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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Customer experience | Sales, Customer Insights,... / Real-time preference c...
Customer experience | Sales, Customer Insights,...
Suggested Answer

Real-time preference center & managing preference center topics

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Posted on by DM-10051729-0 58
Wrapping my head around Real Time preference center and have a few questions re: how to align this with customer expectations for a subscription center & user expectations for list management.
 
Business needs
  1. Several different public mailing lists allowing customers control over what emails they receive
  2. Most contacts are added to the lists automatically when they are created, via both marketing forms and from the CRM
  3.  They should be able to remove themselves from the given lists/topics via a subscription/preference center
  4. Strong desire to use Real Time marketing features rather than Outbound but not mandatory
Questions:
  1. I *think* if the compliance setting is Non-Restrictive for commercial email and I send a commercial email + specific topic (let's say /Newsletter Updates/), all contacts who had NOT opted out of /Newsletter Updates/ would receive that email - is that correct?
  2. What mechanisms do I have for auto-adding all Contacts to specific Topics in RT (maybe this is a non-viable solution, as they are either opted in, agnostic, or opted out) OR for auto-adding to subscription center lists in Real Time?
  3.  It looks like one path could be use a preference setting where checking the box opts the contact OUT of the specific topic. This is kind of the behavior I want (everyone gets it by default, but can opt out in the preference center). My concern is that checking a box to opt OUT of a topic is totally counter-intuitive. What are my options for a preference center where unchecking a box removes someone from a topic, rather than checking a box?
  4.  Can I use Topic opt in/out status as criteria in a Segment, or would that only apply to the Journey? Ideally I'd be able to use public preferences as a way to create a segment, rather than relying on the Journey to suppress opted out or non-opted in contacts (depending on how restricted the send was). Is this possible with RT Topics? Should I see Outbound lists available to for use? Do I need to add these as an Attribute > related table...?
  5.  Surfacing and possibly managing subscription/preferences within the CRM for sales users - both at scale according to business logic (see Q #2 - is a Workflow what I need for auto-adding to Outbound lists?), and for individual records (someone emails requesting to be removed from /Newsletter Updates/ - how would staff handle this? How about viewing on a Contact record whether someone was receiving (or not) emails sent to that list/topic, or re-adding them back in if they removed themselves by accident and want to rejoin?
 
Thanks - I realize there are lots of questions here, can probably figure some of this out with testing but navigating Outbound vs Real Time documentation make searching etc awkward right now, and doesn't always contain recommended solutions (example managing lists at scale).
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  • DM-10051729-0 Profile Picture
    DM-10051729-0 58 on at
    Update and outstanding questions:
    1.  Yes
    2.  Not going to pursue this, will just use non-restrictive setting
    3.  Decided to modify preference center language so people can check a box to opt out
    4.  Yes; available as a criterion in RT segments; I think this was just rolled out
    5.  Still stuck on this - doesn't appear to be a direct lookup/connection between Contact Point Consent and Lead/Contact records, because it is specific to the email/phone number not person (I'm guessing). Other than searching by email within Contact Point Consent records, how can marketing/crm users easily see what topics any given Contact has opted in or out of?
  • Mej Profile Picture
    Mej on at
    Hi, I've submitted this with a similar query. Hoping someone responds. https://community.dynamics.com/forums/thread/details/?threadid=b8b7787d-5648-ef11-a317-6045bdd49f80
  • danathac Profile Picture
    danathac 4 on at
    I don't know if you have had any better luck, but when I try to build a segment based on a topic it returns every contact in our CRM, which is not at all helpful. You are right that consent-contact point is too far away from contact to relate the two records. I am trying to build an automation in PowerAutomate that would populate a field on the contact record which would be tied to a dynamic segment, but that is a struggle. 
     
    This feels like a core functionality of any marketing email tool that they missed by overbuilding. 
  • Suggested answer
    DAnny3211 Profile Picture
    DAnny3211 11,407 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

    Hi,

    Great questions! Managing subscription preferences in Real-Time Marketing in Dynamics 365 can be nuanced. Here's a breakdown of your concerns:

    1. Compliance Setting & Topic-Based Sending:

      • Yes, with Non-Restrictive compliance, contacts who haven’t opted out of a topic (e.g., Newsletter Updates) will receive emails tagged with that topic.
      • Real-Time Marketing doesn’t auto-add contacts to topics. Instead, contacts are either opted in, opted out, or agnostic. You can use marketing forms or custom workflows to set topic preferences upon contact creation.

    2. Opt-Out Behavior in Preference Center:

      • You're right — the default behavior is opt-out via checkbox, which can be counterintuitive.
      • To improve UX, consider customizing the Preference Center UI to clarify actions (e.g., using toggles or explanatory text).
      • You can also use confirmation steps or tooltips to reduce accidental opt-outs.

    3. Segment Creation Based on Topics:

      • Yes, you can create segments based on topic preferences in Real-Time Marketing.
      • Use Contact insights and topic subscription status as filters.
      • Outbound lists can still be used, but Real-Time Topics offer more flexibility and granularity.

    4. Managing Preferences in Journeys & Manual Requests:

      • You can use Journey branching logic based on topic preferences.
      • For manual opt-outs (e.g., email requests), update the contact’s topic subscription manually or via a quick flow.
      • Consider using Power Automate or custom workflows to streamline this process.

    Let me know if you'd like help designing a preference center or automating topic subscriptions!

    Best regards,
    Daniele

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