Introduction -
For hoteliers who care about driving repeat business, it is critical that you communicate with guests throughout the entire customer journey, from pre-arrival to post-stay.
One of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to connect with guests is through email marketing. It remains the best channel for building guest relationships as it is a marketing medium you, as a hotelier, own and would have full control over. Used effectivity email is a great method to increase the amount of direct bookings at your property but with nearly 300 billion emails being sent every day, making an impact in the inbox is vital.
Email Overview -
Various findings from marketing surveys would provide useful insights as to the power of email and the typical habits of email users.
More than half of us check our email before doing anything else online.
5 seconds - the amount of time you have to grab the reader's attention.
72% of people prefer to receive promotional content by email, compared to social channels like Facebook
Email continues to deliver the highest ROI of all digital marketing channels. Typically 4x higher than other marketing channels such as social media, direct mail, and paid search.
Email Design -
Design a visual, eye-catching email and half the battle is over. With only five seconds to grab the reader's attention, the design makes a huge difference.
Work with your brand identity & consistency in mind. Use your brand colours, logo, fonts, and visual elements.
When thinking of email design it is best to adopt a mobile-first approach. As according to one study about 6 in 10 users now access email exclusively from mobile devices.
Ask yourself what you want your email to achieve and how you will measure its success. Use the answers to these questions to help simplify and focus your marketing message and design.
Other considerations would be Alt text which is alternative text that is displayed with an image to provide context when images are blocked or turned off also look to connect your email marketing with your social media channels by placing links to your profiles in the email's footer.
Subject Line -
Your subject line is the first thing your readers will see. Don't underestimate the importance of this one line. If you can personalise your subject line with names from information in your database, that's even better. A good subject line and including your name and email address in the inbox are key elements to impress your subscribers.
Test what works best for your campaigns - typically subject lines including numbers get a 45% higher open rate so you could try something along the lines of '6 reasons to visit in Oct' or '8 action pack days out in XXXX'.
Emojis can be a great way to get noticed in the inbox as they save space, convey emotions and add some colour that can grab the attention of the reader.
☀️ Last-minute summer getaway deals
It's good practice to consider your the pre-header text, how it ties in with your subject line and email message as it gives readers valuable context which can help encourage them to open.
Data -
By utilising data in your property management system (PMS) and sending a highly targeted, personalised message based on a guest’s travel habits, spending behaviour and therefore more relevant email your campaigns will be more effective with higher open and click rates compared to generic email blast emails.
Email data can also be collected by adding a subscription form on your hotels website, you can also offer bonuses for signing up for your emails such “Fill in the forms below and receive pdf guide to most popular tourist attractions in XXXX" or drive people to opt-in using contests and promotions.
It is better to look at list maintenance after each send to keep records up to date. A hard bounce is a permanent failure to deliver to an email address and should be removed from your list if not automatically removed by your email marketing tool. Soft-bounced emails are still valid and should be included in your next send although best to monitor and if repeatedly showing as soft bounce then better to remove them.
Email Campaigns -
A strong email marketing strategy should incorporate raising brand awareness, driving traffic and increasing hotel revenue. Since email campaign results can be measured in a short time frame, it make email a great medium to test different promotions with various Call-to-Action messaging in order to optimise your marketing communication. Creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity can give emails a higher open rate.
Consider seasonality for your hotel when planning your email marketing campaigns. During peak season the need to discount would be less so may wish to focus on room-upgrade & additional services such as wellness treatments etc. Low season would be the period when you can focus on flash sales and heavy discounts in order to increase occupancy rates.
Depending on the specific stage of the guest journey which would include inspiration, detailed research & planning, hotel booking, pre-arrival, at the property and post-stay your email content options would include;
start relations with appropriate and well-designed welcome emails to show the benefits of staying at your property.
share user-generated content from previous guests to potential visitors for increased social proofing and to show that they can trust you.
give clients exclusive deals and flash sales by designing creative campaigns to help increase low-season occupancy.
Monthly or bimonthly newsletters to nurture relationships by keeping leads and customers in the loop about what’s going on at your hotel.
Abandoned cart email's - to re-engage with those that may have simply forgotten to complete the checkout because of being interrupted and then lost the booking page link or to remind them of the advantages of your offer.
booking confirmation email to notify customers that you have processed their reservation and that their room awaits!
share valuable information to guests for their upcoming trip, such as contact for emergencies, interesting sights to see, seasonal events, what clothes would be suitable, best way to get to your property from the airport/train station etc.
offer personalised emails based on email segmentation to encourage room upgrades and boost sales of add-on's.
Loyalty program sign-up for special bonus and future savings.
On-property emails help ensure guests know about the services and amenities they can use during their stay, welcome letters from the General Manager and contact information for whoever is responsible for fielding guest comments.
Post-stay emails can be a simple thank you message or a guest survey. You need to know if your clients are satisfied with their stay. It will help you make improvements to the guest experience for future arrivals.
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