5 Email Nurture Tips for Increasing Online Bookings
COVID-19 has placed a pause on travel plans for travelers across the globe for the past year, but attractions and borders are starting to open back up slowly but surely.
This means that the travel industry may see a spike in tourism soon. And with this, your tour business needs to be prepared to stand out amongst the sea of travel competition.
When your travel tour company is ready to start offering tours again, you will need to find new ways to entice customers to book. How can you do this? You can do this by launching a successful email nurture campaign.
What is an email nurture campaign?
An email nurture campaign is a series of actions and activities sent to your email list over a certain time frame.
The goal of an email nurture campaign is to provide the right information at the right time which, if acted upon, will result in more travel bookings for your business.
In fact, lead nurturing emails get 4–10x more responses than standalone email blasts.
Why email marketing?
Email marketing is one of the best ways to build your brand and market your travel business online. It gives you the power to connect with customers and prospects in ways that other advertising techniques alone cannot.
A well-designed email can create a lasting connection and advance your business in the right direction. But the art of sending great emails isn’t always straightforward. By using an email program like Bouncer, you can boost your engagement and catch any typos before they occur.
Check out these email nurture tips to see how you can get more people booking tours with your travel company.
Email nurture tips for travel tour companies
If you’re looking for a way to generate more bookings, you will want to hone in on your digital marketing efforts. You can offer the best tours in the region for people to enjoy, but if they never find out about what you have to offer, your business won’t be as successful.
Promotion is key, and you don’t want to lose a potential customer just because they didn’t know about you.
Let’s look at 5 email nurture tips that will get you more tour bookings this year.
1. Let them know you’re open to take tours
Before sending out a generic email blast, you may want to consider letting your email contacts know that you are open for business.
Many tour operators are still erring on the side of caution with opening their doors due to the pandemic so the only way that your customers will know that you are open is by telling them!
You can send out a quick email with a subject line saying “We’re Open to Travelers!” or “Adventure Awaits — We’re Open Again!” By crafting a scroll-stopping subject line, you are sure to capture the attention of travelers who are excited to book with you!
2. Segment. Segment. Segment.
If you have customers with different interests or demographics, you may want to segment them off into different groups. For example, you wouldn’t want to send adrenaline activity-filled emails to those who are looking for a relaxing vacation. It just wouldn’t make sense.
Did you know that email clicks are 100.95% higher with segmented campaigns as opposed to non-segmented campaigns? That’s a huge difference! And something you definitely want for your email nurture campaigns.
By segmenting your audiences, you will see a higher success rate that will improve your bottom line. The goal is to get your email recipients excited and booking, not clicking out.
3. Offer special promotions and discounts
Offering a special promotion or a limited-time discount may be just what it takes to get someone to book with your tour company.
Want to know the best part? You can track the success of your email by looking at how many people booked a tour with your email’s promo code. If successful, you can continue to offer this special deal later down the road.
Fun Fact: 77% of consumers spend $10-$50 more than anticipated when redeeming mobile coupons. This means that customers are more willing to upgrade their tour if offered a discount!
4. Remind travelers of special events
Are there special events coming up in a certain tour region? Be sure to shine a spotlight on these events in your email nurture campaign.
Special events could include:
- Live Music
- Cultural Festivals
- Holidays
- Natural Phenomenons (ex. northern lights, solar eclipses, etc.)
- Seasonal Activities
Sending out an email promoting the different special events creates a sense of urgency. No one wants to miss out on a special event — especially if it’s somewhere they really want to travel to!
Pro Tip: Tour operators can use an on-the-go CRM software like Snapforce to check up on the special event tours they have on certain days. Using this kind of platform allows operators to continue to work on the road or in the office!
5. Re-engage with past customers
Lastly, you don’t want to forget to re-engage with past customers! If they had a great time with your company the last time, they are more likely to book with your company again!
According to Paul Farris’ book Marketing Metrics, a repeat customer has a 60% to 70% chance of converting. This just proves that you don’t want to forget about reaching out to your past customers. They may be more willing to book a tour than others who haven’t booked with you before.
Receive more bookings with email nurture
All in all, email nurture takes promotional efforts to an all-new level. It’s an excellent way to warm up leads and receive more profitable bookings.
Email marketing has revolutionized the tourism industry and it isn’t going away any time soon. So if you haven’t incorporated it into your overarching digital marketing strategy, now is the time to get started and stay ahead of the competition.
Ready to bring your marketing efforts to the next level? Download our Comprehensive Guide to Online Marketing in Tourism ebook for free!
Guest Author: Ryan Gould
Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Services
From legacy Fortune 100 institutions to inventive start-ups, Ryan brings extensive experience with a wide range of B2B clients. He skillfully architects and manages the delivery of integrated marketing programs, and believes strongly in strategy, not just tactics, that effectively aligns sales and marketing teams within organizations.
Originally published at https://www.orioly.com on June 15, 2021.
