--- name: customer-communication-preferences description: Track, manage, and honor customer communication preferences across all support interactions including channel preference, language, tone, frequency, and contact timing. Use when setting up preference tracking, implementing preference-based personalization, managing do-not-contact lists, handling communication frequency caps, respecting GDPR/privacy preferences, or building customer communication profiles. Triggers on phrases like "communication preferences", "contact preferences", "do-not-contact", "channel preference", "communication history", "preference tracking", "message frequency", "communication personalization". --- # Customer Communication Preferences & History Track and respect individual customer communication preferences across all support touchpoints to improve satisfaction and reduce opt-outs. ## Workflow ### 1. Preference Collection and Profile Management 1. **Preference data sources**: - **Explicit preferences**: Set by customer via self-service portal, onboarding survey, or account settings - **Implicit preferences**: Inferred from behavior — which channels they use most, response times, engagement patterns - **Agent-set preferences**: Documented during support interactions — "Customer prefers email over chat" - **System-detected preferences**: Language from browser headers, timezone from IP, device type - **Regulatory preferences**: GDPR consent records, CCPA opt-out status, TCPA consent for SMS 2. **Preference categories tracked**: ``` COMMUNICATION PREFERENCE TAXONOMY =================================== CHANNEL PREFERENCES: Primary contact method: Email / Chat / Phone / SMS / In-app / Social Secondary fallback: What channel to use if primary unavailable Channel restrictions: "No phone calls", "SMS only for urgent" TIMING PREFERENCES: Preferred contact hours: Start time - End time (local timezone) Do-not-contact windows: Specific hours/days to never contact Urgency override: Allow contact outside normal hours for P0/P1 issues CONTENT PREFERENCES: Response format: Detailed (step-by-step) vs Concise (bottom line first) Technical depth: Beginner-friendly vs Technical terminology acceptable Personalization level: First name, formal, or no personalization Attachment preferences: Inline images vs links vs text-only FREQUENCY PREFERENCES: Max messages per day: 1-5 from support Newsletter/subscriptions: What marketing emails they receive Digest preference: Individual notifications vs daily/weekly digest Follow-up cadence: How often for check-ins after resolution LANGUAGE AND LOCALE: Preferred language: English / Spanish / Japanese / etc. Formality level: Formal / Casual / Professional Regional conventions: Date format, currency, measurements RELATIONSHIP PREFERENCES: Dedicated agent: Prefer same agent each time (for VIPs) Executive contact: Direct line to account executive for strategic issues Notification level: Every update vs summary only vs only if action needed ``` 3. **Profile creation and merging**: - Auto-create preference profile on first interaction - Merge data from all sources with conflict resolution (explicit > implicit > system-detected) - Update profile after every interaction based on observed behavior - Confidence scoring per preference: High (explicitly set), Medium (behavior-confirmed), Low (inferred) - Version history: Track preference changes over time with timestamps ### 2. Preference Enforcement in Support Operations 1. **Agent workspace integration**: - Customer preferences displayed prominently in ticket header - Visual indicators: 📧 Email preferred | 🕐 9 AM-5 PM EST | 🇯🇵 Japanese speaker - Warnings: "⚠ Customer has 'no phone calls' preference — use email" - Quick actions: "Send via [preferred channel]", "Schedule for [preferred time]" - History: Timeline of all past interactions with outcomes and satisfaction 2. **Automated preference enforcement**: - Channel routing: Auto-route new tickets to customer's preferred channel - Send-time scheduling: Auto-schedule messages within customer's contact window - Language matching: Auto-translate agent responses to customer's language - Frequency caps: Block message send if exceeds customer's daily limit - Format adaptation: Adjust response style based on customer's depth preference 3. **Preference violation detection**: - Real-time scan before sending: Does this message violate any preference? - Violation types: Wrong channel, wrong time, wrong language, frequency exceeded, format mismatch - Warning levels: - Hard block: