A Forrester Research Inc. study from last year titled “Marketers: Stop the Abuse! Adopt Preference Management” explores the importance of knowing customer preference before building e-mail, direct mail, and telemarketing campaigns. Forrester researchers wonder how “80 percent of marketers can claim that customer preference is a key factor in determining which message is sent to customers when only a handful even ask how often customers would like to hear from them.”

The report shows that

• Only 33 percent of marketers capture customers’ preferred method of message delivery.

• 29 percent capture the type of content that customers want to receive.

• 12 percent capture customers’ preferred frequency for receiving marketing e-mails.

• 8 percent capture preference for receiving direct mail and telemarketing calls.

• 30 percent of marketers who capture at least one type of preference data take no action based on that preference.

As your business grows, consider how you can move from one-size-fits-all marketing toward programs based on relevance and preference. You may never achieve total customization, but you’ll learn great insights just by asking.