The SAP Customer Data Cloud preference center is a comprehensive solution for consent and preference management. It encompasses workflow management of consent and its versions, audit capabilities, and early-stage and later-stage customer profile management.
The preference center serves as the primary point of contact with your customer. Companies who wish to build a relationship of trust with engaged, active users must make sure that they clearly display to users the data stored in their account and enable a way to manage their communication and privacy preferences. In addition, compliance regulations require presenting the data you have collected about them clearly and transparently to users.
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Preference Center Implementation
You can create a preference center by implementing SAP Customer Data Cloud's Update Profile screens.
The screen-set includes several screens, including a screen for updating the profile, one for reviewing the policies to which the user agreed, and another for managing communication preferences.
Profile Screen
The Update Profile screen should contain all the user's data, especially personally identifiable information, or PII, such as first name, last name, e-mail address, home address, and any other information they have entered throughout their site journey. You can customize the screen to reflect to the user that the preference center is their place to manage their data and take the opportunity to increase transparency and trust.
Privacy Screen
The Privacy screen should reflect the following information to users:
The terms of service and privacy policy to which they consented when registering to your site. This is displayed via consent widgets.
Any other consent statement if your site includes such statements. This is displayed via consent widgets.
If you offer a non-mandatory consent statement, you should include a checkbox mapped to that statement to allow users to withdraw consent that they gave or to agree to a statement they have previously not agreed to.
Communication Screen
The Communication screen is where users can view their communication preferences and subscribe to or unsubscribe from newsletters, notifications, and other communication channels.
Introducing the Lite Preferences Center (Legacy)
The Lite Preferences Center (Legacy) is a streamlined user flow within SAP Customer Data Cloud. It empowers "lite" users—those who haven’t fully registered—to manage their communication and privacy preferences. Unlike traditional account management, this flow is initiated via a secure, single-use email invitation, ensuring both simplicity and security for users who may not yet have a full account profile.
The process starts when your website or application calls the accounts.sendLiteInvite API. This API sends a personalized email to the lite user, containing a unique, single-use link. When the user clicks this link, they are redirected to a dedicated Lite Preferences Center page on your site. This page must load the SAP Customer Data Cloud WebSDK and display a custom screen-specifically designed for preferences and profile management.
The invitation link is protected by a single-use token (regToken) for security. If a user attempts to reuse the link, they will encounter an error such as https://Your-Site.com/index.php?errorCode=403005&errorMessage=Unauthorized+user ensuring that only the intended recipient can access their preferences.
Activating the Lite Preferences Center
There are two primary ways to enable this feature:
- Via API
Use the accounts.setPolicies API, passing the preferencesCenter object with a valid redirect URL.
- Via Console
In the SAP Customer Data Cloud Console, navigate to the Email Templates menu under User Interfacing, open the Lite Preferences Center template, and set your redirect URL. Don’t forget to save your settings and customize the sender details as needed.
User Experience Flow
- Initiation
The user clicks a link on your site or receives an email invitation.
- Invitation
If triggered via your site, accounts.sendLiteInvite is called, and the user is notified to check their email. Your site should display a confirmation message or redirect to a success page, explaining the next steps and link expiration time.
- Access
The user clicks the email link, which brings them to your Lite Preferences Center page. The SAP CDC WebSDK validates the regToken, and if successful, presents the user with the profile and preferences screen-set.
- Interaction
The user can view and update their profile data, communication preferences, and privacy settings. Required fields must be completed before submission, according to your site schema.
For detailed code samples and live demo, please refer to the Lite Preferences Center (Legacy) documentation.
Key Considerations
- Security
The invitation link is single-use and expires based on your configuration.
- Customization
Use screen-sets to customize the appearance of the Preference Center and configure required fields.
- Error Handling
Always validate the user and handle errors gracefully, as the API will return 200 OK regardless of user validity for privacy reasons.
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Introducing the One Account – Preferences Center
With the new One Account Model, SAP Customer Data Cloud introduces a modernized and unified Preferences Center experience. This feature empowers users to seamlessly manage their communication, data, and privacy settings from a single, secure location. The Preferences Center is a key part of building trust with your users, providing transparency and control over their personal information and consent preferences.
The Preferences Center is accessed via a secure link sent to the user. This link can be delivered by email, SMS, WhatsApp, or any preferred communication channel. The link contains a session token, generated using the accounts.auth.token.create endpoint, which ensures that only the intended recipient can access their preferences. Unlike the legacy Lite Preferences Center, these tokens can be reused until they expire, making it easier for users to manage their settings over time.
There are two ways to send the Preferences Center link:
- Automated Email
Use the accounts.prefCenter.sendEmail API to generate and send the email with the link.
- Custom Messaging
Use the accounts.prefCenter.getLink API to generate the link, then include it in your own custom message (SMS, WhatsApp, etc.).
Implementation Approaches
You can implement the Preferences Center in two ways:
- Hosted Page
Quickly deploy a Preferences Center by creating a Hosted Page of type Preference Center within SAP Customer Data Cloud. This is ideal for rapid setup and standard use cases.
- Custom Page
For a fully branded and customized user experience, create a dedicated page on your website. This page must load the SAP CDC WebSDK (gigya.js) and invoke accounts.showScreenSet with a screen-set tailored for preferences management.
User Experience Flow
- Invitation
The user receives a secure link to the Preferences Center by email or another channel.
- Access
Clicking the link opens the Preferences Center page, where the SAP CDC WebSDK validates the session token.
- Management
The user can view and update their communication, data, and privacy settings. All changes are saved in real time, ensuring compliance and user satisfaction.
Key Benefits
- Unified Experience
One Account Model brings all user preferences into a single, consistent interface.
- Flexible Delivery
Send links via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or custom channels.
- Security
Access is protected by expirable session tokens, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
- Customization
Choose between a quick Hosted Page or a fully branded custom implementation.