It’s important to stay on top of the best ways to use travel email marketing. That’s because cost structures in the travel industry make it prohibitive to attract customers for just one purchase. Successful companies rely on repeat business generated by customers that are retained for an extended period of time.
Recent data shared by AAA revealed that travel email marketing strategies have a significant influence on the ability of companies in this sector to retain clients. The following is an overview of the data and what it means for your travel sector firm!
Travel Industry Data Overview
A study published in July 2017 by WBR and Performance Horizon indicated just how important email marketing is for both customer attraction and retention and in the travel industry. Companies were asked which digital marketing strategies they rely on the most for retention. Email marketing received the highest response, with 84 percent of participants reporting that it is a key driver. Social media and retargeting were a distant second and third in influence, with 69 percent and 43 percent of respondents citing them, respectively.
Email marketing received the highest response, with 84 percent of participants reporting that it is a key driver . . . 58 percent of respondents stated a reliance on email.
Though email marketing ranked lower than organic and paid search and social media as a customer acquisition approach, 58 percent of respondents stated a reliance on email for that purpose as well. Effective email marketing often links acquisition and retention because the goal is to target prospects with traits and behaviors that data shows present long-term revenue potential.
How to React to Travel Industry Retention Data
The results of the survey make it clear that if your travel business is not getting the most value from its email marketing strategies, you are lagging behind industry peers in that regard. In addition to repeat business and optimized long-term revenue, cost-effectiveness is a benefit of leveraging this particular high-impact retention approach. Delivering email campaigns to stay in contact with customers, share relevant information and resources, and offer promotions are very affordable relative to other strategies used by travel companies for retention.
Another interesting insight gleaned from the WBR and Performance Horizon survey is that many travel industry players rely on third-party partners to enhance and strengthen their marketing efforts.
- Half of the respondents use an outside firm to review the merits of their strategies.
- One-third reported that these external experts drive a major portion of their company’s revenue.
Conclusions
While social media, search engine marketing, and some other digital strategies are valuable, travel email marketing is the compelling force for acquiring and then retaining customers in this industry. It is also clear that finding trusted third-party partners with expertise to support your campaigns is vital to success.
Salesgenie has expertise in helping companies in the travel sector succeed with email marketing by attracting customers that present ideal long-term retention opportunities. Our massive database allows you to filter on demographic, geographic, firmographic, and behavioral data to pinpoint ideal customer profiles. Start your free trial today!