Cannot send (e.g., TCPA opt-out, wrong timezone) - Soft warning: Agent can override with justification (e.g., urgent issue) - Info notice: Awareness only (e.g., "Customer prefers concise, this response is detailed") - Audit logging: All violations logged, overridden, or warned ### 3. Communication History and Timeline 1. **Unified communication timeline**: - Chronological log of ALL customer interactions across channels - Each entry includes: date/time, channel, direction (inbound/outbound), subject, sentiment, outcome - Grouped by interaction thread: Related messages clustered together - Visual indicators: ✅ Resolved, ⚠ Escalated, 🔄 Open, 💬 Discussed - Searchable: Filter by channel, date range, agent, topic, sentiment 2. **Interaction outcome tracking**: - For each interaction: CSAT score, resolution status, follow-up required - Pattern detection: "Customer always opens tickets on Mondays", "Prefers resolution over explanation" - Satisfaction trend: Rolling 6-month CSAT score trend line - Preferred resolution style: "Quick fix" vs "Detailed explanation" vs "Callback" 3. **Account-level communication summary**: - Total interactions (30/60/90 day, lifetime) - Channel distribution: % email, % chat, % phone, % other - Average resolution time - Average CSAT score - Escalation frequency - Top interaction topics - Communication health score (engagement + satisfaction + frequency) ### 4. Privacy, Compliance, and Opt-Out Management 1. **Regulatory compliance integration**: - GDPR: Consent record for each communication type; right to erasure processing - CCPA: Opt-out status, "Do Not Sell" flag, data deletion request handling - TCPA: SMS consent tracking; opt-out list enforcement; consent date verification - CAN-SPAM: Email unsubscribe processing within 10 business days - Industry-specific: HIPAA for healthcare, PCI for financial data 2. **Opt-out processing**: - Customer clicks unsubscribe or requests opt-out via any channel - Auto-process within defined SLA (email: 24 hours, SMS: immediate) - Update preference profile across ALL systems (help desk, marketing, CRM) - Confirmation message to customer - Audit log entry with timestamp, processing agent, systems updated - Quarterly opt-out list reconciliation across systems 3. **Data retention and deletion**: - Communication history retention: 7 years (legal requirement) or customer-requested earlier deletion - Anonymized analytics: Retain aggregate data for trend analysis after individual deletion - Right to access: Export all communication history on customer request (within 30 days per GDPR) - PII redaction: Auto-redact sensitive data in internal agent notes after 1 year ## Templates & Frameworks ### Customer Communication Profile ``` CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION PROFILE — Acme Corp / John Smith ========================================================= ACCOUNT INFO: Company: Acme Corp Contact: John Smith, VP Engineering Plan: Enterprise ($5,400 MRR) Tenure: 18 months Account health: Green (82/100) COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES: Primary channel: Email (explicit, set in profile) Fallback channel: In-app messaging Do-not-use: Phone calls (explicit: "Please no calls, I'm often in meetings") Contact hours: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST (explicit) Urgency override: Yes — allow for P0 system outages only Language: English (US) Response style: Concise, bottom-line first (behavior-confirmed) Technical depth: High — comfortable with API references, code snippets Max messages/day: 3 Digest preference: Individual notifications (no digest) PREFERENCE CONFIDENCE: Channel: HIGH (explicit profile setting) Hours: HIGH (explicit + behavior confirmed) Language: HIGH (explicit) Response style: MEDIUM (behavior-confirmed from 23 interactions) Technical depth: MEDIUM (behavior-confirmed from CSAT on detailed vs concise) Frequency cap: LOW (agent-set based on one conversation) COMMUNICATION HISTORY (Last 90 Days): Total interactions: 14 Channel breakdown: Email 86% | Chat 7% | In-app 7% Average response time: 2.4 hours CSAT scores: 4.6/5.0 avg (range: 4.0 - 5.0) Escalations: 1 (billing dispute, resolved in 48 hours) Topics: API integration (5), Billing (3), Feature request (3), Account setup (2), Other (1) RECENT INTERACTIONS: 2025-08-15 | Email | API rate limit issue | Resolved | CSAT: 5.0 | Agent: Maria S. 2025-08-10 | Email | Invoice discrepancy | Resolved | CSAT: 4.0 | Agent: James K. 2025-08-03 | Chat | How to add team members | Resolved | CSAT: 5.0 | Agent: