3 Generic Email Blast Mistakes That are Costing You
When used correctly, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to drive customer acquisition and retention. Email continues to drive at least 4x higher ROI than all other marketing tactics.
But generic email blasts, or emails that you send to your entire database, hurt your ability to communicate with your guests. You also risk receiving unsubscribes and spam reports. If your messages get reported as spam often, your sender score and email deliverability will suffer.
It’s not that your guests don’t want to hear from you – it’s that your generic emails aren’t relevant to them.
There are three common mistakes I see hoteliers make when it comes to generic email blasts.
1. Neglecting to segment your database
The day before Valentine’s Day, Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club sent this package offer to past guests who live within driving distance of 25 miles. This Smart Segment helped Ashdown Park fill rooms on short notice because they targeted the right guests.
Guest data stored in Revinate Marketing helps you create customized Smart Segments. Now, you can send the most relevant content and better engage with prospective guests. You’re also avoiding showing up in their inboxes with irrelevant messages too often.
With Revinate, you can segment by attributes like gender, direct bookings versus OTA bookings, or business travelers versus travelers with families.
Targeted messages make it easy to increase direct bookings. For example, you can offer special incentives to guests who have booked directly in the past. Subscribers are also more likely to engage with your emails when the content speaks to them.
2. Being a robot to your guests
Some hotels send messages from “marketing@hotel.com” and some sign off with “Best respects, [Hotel Name].” What’s missing?
It’s the personalization factor. You should send messages from a real person who represents your hotel’s brand and message.
For example, an email asking a guest to leave feedback could come from the General Manager of the hotel. Or an email advertising a spa special could come from a favorite masseuse. It’s all about adding a personal touch.
People are more receptive to emails that are tailored to them. Little details like adding the recipient’s name to the subject line and email body show your extra effort to make guests feel special.
Oceana Beach Club Hotel did both things we recommended. They addressed the guest directly by his name and even included their Guest Services Manager’s name for an extra personal and professional touch.
3. Not paying attention to your email content and layout
You have just a few moments to capture the attention of your recipient. If your email content and layout aren’t eye-catching or engaging, you run the risk of your campaign being ignored. Some important elements are the copy, call-to-action, and the design of the email itself.
The key is to communicate what you want your guests to do with a strong, primary call-to-action.
64% of people opening an email based on the subject line, so this one-liner carries a lot of weight. Your subject line should be the start of a personal conversation with your guests. A good subject line should tap into at least one of the following: Curiosity, Urgency, Relevancy, Value, and Emotion.
There are several email layout best practices to follow to create the perfect look and feel. Take a look at our section about email layout in our email deliverability post for more details.
The Alta Peruvian Lodge did a fantastic job with both their content and layout. This on-property welcome email gave guests everything they needed to start their stay on a great note – they even know the weather forecast. Visually, this email is unique and eye-catching.
Revinate technology is redefining guest communications
The bottom line is generic email blasts are a thing of the past. If you want to stay top-of-mind with your guests, partner with a technology solution, like Revinate Marketing, that enables you to easily send relevant and personalized communications to your customer database.
If you’re interested in learning more about email marketing for hotels, check out our marketing blog posts or speak to a Revinator.
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