Yes or No.

If you display your terms and conditions online they will also appear within the Contact Preferences section. 

When sending out email communications, as well as an Unsubscribe link you may also want to include a link to the My Account page on your website where customers can manage their own Contact Preferences.

When viewing a Customer Record in the Sales Interface

Contact Preferences can be managed on behalf of customers by Sales Users in the Sales Interface.

You’ll find the Contact Preferences listed in the Details section of the Customer Record.

To edit Contact Preferences in a Customer Record, follow these steps:

  1. Scroll down to the Contact Preferences section and click the blue pencil icon:

edit_contact_preferences.jpg

2. Change the Contact Preference by choosing the appropriate option from the dropdown and click Save:

 
save_contact_preference.jpg

Reporting and Segmenting on Contact Preferences

You can Report on and Segment customers based on their responses to Contact Preferences.

TIP: If a Contact Preference is inactive, you can still report and segment on it - the Contact Preference name will display followed by (inactive).

 

Contact Preferences in Segments

In Customers Lists you can use the Contact Preferences in Customer Segments.

When you drop the Contact Preferences metric into the Drop to add to criteria box, you can choose the name of the Contact Preference you want to include from the dropdown:

You can then check the Yes, No or Not Asked boxes, depending on which customersyou want to include in the Segment. 

From the contains all of dropdown, you can choose whether the Segment contains all of, some of or none of the Contact Preference responses you have chosen. 

REMINDER: Contact Preference Group names are not visible when reporting or segmenting.

 

Contact Preferences in Reports

In Reports, the Contact Preferences metric is found in the Customers wrapper:

When you drop the Contact Preferences metric into the Drop to add to criteria box, you can choose the name of the Contact Preference you want to include from the dropdown:

You can then check the Yes, No or Not Asked boxes, depending on which people you want to include in the Segment. 

From the contains all of dropdown, you can choose whether the Segment contains all of, some of or none of the Contact Preference responses you have chosen. 

REMINDER: Contact Preference Group names are not visible when reporting or segmenting.


Further Reading

To continue learning about Sending Email Campaigns and Mailings, Contact Preferences, and configuring Spektrix System Emails take a look at the Communicate with your Customers section of the Support Centre.