Priya R. 2025-07-28 | Email | Webhook configuration | Resolved | CSAT: 4.5 | Agent: Maria S. 2025-07-22 | Email | Feature request: bulk export | Logged | CSAT: N/A | Agent: Tom B. PREFERENCE VIOLATIONS (Last 90 Days): 2025-07-15: SMS sent at 8:45 PM EST (outside contact hours) — Agent override (P1 urgency) 2025-06-28: Phone call attempted — Blocked by system, redirected to email COMPLIANCE STATUS: GDPR consent: Active (last renewed 2025-03-15) TCPA consent: Active for SMS (consented 2024-09-01) CAN-SPAM: Active (subscribed to support emails) Opt-out status: None Data retention: Standard (7-year retention) Last preference review: 2025-07-01 (next review: 2025-10-01) ``` ### Preference Violation Report ``` COMMUNICATION PREFERENCE VIOLATION REPORT — August 2025 ========================================================= SUMMARY: Total violations detected: 23 Hard blocks (message stopped): 8 Soft warnings (agent override): 12 Info notices (awareness only): 3 VIOLATION BREAKDOWN BY TYPE: Type | Count | Severity | Trend ---------------------------|-------|----------|------ Wrong timezone send | 7 | High | ↓ 40% Frequency cap exceeded | 5 | Medium | → stable Wrong channel (phone DND) | 4 | High | ↓ 50% Outside contact hours | 3 | Medium | ↓ 25% Language mismatch | 2 | Low | → stable Marketing content to opted-out | 1 | Critical | New ⚠ Wrong formality level | 1 | Low | → stable AGENTS WITH MOST VIOLATIONS: Agent | Violations | Primary Issue | Coaching Needed? ----------- |------------|-------------------------|----------------- Tom B. | 6 | Timezone sends | Yes — training Sarah L. | 5 | Channel preference | Yes — awareness James K. | 4 | Frequency caps | Monitor Priya R. | 3 | Contact hours | No — all urgent Maria S. | 2 | Language (Japanese) | No — edge cases VIOLATION IMPACT: Customer complaints about preferences: 3 (down from 8 in July) Opt-out requests citing preference violations: 1 CSAT impact on violated interactions: 3.1/5.0 (vs 4.4/5.0 non-violated) Estimated revenue risk: $8,100 (1 enterprise customer threatened to downsize) IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS: 1. Launch timezone awareness training for Tom B. and 2 others — Week 2 2. Add "channel preference" banner to top of ticket header — Week 3 3. Implement hard block for phone calls to "no calls" customers — Week 1 4. Weekly violation report shared with managers — Starting Week 2 5. Preference violation coaching added to quarterly performance reviews — Q4 ``` ### Preference Collection Survey ``` CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION PREFERENCE SURVEY ========================================= Help us support you better. Please tell us how you prefer to communicate. CHANNEL PREFERENCES: Primary contact method: [ ] Email [ ] Live Chat [ ] Phone [ ] SMS [ ] In-App If your preferred channel is unavailable, we can use: [Dropdown] Channels we should NEVER use to contact you: [ ] Phone [ ] SMS [ ] Social Media TIMING: Best hours to reach you (your local time): Start: [Dropdown: 6 AM - 12 PM] End: [Dropdown: 12 PM - 10 PM] Days to avoid: [ ] Weekends [ ] Holidays [ ] Specific days: _______ CONTENT PREFERENCES: When you have a support issue, you prefer: [ ] Quick resolution with minimal explanation [ ] Detailed step-by-step guidance [ ] Explanation of why something happened [ ] A callback or video walkthrough Technical detail level: [ ] Keep it simple, no technical terms [ ] Standard business language [ ] Technical details welcome (I understand APIs, code, etc.) FREQUENCY: Maximum support messages per day: [1] [2] [3] [No limit] Would you prefer a daily digest of updates? [Yes] [No] LANGUAGE: Preferred language: [Dropdown: English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Portuguese, Chinese] Formality: [Formal] [Professional] [Casual and friendly] COMPLIANCE: [ ] I consent to receive support communications via my selected channels [ ] I consent to communication data being stored for preference management [ ] I understand I can update these preferences anytime via my account settings All preferences can be updated at: [Link to self-service preference center] Survey estimated completion time: 2 minutes ``` ## Integration Points - **Help desk systems** (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom): Preference display in ticket view; automated enforcement; violation logging - **CRM systems** (Salesforce, HubSpot): Sync preference data bidirectionally; account-level and contact-level profiles - **Email platforms** (SendGrid, Mailgun): Preference-based