See below for additional details on creating preference options written by our very own James Brown
With Sugar Market you have 3 options for collecting opt outs and opt ins. Each one of these options has different benefits based on your requirements. We have listed the options below with the pros and cons for each unsubscribe option.
Default/Unsubscribe Page (found under Global Settings)
The standard process for people unsubscribing using the default page ensures that the CRM is updated, and records are securely opted out. When a person unsubscribes via this page Sugar Market automatically updates the Contacts.OpOut field which then pushes to CRM to update the standard opt out field. The person is also added to the Guarded Watch system. More details on the Guarded Watch list can be found at the bottom of this document.
Pros:
- Can update the page design and message in the Global Settings area. You can edit using the wysiwig or by using HTML code.
- The option to add additional suppression list options to the page. This gives people the option to opt out of certain types of communications and not just all communications.
- If a person opts out of all communications this action will add them to the Guarded Watch list.
Cons:
- This is not an opt in page. This page can only be used for opt outs, either from types of communications or all communications.
- By adding further types of communications this will create a suppression list for each type. Sugar Market will not automatically stop these people from receiving the emails they no longer want to receive. To prevent people from receiving unwanted communications you must add the suppression list as an exclude list on the single email or nurture for that type of communication (ex. Newsletters, Product Updates, etc.).
- There is only one page for all your opt out options. You cannot create multiple pages for different brands or in different languages.
Custom Form/Landing Page (built using Form Builder and Page Builder or your own landing page)
Pros:
- Can be styled to be on brand and the same as your website.
- You can have multiple forms and pages. These can be used across different business lines or used for different languages.
- Can be used as a preference page which allows people to opt in and out of certain types of communications.
- Data from the form can be mapped directly into fields in the CRM.
- As the preference options are stored in CRM fields the user can create dynamic lists to target leads/contacts correctly.
Cons:
- Custom fields will need to be created in CRM to collect people’s preferences. Mappings to these fields needs to be exact.
- Previous preferences will not be prepopulated should they visit the form again if cookies have been cleared. The form must be hosted in a Sugar Market landing page.
- Does not add the person to the Guarded Watch list. Losing the safety net of the Guarded Watch list means records will need to be added manually via imports.
Preference Page/Preference Lists
Pros:
- Very easy and quick to setup and put live.
- The ability to add several types of communications that people can opt in and opt out from.
- Adds people into lists based on the types of communications they have opted in to receive.
- People can opt out of all communications directly from the page and will be added to Guarded Watch.
Cons:
- Unable to style and make on brand. The appearance of the preference page is not editable.
- Only works with 1.0 Single Emails. The preference page cannot be linked via 2.0 Single Emails or Nurture campaigns.
- You can only have 1 preference page. There is no option to have several pages based on business line or language.
- Does not map communication preferences to CRM fields. Data is only stored in Sugar Market via preference lists. Each list member will have a status of Opted In or Opted Out
- Not recommended to be used.
What is the Guarded Watch List?
The guarded watch list is a table in Sugar Market that is separate from the Lead/Contact that houses unsubscribe information. When a record unsubscribes using the standard unsubscribe page they are automatically added to this list.
By being added to the Guarded Watch list this ensures the person will not receive any emails sent from Sugar Market. Even if the person is deleted from the CRM the person’s email address will still be on the Guarded Watch list and we will honor that unsubscribe request should another record be created with the same email address. If a new record is added to the CRM/Sugar Market with the same email address the record will still be referenced as Unsubscribed and will not be sent emails.
Users are not able to remove people from the Guarded Watch list, only SugarCRM support can remove people from the list. For our support team to remove someone from the list they will require an email from the person asking to be resubscribed to your emails. The support team will then resubscribe the person which allows them to receive emails moving forward. It is important to note that their Opt Out status in CRM must also be reset in order for them to receive emails.
*The Guarded Watch list is a great safety net in ensuring that people who have asked to not receive your emails are not resubscribed or sent to accidentally.
