Most marketers have a love-hate relationship with preference centers: consumers will very rarely head to a preference center to add more emails to their inbox. Often, the only reason they go to preference centers is to unsubscribe – no marketers' favorite button.

Preference centers are necessary, though, and they don't need to be a "necessary evil." They can create a better customer experience, personalize experiences based on your customers' interests, and ensure you remain compliant with data laws. In addition to these benefits, preference centers are an excellent source of zero-party data, which is becoming more critical as third-party data gets harder to come by due to the death of cookies and Apple's iOS 15 privacy updates. But with the right strategies, any team can implement a winning preference center.