sending; unsubscribe processing; frequency capping - **SMS platforms** (Twilio, Plivo): TCPA consent management; opt-out enforcement; delivery tracking - **Communication platforms** (Slack, Teams): Internal preference notes; team visibility on customer preferences - **Marketing automation** (HubSpot, Marketo): Sync opt-out status; preference-based segmentation - **Analytics platforms**: Preference adherence reporting; violation tracking; impact analysis - **Compliance systems**: GDPR consent management; CCPA opt-out processing; data retention policies ## Edge Cases - **Multiple contacts at same account with conflicting preferences**: Enterprise account with 5 team members, each preferring different channels: - Maintain individual preference profiles per contact, not per account - Route tickets to specific contact's preferred channel - For account-wide communications (outages, announcements): use most common preference or send via all preferred channels with opt-out - Agent can select which contact to reach when opening ticket - **Preference changes mid-interaction**: Customer switches from email to chat mid-ticket: - Log preference change and update profile immediately - Continue conversation on new channel without losing context - Note: "Customer switched from email to chat on [date] — may prefer chat going forward" - Confirm with customer: "Would you like us to use chat for all future support?" - **System override for critical issues**: P0 outage affecting customer with strict "no contact before 6 AM" preference: - Hard-coded P0 override: Send via all channels including those restricted - Include message: "We know this is outside your preferred hours — sending because this affects your service" - Log override with justification for audit - Follow up during preferred hours with full details and apology for off-hours contact - **Preference data conflicts across systems**: CRM says "email preferred" but help desk shows "chat preferred": - Conflict resolution rules: Most recent update wins → Explicit setting beats behavior → Help desk beats CRM (support is primary) - Flag conflicts for manual review when confidence scores are equal - Auto-resolve if one source is explicitly set by customer vs inferred - **Regulatory preference changes**: Customer exercises GDPR right to erasure but needs preferences retained for support: - Retain minimum necessary data: Contact method and timing (for legal support obligations) - Delete optional preferences: Tone, formality, content style - Document retention basis: "Retained for legitimate interest — service delivery" - Periodic review: Annually assess whether retained data is still necessary ## Output ### Preference Adherence Monthly Report ``` PREFERENCE ADHERENCE REPORT — August 2025 ========================================== OVERALL METRICS: Preference adherence rate: 96.2% (target: >95%) ✓ Messages sent per preference: 10,480 of 10,900 (96.2%) Preference violations: 23 (0.21% of total interactions) Customer satisfaction with preferred communication: 4.6/5.0 Customer satisfaction with non-preferred communication: 3.8/5.0 CHANNEL PREFERENCE ADHERENCE: Email preferred → Email sent: 98.7% ✓ Chat preferred → Chat used: 97.2% ✓ Phone restricted → No calls made: 100% ✓ (1 attempt blocked) SMS consented → SMS sent only to opted-in: 100% ✓ TIMING PREFERENCE ADHERENCE: Within contact hours: 94.8% ✓ (3 off-hours — all P0 overrides, logged) Timezone accurate: 98.2% ✓ Holiday respected: 100% ✓ FREQUENCY CAP ADHERENCE: Daily cap respected: 96.4% (5 cases where urgent issues exceeded cap) Opt-out processing time: 4.2 hours avg (target: <24 hours) ✓ Unsubscribe honored: 100% of 34 requests IMPACT ANALYSIS: Customer opt-out rate: 0.8% (↓ from 1.5% before preference system) Repeat contact for same issue: 3.2% (↓ from 5.1%) CSAT improvement from preference adherence: +0.5 points Estimated revenue protected: $127,000 (from improved retention) TOP PREFERENCE TRENDS: Email remains dominant: 72% of customers prefer email Chat growing: 15% (↑ 3% from last quarter) Phone declining: 8% (↓ 4% from last quarter) SMS: 5% (stable) In-app: 10% (↑ 5% — correlated with new in-app messaging feature) RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Launch preference center self-service update (currently agent-only) 2. Add preference prompt to ticket creation flow: "How would you like to be contacted?" 3. Quarterly preference refresh survey for customers inactive 90+ days 4. Integrate preference data into marketing platform for full-stack consistency ```