How to effectively use email marketing for your Hotel Business?
1. Choose the right email campaign tool:
- There are a lot of affordable tools available online like for example MailChimp, Constant Contact, SendInBlue, Drip, GetResponse etc.
- Selecting an email campaign tool is very Important, this tool helps you to create eye-appealing marketing emails with simple drag and drop layout builder and also allow you to do mass emailing.
- Once you have chosen an email tool based on your budget and requirements you are all set to move to the next setup.
2. Create an Email Database from your hotel software:
- Before you can email potential guests/customers, you must create an email database.
- For hotels, you already have the details of the guests who stayed with you previously.
- Generate the guest history export from hotel hotel software, and this list should include the Guest Name (First + Last name), Salutation and email id.
- Another way of collecting emails are from your hotel website by placing a well-worded hook line next to an email signup box on your hotel’s official website.
- You could always buy email lists, but beware of being marked out as a spammer!
- Remember, nothing works like steady, voluntary additions to your email list from interested guests.
3. Create good email messages
Here are some ideas on email content that guests will enjoy receiving:
- News and information on or about your hotel (e.g. food festivals, discounted room sales, special packages etc.)
- News and information on or about the location where your hotel situation (e.g. flower shows, cricket match, cultural events, sightseeing/picnic spot etc.)
- Tips and advice on life and lifestyles.
- How-to videos with special dishes from your chef.
- Remember, creativity attracts eyeballs, and it pays to spend your marketing rupee on that while saving on what can be done in an automated, low-cost way.
- You can also embed links in emails to drive traffic directly to your hotel website this is also a good idea.
- The subject line is one of the most important parts of the email and it should be inviting but not in a deceptive way.
4. Measure the response of your email campaign.
- The most skilful email practitioners try a variety of email approaches.
- Then they keep a close eye on how many people respond to each one, including the number who take the desired action — for example, the guests who send in an enquiry or click through to your website.
- Those emails that get little response are discarded, while the successful emails are sent over and over.
- Also nowadays all of the popular emailing tools has inbuilt email campaign success analysis tools so you can clearly identify the number of emails opened, clicked, converted, bounced, suppressed, spammed and unsubscribed etc.
5. Learn from feedbacks, delivery matrix and repeat the process.
- Learn from the previous email campaigns feedbacks, delivery rate, email opened, clicked, converted, bounced, suppressed, spammed and unsubscribed etc. and apply the required changes until you find that sweet spot.
- Do keep in mind that over 86% of top business professionals use emails to communicate for business purposes.
- Almost 59% of business-to-business marketers say email is the best way to make sales.
- It is common sense to note that when people answer emails (unlike when they are on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) their minds are usually in ‘business mode.’
All the best and success with the email campaign for your hotel. And please provide your views as comments on this topic.